Mother's group

My mother's group consists of 14 Mums and Bubs so it is quite a big group.  We have met every week since October 2010 and the people in the group are very nice.  So why do I find it so hard to go each week?  I think that there is so much competitiveness, and when I say this, I think it is all unconscious.  What worries me though, is whether I have become one of those competitive Mums.  I don't mean to, but when people talk about what their baby can do, I find myself saying things like "yes, DD can do that too".  I am going to have to monitor myself this week and make sure I am not talking about my child all the time.  I just can't help myself.  Everything she does is a miracle in my eyes even though I know that everything is perfectly normal, I think she is just perfect.

The catering shows how competitive it all is.  Each week we have met at someone's house and brought a plate.  You should see how much food there is - it is like each person has to prove how good a Mum they are - maybe that is it - maybe I have hit the nail on the head, it is not so much competitiveness but our insecurities about being a Mother mean that we are searching for affirmation that our child is doing well by proving we can bake the best treats there are.

There is one Mum who wants to buy every toy that exists for her child so if a new toy appears she wants to know where it was purchased so she can go right about and buy it straight away.  There is another that is very "green" and sends lots of emails about where to buy your organic veg or eco-friendly sunscreen (and calls her baby boy Wiggles).  The oldest is 42 and the youngest is 26.  One lady is from Laos and one from the UK (other than me) and the rest are true blue Aussies.  There are a range of occupations and properties.  I wonder how it will all work out, will I still be in touch with these people a year from now.  What will I learn?  Tomorrow is our first outing to a local park, but already there is a smaller group who meet on another day.

It is interesting to think that here we have a group of 14 Mums who are only meeting because we happen to have given birth within 2 months of each other and we live in the same area.  Will this be enough to sustain the group?

Edit: Actually the day went pretty well and I plan to meet one of the mums for coffee next week.