Hi all, I'm 3 months pregnant and am looking to meet people in a similar situation and to find a nice antenatal group/class.
I only moved here two months ago with my Italian fiancè and as I've been feeling so rotten over the past couple of months didn't have a chance to get out and meet friends/make a life for myself here before we found out, very happily but a little surprisingly, that we are expecting. And so now I'm feeling that I've gone through a huge adjustment but really want to get out and meet people so that when the baby comes along next year I have a group of friends who speak English! It seems to me that Italian people don't do 'coffee mornings' the way us Brits seem to and I'm a little scared about being isolated with a newborn. So if anybody is in the same boat or knows of any groups I'd be really pleased to hear from you.
I don't know of any English speaking antenatal groups so can't help you there. However, I am very happy to pass on information/answer any questions from personal experience. I have 2 kids; one born in London and the other in Merate (between Lecco and Milan) when I had been in Italy for just one year and they were very different experiences! My first piece of advice is to get your fiance to come with you to the appointments and to get yourself a good pregnancy book. It should be a positive, happy experience but could easily become a nightmare, especially with all the hormones playing up! Auguri!
Thanks for all that. I'm actually a maternity nurse myself and specialise in the care of newborns so I have every pregnancy, birth and child care book you can imagine! Although sometimes a little knowledge is too much! And luckily enough my midwife and ObGyn are pretty good English speakers and I can get by in Italian although I am by no means fluent!! With all that in mind I know the sorts of classes on offer to mums in the UK and US and was really hoping to find something similar. Despite my career I know that doing it personally is a very different experience so I may well write back looking for advice! Thanks again!