Ciao Tutti,

I am 36 weeks pregnant and have had a very difficult pregnancy. I have been on bedrest since August and therefore my Italian and my sense of place has not improved as I hope.
My Husband to be is Roman and my new Italian family have been very supportive. However it has dawned on me that I have no friends of my own and that my old friends in the UK have little time for me so far away and pregnant.
I am a little scared to head out there and try and find new pregnant Italian friends as my language is not super and suddenly thought how much I would love to find other pregnant ladies or new mothers here in Rome so that I do not feel so lost and alone.
Anyone out there?????? Jenny 36 weeks with a baby boy

Hey Jenny - can you give me your email address? Click to my blog below - then the "Contact" page and my email address is there - don't post your address here in plain sight.

I have a few friends in Rome (pregnant and with newborns) but they are not on this forum.

Oh I so remember those feelings -don't lose heart!
email me -I'm in Naples but please feel free to bend my ear because I know what it is like to have a baby here.

If you like you can check out my blogs (and on the contact me section you can email me)

www.jetsetbaby.blogspot.com
www.2ciaos.blogspot.com

Can you give me an email address?

Hi Jenny,

I'm pregnant too, almost 36 weeks, but I'm not in Rome- I live about 90 minutes south. If you'd like to email me, you can leave me a comment on my blog (link below.) I moderate comments before publishing them, so if you left me a comment with your address no one else would see it, and I'd delete it after reading it.

Take care.

Karen

There's an English speaking La Leche League group that meets in the Testaccio neighborhood once a month. We will be meeting this Monday, 3 December from 10-12. A low-key environment to meet other pregnant women and mothers, but do know that the focus is on breastfeeding. If you are interested and if you are able to get out for at least limited periods of time, let me know and I can give you the address. I am American and have had three children here. If I can be of any help, please contact me. Linda

Hi,

Thanks to all who have replied..its nice to know that I am not alone. I have looked at all of your blogs (was thinking of a blog myself, but for the past couple of months it would have been the adventures of pregnant sofa-woman and maybe pretty dull)..and will def get in contact etc, as I would desperately love to get out and about and meet some fellow English speaking pregnant ladies and mums.
However as it conspires at 37 weeks (+4 days) I look on the point of giving birth soon and have been in an out of the hosp here in Roma in the last few days..not sure how long I will be, could be a day, could be a week. But I am definately not very mobile at the mo.

Good luck to all you who are expecting and I hope to be in contact with good news soon!

StripeyJen, not an answer to your original question, but since you can't go out much you might enjoy the blogs of my two daughters who gave birth within a few weeks of each other. You can find them by going to my blog then clicking on the links to my daughters.

Hi,
I am a new mom in Rome too and alomg with Linda suggest the English La Leche League meetings. When you are upto it let me know your email and I can let you know about English language play groups etc I am looking into.
k

Hi Kier,
and update for others.. My little baby boy Gabriele, is 12 weeks old today!! Managed to give birth in Italian!! YAY and I am slowly getting some sense of normality after the hell that is colic! and now thinking I may be in a position to get out of the house! Though my fiances family have been fabulous I really lack some English speaking company!
I am however totally overwhelmed by different people all over the place meeting up and the thought of getting the metro to meet up is scary. Would love to know of some English speaking playgroups etc.
J X

Congratulations on the birth of Gabriele I am in the uk so no help on the playgroup front. Good luck

Congratulations!
You might try the Ladybirds play group which meets Wednesdays and Fridays of each week at a church located between the Spanish Steps and Piazza del Popolo or in Trastevere on Mondays http://www.ladybirdsrome.com Or if you are breastfeeding, there are monthly English language meetings of La Leche League in Testaccio. The next meeting is 7 April at il Nido Birth Center via Marmorata, 169 in Testaccio.

Congratulations StripeyJen!

Take up Lomalinda's offer!

Dear StripeyJen,I remember very well that it's not at all easy to meet other mothers when your children are babies....you can find a listing of existing playgroups in Rome and the means to create new ones on the web site www.RomeMama.com. Now that spring is in the air it is easier to get out with the baby

Hi StripeyJen!

Congratulations! I hope things are going well for you. Now that the weather is behaving a bit more than last week, the warm days, I would think that going to a park would be a good way to meet people (if there is one near you). I also think that many new Italian mothers would LOVE to meet you to have their children grow up friends with your son to help with their English and also for you and your son to learn Italian. I can't tell you how many mothers have asked me if I know anyone with a x-year-old that speaks English...(I realize this might be a bit premature since it seems like your son is just a few months old!)

Only problem with that is that I'm sure StripeyJen's baby will grow up perfectly bilingual like most English speaking kids who live in Italy. So even if he speaks fluent English, why would he chose to speak it with a kid who speaks bad English when they could speak Italian?

I'd agree with you there. Plus there's a danger that a child could learn poorly pronounced English words from his Italian friends (or even teacher). I recently had a battle to teach my niece the correct pronunciation for 'baby'. Trouble is, her parents, grandmother etc plus the TV also pronounce it 'beby' so there really is no point in my insisting. Same as on the TV they pronounce club as 'cleb' .... which really winds me up! Until a child can speak English perfectly with the correct pronuncation it's best to have him speaking Italian with his Italian chums and save English conversation for the native speakers.

Thanks Lynn for the forum invite..looks good

I agree about the language thing. Although my partner was originally worried that Gabri's Italian would suffer as we speak more English than Italian at home, I have convinced him now that I have the harder job as his main source of English. Once I am working again (and financially we have no choice) Gabriele will receive more hours of his life in Italian than English, esp as everyone who is not native English (his Papà, nonni etc) will speak Italian to him. THerefore once he realises that I understand Italian he may even refuse to talk it with me I have heard. However none of my family in the UK speak Italian so I must make him understand that it is English or nothing with them.

However Lindabee, I am sure I will find Italian Mamme who want ME to speak English with their kids if they become friends with Gabr even if he does not want to.