Aspergers Mom..help!

[Emprexia]

Gah.. ok, so this is me thats special needs, not my son.

Basically, i'm a new mom who has Aspergers Syndrome and is rather introverted and shy with new people. My son is 4.5 months old and i KNOW i need to go to my local mom & baby club to meet other moms and help socialise DS.

but im SCARED and the thought of going there where i dont know anyone sends me into a bit of a panic attack... is there anyone with any advice on how i can put my big girl pants on and just get myself in there and make some new friends without chickening out?

i feel so silly asking this...

kaishay, I think everyone is a bit apprehensive of mother and baby groups to start with - I certainly was!
Do you know any local new mums, maybe from ante-natal classes? Perhaps you could meet on a one-to-one basis to start with, and then go to the group together if you wanted to?
Your health visitor might be able to put you in touch with other mums too.

I don't think you NEED to go to any groups if you're uncomfortable with it. Give yourself a break

I don't have AS (my DS is autistic) but I hated the idea of mum and baby groups. It's just not me. Some of my friends loved it and went to everything they could, others hated it too but forced themselves to go and ended up enjoying it. Others went because they felt they should but hated every minute of it.

Do you want to go for your benefit or your DS's?

I think I was one of those who went because I thought I should but hate it every minute of it. Such a relief to let it go...

But at least try it, if you don't like it, it's OK not to go back

you can only try, you dont have to keep going if its not ofr you. you will have more than just the children in common and may click with some like minded people anyway.

It's not obligatory to become friends straight away with the other mums there - just play with your child and have fun watching them interact with other children. Beyond 'hello' you don't have to say much to the other mums at first. at 4.5 months your son has plenty of time before he'll miss other children being around - i started going when mine could crawl.
I found going to mums and toddlers swimming sessions good - perfectly normal to focus on your child as you have to hold on to them!
good luck

I am at the very least socially awkward, I agree with LuckyLadys advice - don't have too high expectations, or beat yourself up if you don't pal up with the other mum's immediately, and activities with a focus are good for icebreaking and less stressful than an M & T group - as LuckyLady suggests, swimming, also baby massage/yoga, and library storytime. Also parenting sites such as this, net mums and babycentre often have local area meetups. Are you based in this country or US?