Russian-speaking new parents or due-soon pregnant in London?

[elk4baby]

Hi,

I'm looking for any Russian-speaking new parents or due-soon pregnant ladies in London (ideally SE or nearby).

I'm due in April and am located in the Greenwich area.

Bumping for you. Congratulations

Afraid I can't help with meet-ups/activities for tinies, but there is a group for toddlers. I'm not Russian but my husband is, and I take our daughter to a Russian language playgroup in Eltham; Fridays at 10am. Details, including the organiser's mobile number, here. It's £3.50 a session but it's worth it for us as I'm worried she'll only speak English.

While your baby is still little you could do much worse than going to the playground in Greenwich park and just hanging around; by May/June it will be getting a bit busier and my experience of the last couple of years was that more often than not there were a couple of Russian speakers there. You might get lucky and meet someone you 'gel' with. I'd be happy to meet you there if you'd like some moral support

Oh, forgot to say, it may also be worth posting on the forum of the site I linked to, as you could find people to meet up with that way too.

Thanks so much for the tip and your support lucasnorth!
Naturally, I'm a bit nervous about this whole thing, as this is my first. I'm actually still head in the clouds about it all, trying not to think about labour and that it's just around the corner now and the fact that I don't know much about being a mum... Everytime I starting thinking about it all, makes me want to cry 'mummy!', but mine is actually on the other side of the ocean, so being all alone doesn't help .

NO-ONE knows anything about being a Mum until it actually happens - and everyone muddles through somehow. It'll be tough, but you'll be fine

If your Mum's so far away have you thought about whether there's someone who could be your 'surrogate Mum' for a while after the baby comes? Is your partner's Mum nearby (and do you get on with her?)? Or is there a close friend who can commit to coming round regularly for a few weeks? Or maybe consider hiring a doula for 6-8 weeks? They would come in and help you with cooking/cleaning (and some baby stuff I think) and they're much cheaper than a maternity nurse.

I was lucky - my Mum is nearby - but I did need quite a bit of support in the first couple of months. You may be stronger though

Good luck

Hey lucasnorth, thanks for the support!

We're actually considering hiring a doula... not sure what the process is yet (am I too late?!). I may have been overly-optimistic in hoping that I could rely on hubby to do the cooking/cleaning for a bit . The idea of a maternity nurse I think is a bit much, tbh, but again I may be in the clouds here still.
Unfortuntately, both of our mums are far (one is 4hr flight away, the other needs to cross the ocean). I've been talking to my mum about her coming over for a bit to help out. Even though I'm on great terms with my mother-in-law, she's not as easy to deal with for me - she needs attention and the right tone of voice... I might not be capable of all that with a newborn .
What's a good place to start looking for a doula?

Hi elk4baby

I'm sure you're not being over-optimistic about what your husband will do - it's just my experience was that I needed help for longer than mine would/could take time off work. I'm afraid I don't know how to find a doula - we're just starting to look for one ourselves so let me know if you find any good sources! I'm due in July so we'll not be in competition to get one Oh, and I wasn't suggesting the maternity nurse - I only know (vaguely!) one woman who has hired one and it was punishingly expensive.

I know what you mean about MIL - I too get on well with mine but find it difficult living with her for more than 10 days or so. But then I've not lived with my parents for over a decade so I'd probably struggle with that too

I know what you mean, lucasnorth. Once you've lived on your own for a few years, it's a bit 'strange' to have even the most familiar people around (in your bathroom, in your kitchen... ). Maybe it's just me being territorial (as my DH put it), but I find it a bit awkward when I can't be 'at home' when I'm at home (I hope that makes sense). Though I'm very close with my mom and she's probably the only person I accept as 'a member of my pack' when she's around . So the hope is she'll be able to take time off work and come for a couple of weeks (more would be welcome, but she does need her job, so that's the longest I can hope for at this point).

I've looked around for a bit and found this website, which also has 'classification' of doulas (by experience, I think) - doula.org.uk. You might want to strat there.

hi there elk,
Congratulations!
I have a close friend who is Ukrainan and a mother of two, and has lots of Russian speaking friends (moms with kids of various ages) with whom they get together fairly frequently. Oh, and most importantly it's all happening in SE London (Lee Green, Lewisham, Blackheath, etc). If you'd like to get in touch with them send me an email to [email protected]

Are you taking part in an NCT group? We did a course before my DD was born (also in SE London), and it turned out that our course leader was also a doula. We didn't feel the need of a doula being there in the delivery room with us in the end, but I always thought she would have been ideal, as we got to know each other quite well during the course.

hi mrsnoname,
I have not heard of NCT. What are they?
Thanks again for your advice!

