Updates From The Play Mat: Shalom Baby of The Lowcountry

Shalom Baby of the Lowcountry hosted its latest playgroup on Sunday, September 24th. Parents and their babies gathered together to nosh on Challah, honey, bread, and fruit to celebrate a sweet new year at the home
of Alexa Galtman. Shalom Baby is for all new parents with children under the age of 18 months residing in the Lowcountry. These monthly get-togethers help welcome new families to town and connect families to Jewish life in the Lowcountry. Shalom Baby also grants individual home visits to new parents to welcome their new babies in to the community. 

"Shalom Baby is two-fold but both components are so vital and valued for different reasons," says Shalom Baby parent, Sarah Meyer. "The initial outreach of someone coming to visit after you've had the baby gives you adult socialization to look forward to and an extra set of hands to help you in those early days. But beyond that first visit, the network and support of other new moms through events and Shalom Baby playgroup has been instrumental in shaping my identity as a mom. I am able to speak freely about concerns, problems, challenges, and excitement/proud moments with other parents who *get* it. And it's nice to have social engagements where there's more of a focus on my head, heart, and character than how put together I am getting out of the house with a baby! On a deeper level, it is so exciting to get to develop relationships early on with Jewish families who I will raise my children alongside of - our kids will overlap in school, religious school, b'nei mitzvot, youth group events, and at community events for years to come. To be able to look at our kids lying on blankets or crawling now, and extrapolate forward to those friendships continuing for years into the future is so moving. In a city like Charleston that simultaneously feels small and huge, Shalom Baby is a cohort of families that has both introduced me to new people and bridged the overwhelming jump into 'mom-friends'."


If you would like to join Shalom Baby and come to a future playgroup, please email Sara Chesley at SaraS@JewishCharleston.org.
 

0Comments

Add Comment