Support group connects moms with other moms, community resources

Moms with new babies need support, whether their bundle of joy is their first or third child. And that support often comes best from others who are in the exact same situation.

This need was, in part, why Hardin's Drug began sponsoring a Baby & Me Support Group monthly at Mooneyham Library. Free to mothers of children ages birth to one year and moms to be, the group meets the second Tuesday from 10 to 11 a.m.

Leslie Wall, home health coordinator for Hardin's, said the idea came along as the store began selling breast pumps and other baby items. Wall, whose children are nine years apart, said the group is beneficial for her.

"It is starting over again," she said. "I have done this before, but there is so much you don't remember from the first child."

Topics for the group change each month. In August, group member Jill Graudszus led others in an exercising with baby program. Other topics have included music for baby and reading with baby. The group is attended each month by a retired pediatrician who serves as a resource for mom's on their babies' development.

Group members can also be connected to other community resources during the meetings, Wall said.

"We have contacts at the hospital and health department, and they have come to present programs as well."

And the moms themselves have connected, she added. "They've become really good friends."

For more information on this support group, call 828-245-7274.