Hi elkb4baby,
Congratulations on your pregnancy.
I'm Russian who moved to London last year from Sydney, so my mum is in Moscow and his mum is in Oz. I was also expecting my first in April, but she decided to come in February. So I'm already a mum to a little girl Marianna.
I'm also looking for Russian speaking new mums, but I'm in NW ( Hampstead), so if you feel like coming over to NW - let me know.

hi skiingone,

I thought this thread was a lost cause..

Wow your little girl is really prompt! Congratulations!
I'm still waiting actually, quite heavy by now, but hopefully it won't be too long now.

Hampstead is a little out there, but I'm sure we could meet and go for a stroll somewhere.

I've met with a few Russian mums already. [Thanks again mrsnoname]. They each have two children already, so I'm a bit behind, but it's quite helpful to be able to 'see ahead' . If you like, we could meet with them and go for a coffee somewhere, I'm sure they'll be able to pick a buggy-friendly spot with parking space (as they'd done the research).

Let me know what's the best way to contact you.

Hi Elk4baby,

S udovolstviem vstrechus s vami i drugimi russkimi mamami.
Pishu moi elektromnni adress tak chtob vi ponyali a drugie vozmozhno net anastasia9776sobakayahootochkacomtochkaau

Wishing you easy delivery!

hello girls!!!
i am looking for russian mummys for friendship in nw london.we have 2 boys aged 2years and 3 months.hope find some friends for me and for them and also someone to speak russian)))

Hello,

I am also looking for Russian mums to make friends with in NW or Central London. I have a toddler who is nearly two and we are near Regents Park and St John's Wood. I am new to the area and don't know anyone around here.

I can't work it out how I can get in touch with anyone on this website so please get in touch with me! Hope to hear from you!!! )

MummyNW8, you can get in touch with me on anastasia9776sobakayahootochkacomtochkaau

I often have coffee at Gail's in St John's wood. Hope to meet you there.x

mi jivem vosle Danson Park v welling/sidcup/blackfen. tam o4en xorowaya detskaya prowadka. y menya dva sina 9 i 2.5 goda. mi pereehali nedavno, tak 4to russko-govoryawix v nawem rayone ne znaem. y menya ewe zdes mama v gostyah, kototraya s ydovolstviem poznakomitsya s vawimi roditelyami. esli kto-to jivet ryadom, otzavites. moy email: [email protected]
bydem o4en radi poznakomitsya.
Natasha

skiingone, I've e-mailed you, hope to hear from you. Please get in touch with me on mylittlebabysobakayahootochkacotochkauk Hope to see you soon. Your little girl looks very tiny and very sweet on photos x

HI EVERYONE! I would like to meet with russian mums I live near Ealing W7, if anyone would like to meet for coffe please let me know. [email protected] x

Hi,
I am a new mum and would like to meet russian speaking mums for walks/ coffee in Greenwich park or surrounding area.
my e-mail is anya underline twenty six at mail dot ru

Hi! My name is Veronika and I moved from Russia just 2 months ago and I have no friends here yet. I have seven months old daughter Emilia.I'd like to meet with Russian-speaking mums living nearby (as well as any other mums with children the same age as my daughter). I live near Shooters Hill Road, but it's no problem for me to go to Eltham, for example, or somewhere else. Hope to hear from you soon.

Hi, my name is Tatiana, i moved from Russia to London a year ago,i am living in Fulham,have daughter of 8 months old, would love to meet some other Russian mums for coffee/walk and everybody who is interested. My email [email protected]

Hi girls, I live in Hampton TW12 and I have 2 pre-school girls, would love to meet Russian-speaking mums and kids in the area. my email xs2girlie at gmail tochka com

Hello Veronika and other lovely Russian and other Moms here! I am a mother to a 14 months old baby-boy and we live in Bexleyheath area. I would love to meet mothers in my area for tea/coffee and my son needs new friends! You can contact me on [email protected]. Hope to hear from you all soon!