Anonymous wrote:I did pace online for my first baby. I loved the convenience but found it hard to make a connection over zoom. Also the moms were spread throughout the entire county, making it impractical to develop friendships. For my second baby, I’ll be doing this one which meets up in person in Silver Spring: https://www.themamalovecollective.com/mamas-circle.html

+1 recommending Mama Love Collective! It was so great to be in-person. I did PACE first and it was very underwhelming to be on zoom plus nobody lived nearby. Mamas Circle was amazing - we're still getting together weekly before many of us return to work.

Anonymous wrote:I did one through Shady Grove Hospital (not recently though). It was a great group that stayed connected till kids went to K. I wonder where they all are now??

I heard they were only online now, but I'm not sure. I did it too. The kids are tweens now and I still have a nice group of friends from that.

My pace experience was online ( and honestly not sure how I would've made it work in person at the time) but we did weekly walks in person and continue to get together regularly, and whatsapp daily, and our kids are now 1

Pace is going back in person with cohorts now I heard maybe a pilot, but you should reach out.

Ah sorry my PACE experience was in person. Didn’t realize they were only online now

If you’re in VA, check out Susan Howard’s Feeding Flock. Really enjoyed it.

I did pace online for my first baby. I loved the convenience but found it hard to make a connection over zoom. Also the moms were spread throughout the entire county, making it impractical to develop friendships. For my second baby, I’ll be doing this one which meets up in person in Silver Spring: https://www.themamalovecollective.com/mamas-circle.html

momsclub.org is a good one, they organize groups via zip code and the purpose is to have 1-2 free get togethers per week that are in your neighborhood. (Like meet at the playground 10 every Tuesday)

Members with babies the same age take turns hosting playdates at their houses so no one is ever overwhelmed.

YMMV but I found mine to be very chill and still keep in touch with families in the neighborhood I might not have ever met.

I did PACE online in the later days of the COVID health emergency. I was definitely over the zoom call thing, but the convenience was great. I had mornings in bed, not yet dressed with a sleeping infant where I would have 100% missed the session were it in person, but my spouse could bring me a laptop and it was good to connect with other moms. We also met up in person without the group leader semi-regularly and our WhatsApp chat is still strong a year and a half later.

I agree PACE was great but that was in person pre-COVID. I wouldn't do the online version.

Anonymous wrote:PACE was great!

Curious - I’m looking for a mom group but noticed pace is still online. Was really hoping group could serve as practice to get out of the house and meet other moms. I also tend to dislike zoom calls and a call with an infant sounds not fun to me… Can you share what you liked about pace online despite it being online? Thanks!

PACE was great!

I did one through Shady Grove Hospital (not recently though). It was a great group that stayed connected till kids went to K. I wonder where they all are now??

Mamistad was a quick $75 wasted. Messaged with the other moms for a few weeks before we drifted apart as births approached. The owner kept emailing our group to add new people long after we told her the group was done. PACE is more expensive but a much better experience

Just an fyi that Mamistad is forming new mom groups in Arl/DC this weekend.