Being a new mum is wonderful but it can also be an isolating experience as Nona Ritchie discovered when she had her little boy Oscar.
Keen to meet and socialise with other new mums, Nona searched high and low for free community groups in her area but to no avail.
Taking matters into her own hands, the 26-year-old set up ‘Babies’ Bumps and Brews’, a free weekly drop-in group for mums-to-be, new mums and their partners at Brewdog in Inverurie.
In just a matter of months, the group has grown into a safe and supportive space where women can feel a sense of community.
“Being a new mum can be very isolating, especially in the first few months when you’re still trying to figure out whether you’re coming or going and learning what’s your new normal,” says Nona.
“I didn’t have a lot of pregnant women around me and the mums that I did know had babies that were older so I didn’t feel like I had much of the village that is so often spoken about.
“There are some groups but most of them are expensive and you have to commit to a full block of sessions.
“My partner Tom is the general manager at Brewdog in Inverurie and he came up with the idea of starting a group there.”
Free support group for pregnant women and new mums in Inverurie
Since starting the drop-in sessions in April, the numbers of pregnant women and mums coming along has grown.
“We started the group every Tuesday between 10am to noon when the bar is closed to the public,” says Nona.
“It means mums have two hours to themselves to come in for a coffee, have a chat and a bit of a hang out.
“In general having a newborn is a lot of pressure and it can feel like the whole room is looking at you when the smallest things are going on.
“So this is a good place to come as we’re really there to get a chat and to find a bit of community.”
Partners welcome to come along
For Nona, who is also a stepmum to her partner Tom’s six-year-old son Benjamin, she has found so much support through the other mums who come along.
“With my baby in particular we struggled with feeding and we initially thought it was reflux but it turned out that he has a cow’s milk allergy,” says Nona.
“I had been going to the group for a couple of months and another mum came along with her new baby who was struggling with reflux so it was lovely to be able to speak to her and let her know what I’ve been going through.
“I’ve also met other mums who are a couple of months ahead of us and they’re talking to me about weaning their babies and other things they’ve gone through too.
“So it has been super helpful for a lot of us.”
Cuppas, chats and support
From breastfeeding and doulas to physios and car seat safety, the group has also invited experts along to give talks and share advice on various baby related topics.
“We’ve had Arielle and Shannon from Breastfeed Scotland come along to our sessions,” says Nona.
“It’s not exclusively a breastfeeding group by any means but they’ve helped us to make connections with other professionals in the area and they can offer support for any feeding queries as well.
“We also had Fiona from Reform Physio and Pilates along to talk about postnatal pelvic floor and DMB car seats in Kemnay too to talk about car seat safety.”
Easing the pressures of being a new mum
As well as talks, Nona says the sessions are also about easing some of the pressures that new mums can face.
“I found that when it comes to babies meeting milestones, there’s so much pressure on them to be doing X, Y and Z by so many months,” says Nona.
“But then you come along to our group and the babies are all at such different phases even though they’re all similar ages.
“For example a lot of the babies that are at the same age as my baby are sitting but not crawling but my baby is army crawling but not sitting.
“He’s skipped the sitting part but that is totally normal.”
Supportive community
With such a strong and supportive community for pregnant women and new mums, Nona, who works in the accounts department in Brewdog, is excited to see the group grow even further.
“We’ve started a WhatsApp group which is lovely,” says Nona.
“One of the mums who comes along sent a message to say that she was clearing out her wardrobe so she’s going to bring along a heap of breast feeding tops for anyone who would like them.
“So it’s really starting to feel like a little community in the area which is lovely.”
For more information about Babies, Bumps and Brews, check out their Instagram page @babies_bumps_and_brews_inr
Conversation