Little Oliver is almost 2 years old and loves two things – snacks and fashion.
“He likes to pick out his own outfits now, so he was very proud of his choice,” says his mom, Raimah Gogan.
Raimah says their meetings at the Colectivo in Shorewood are a chance for Oliver to show off.
“He loves people!”
Raimah meets with other moms multiple times a month at different locations across our area. But as much as those Babbling Babes meetings are great for the babies, they’re really more for the moms.
“As a mom, you tend to quickly forget how much you need things like that,” says Raimah. “When you have, you know, an excuse, as I say, to get out – all of a sudden it’s like ‘that’s right, we can do this!’”
Stephanie Ciatti started Babbling Babes when she was pregnant with her third child. She had a pretty rough go of things with her second pregnancy.
“I just vowed to myself that, after that experience, I was going to do everything I could to make the third time around just amazing,” Stephanie says.
She knew that getting out to socialize could be just what the doctor ordered.
“I think it really just nurtures your soul and helps ease that transition because you’re a new person,” Stephanie says.
But the Babbling Babes ladies want to help each other remember the people they were before babies.
“It’s like, ‘what do you do?’ ‘Where do you live?’ ‘What did you do before baby?’” Stephanie explains.
Knowing that they already have something in common makes it a lot easier for these moms to make friends.
“It was kind of like that hard or awkward moment when you first introduce yourself to someone new, it’s like that wasn’t even there,” says Raimah. “They say, ‘here, come sit down, there’s a seat for you.’”
Stephanie even created Babbling Babes merch with the group name on it. She says shirts make it easier for moms to spot each other in public and make connections. The best part – there are new faces at every gathering.
“It really happens every single gathering, someone leaves with a new friend that they continue to be friends with,” Stephanie says.
“It’s a circle that we don’t ever want to stop growing,” Raimah adds.
If you’re interested in learning more about Babbling Babes meetings, just follow this link: https://www.babblingbabes.org/
