Northwood News ♦ April 2005

Northwood-Four Corners Baby Network Continues

By Jacquie Bokow

April marks the 43rd month since I founded the Northwood-Four Corners Baby Network for parents with preschoolers.  At home all day with an infant (and completely clueless), I was hoping to make connections with other parents in the same situation.  I found the transition from full-time, highly paid career woman to full-time, unpaid mom to be even more of a challenge than I had expected!

My neighbor, Robin Loube, had put me in touch with two other new mothers.  Our three children are nearly the same age and we began meeting weekly.  It was such a help to trade information and such a relief to see our kids all having the same challenges at nearly the same time.  It also helped to talk to another adult during the day!

I began to wonder if there weren’t other parents who would benefit from similar contact with parents who had children the same ages as their own.  As I recently had become editor of the Northwood News, I found the perfect venue to alert others in the neighborhood.  I placed a small story in the News about what I called the “Northwood-Four Corners Baby Network.”

That first notice three and a half years ago yielded more than a dozen calls.  Today there are 35 moms in the Network (no dads yet, although one participated briefly during his paternity leave while his wife worked).  Probably a dozen more have dropped out as their children began school or their family moved out of Northwood Park.

A second News article solicited the names of baby­sitting teenagers in the area.  The resulting list has been circulated to all Network parents, benefitting both teens and moms in our neighborhood.

My son just turned five and will begin kindergarten at Forest Knolls in September, so I’ll be turning the Network over to someone else soon.  But if you would like to join the Network or be added to our list of babysitters, please call me [contact details redacted].   ■