If co-sleeping, baby wearing, cloth diapering (CD), extended nursing, or gentle discipline (GD) are terms that ring a bell for you, and you are in Loudoun County, then the Leesburg attachment parenting meetup group might be a good fit for you.

This local group — the name says Leesburg, but there are members from all over the county — is still relatively new and definitely has room for more active members.

Meetup.com is a great resource.

If you are new to motherhood or just getting settled in a new neighborhood it is worth searching for groups in your area. Meetup is not just for moms… so if you are looking to connect with other aspects of your identity you may even find a non-mommy group.

If you already have a moms group and are looking for a way to infuse some new energy and use an existing internet resource to simplify the coordinating of details, tracking of RSVPs, and allow for folks who cannot make events due to work schedules, naptime, etc. to connect virtually without inbox clutter, meetup.com may be to tool for you. The message boards are simpler than most online forums, and you can set them so they are seen only by group members. At first glance, the cost to start a group looks steep, but if you succeed in getting folks to join you may be able to collect dues to offset the cost.

First, a note to friends and family: read nothing into this. Our life is full with two at the moment. We are still catching up on years of sleep deprivation. We are not pregnant!

Now that that’s over with… I have met a lot of beautiful three kid families lately. Awesome kids, stellar moms, great dynamics, etc. I just cannot imagine any of these families without the third kid in the same way that I cannot imagine my kids without each other or my life without either of them.  Every time I see a mom of three or more I am struck by how comfortable they are with the littlest. A part of me would love to take all I have learned since my blind jump into parenting and do it again with the confidence, experience, and maturity I have gained. The rest of me knows that every time I get a little cocky the next parenting challenge comes up to bite me in the behind and leave me humble for a while.

I have also watched the generation before me scramble to care for their aging parents over the past few years, and am starting to think that my Peter and I may be too much of a handful for our two kids when we hit old age. This is a dangerous argument though… as the conclusion is that  we need a dozen or so kids.

Anyway, during one of those moments I stumbled upon Havingthreekids.com (with a tagline of “A site for those who have three, want three, or fear three”) and actually laughed out loud while reading the first column posted by Jennifer Eyre White. In addition to the columns, her site offers a community forum and links to blogs and other resources.

The words green and posh seemed a bit contradictory to me at first, but then I thought about the city of San Francisco and a little (energy-efficient fluoresent) light went off in my head and I got it.

Green Posh Moms is a forum being developed by two sisters, one of whom lives right here in Loudoun County. The forum is a new resource and its success is dependent upon folks joining and participating in discussions and sharing ideas.

Care to be one of those folks?

Someone forwarded me a link to “Online, Off Kilter” by Donna Eis, and I thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy!

DC Metro Mommies

This is a large (over 600 members) regional yahoo group. It is inclusive, and ready to welcome all kinds of moms. With a group of this size you need to be ready for a high email volume if you join.

There are also smaller regional subgroups for folks wishing to make in-person connections and get together for local playgroups.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2007
Loudoun County Mommies does a pretty good job of bringing member relationships out of cyberspace and into the real world. I love that the group makes an effort to include both stay at home and work outside the home moms.

In addition to playgroups, moms nights out, and monthly breakfast and lunch meet ups the group has an active cooking club and book group.

Its a friendly, welcoming & supportive group, and I appreciate the quiet efforts of the moderator in maintaining this community.

MOMS Club of Leesburg

Leesburg has two chapters of the international organization MOMS (Moms Offering Moms Support). It is geared towards supporting stay at home moms by organizing events and activities, and the local clubs are run by volunteers.

I have been a member for almost two years, and found:

• participation in the online chat group alone is worth the annual membership fee.
• being a member of a MOMS club playgroup was very helpful during my first year here as I adjusted to stay at home motherhood, juggling two kids, and new surroundings.

As with any women’s group whether or not it is the right fit for you may depend on personalities, but it is a great resource of full of moms who do want to help each other.

NOVA Families for Natural Living

I won’t try to define natural family living myself. The group’s description on yahoo is as follows:

“Northern Virginia’s Families for Natural Living is an organization of like-minded families who joined together to support each other in exploring natural alternatives for themselves and their families. We offer support and education on topics such as nutrition, birth options, attachment parenting, vaccinations, alternative health choices, concern for the environment and much more!”

I consider myself a hybrid mom with one foot set firmly in the natural parenting arena and the other still planted in a more mainstream parenting model. I generally shy away from pushing my alternative ideas on others, but ever since last week’s Oprah there seems to be a lot of buzz about vaccines within moms groups on both sides of this fence. I find myself reading the emails from my local groups, and thinking many folks would benefit from the perspective this group has to offer on vaccinations. And if you are like me and sometimes feel alone in cloth diapering, nursing past 12 months, delaying-preschool, or even choosing a compost bin and a CSA you will welcome the wisdom and encouragement shared by the NOVA Families for Natural Living on many topics.

This is the website for Mothering Magazine which labels itself as “the birthplace of natural family lifestyle.” Despite the arrogance of that assertion I have found their forums to be kind of online home where I can turn for information on parenting in a style that is gentle on my children and the earth. If you are interested in natural family living or attachment parenting, and looking for a place where you can be encouraged, challenged and inspired this is worth checking out.