When we had our first son, Owen, 5 years ago, we were so excited to welcome him into our world. It was a challenging and scary delivery but luckily he was a very healthy 8 lb 12 ounce bundle of love.

We were prepared for multiple diaper changes, lack of sleep, giving up our free time, etc. What we weren’t prepared for was the feeling of isolation. Most of our friends didn’t have kids yet and our family lived out of town. I was on maternity leave and for the first time in 10 years I was home during the day without a job to report to and adults to talk to.

Anxiety entered and I felt so guilty for not enjoying this time with my new baby. Luckily, I soon discovered baby and me group at Legacy hospital. I suddenly had something to do on Wednesdays. I looked forward to Wednesdays every week.

Within a few weeks, I had met other moms in this group and we were planning day-time meet-ups. The feeling of isolation started to go away and I started looking forward to meets up with these other moms and their adorable babes. During the process, I remember us constantly looking for places we could go with our babes. It seemed as if all of the “kid friendly” establishments were for older kids. We just wanted a place to go and hang that was out of our house. I remember thinking back then, new parents need a place they can go to hang out, where they can chat with other parents, maybe grab a coffee or a mimosa, just a place that is not their house. Somewhere where they don’t feel isolated.

This was the true beginning of The Wiggle Room.