to worry about visiting potential new friend

[Fishywife]

I do have mild social anxiety but this has been exacerbated by pregnancy hormones!

Pregnant with my first, have been invited round by a friend of a friend who has a 9 month old. I am very keen to make new 'mum' friends so excited to have been invited. I'm due there at 7:30 which she said it good as her son is usually asleep.

I'm overthinking things... should I bring something (flowers? wine is probably a no-go) should I phone her when I'm outside in case knocking the door wakes the baby... I have only met her briefly a couple of times and obviously don't know her very well, so am reluctant to text her!

It doesn't matter what you bring OP as long as you bring something - flowers, biscuits, cake, wine, buns, all good options.

The friend of a friend is obviously also keen on making new mum friends, I would say and will be delighted to chat you about having a baby, small baby issues and the like, so it's easy enough to get started on a chat.

You don't have to stay too long, you may hit it off and that's brilliant and you may find you are different types of people - that's fine too, you don't have to be best mates but it's nice to know there's someone in a similar small baby phase as you.

It'll be grand!

Thanks for all the advice! I am definitely overthinking it!! She said come round for pizza, so I think chocolates or cake would work best. And yes, wine was about me being pregnant - not assuming she was an alcoholic!

Whack a Victoria sponge in the oven, you can’t go wrong.

Yep, cake definitely. Not wine.

If you’re going for pizza then just take a dessert. Chocolate fudge cake & cream would be my suggestion!

Shocked that someone thinks there’s only certain times of day suitable for cake eating!

What's a new "mum friend" as opposed to a new "friend ?

Dessert/chocs. Text/call instead of doorbell. And ask her for advice / experience of something pregnancy or baby related, she'll likely talk for England .

(I was like you OP - DD is now 17 months and the other day I looked around my social circle and realised I'd seen everyone's nipples and knew sometimes literally the ins and outs of their relationships. Babies eh?)

She's probably very happy to be entertaining a new friend, it does get a bit lonely being a SAHM sometimes! Just take some nice little cupcakes or posh biscuits. Flowers I sometimes take if my friends have had a shitty time or whatever, but otherwise sweet treats are the thing!

Take a nice cake you can both have a piece of. Then she can keep the rest to have the next day!

My friends bring me flowers all the time if they come round for a meal or BBQ, so that's also fine.

She might not be drinking (and may not ever have drank), or might not like the wine you bring, so safer to not maybe take that.

Good for you OP, social anxiety is such a challenge. Try not to overthink what you take, given it's for pizza I'd just go with the majority here and take snacks or dessert- cheesecake or cupcakes. I think what's key is remembering that if the roles were reversed, whatever she brought would just not be that interesting to you, you'd not be judging it, and would presumably be grateful, invite them in and get on with the evening.

As an aside the flowers=dating is surely untrue I give, and receive them from female friends most times they come over, where we see each other infrequently, and quite often in general, it's just a nice gesture that a lot of people enjoy.

What's a new "mum friend" as opposed to a new "friend ?

At risk of sounding facetious, a friend who is a mum. I'm the first in my friendship group to get pregnant so I would like to expand my social circle to include people with children for mutual support and advice. I would like these to be people to also be my friends. I think that is quite normal. I did just put friend in the post title, I was just explaining/justifying why I am planning to visit a relative stranger in her home when I suffer from social anxiety!

There's never a bad time for cake.

This is a truth universally acknowledged.

Don’t over think it.
Pizza followed by brownies and ice cream is a winner.
I would avoid flowers purely because of potential allergies/animals (some flowers - like lilies) are extremely toxic to animals so unless you know either of these things I would avoid. I don’t think it’s seen as a dating thing (certainly isn’t with my family & friends)

Cake is a universal winner

Sorry misread the OP!

Yes, cake, all the cake (& a voucher code if your ordering pizza! They're always handy)

How was the evening?