Within the span of our arrival 2.5 years ago, approximately nine little boys, including my two, have been born into our circle of friends (we can’t produce girls apparently). 👶🏻
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Since so many of us are in the same stage of life, our community is strong and we’ve become pros at swapping everything: books, toys, baby clothes, maternity clothes, postpartum recovery products, doctor recommendations, and more.
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Our borrowing system has really been a lifesaver. Mail and delivery in Saudi is still iffy. We have a version of Amazon but the product quality leaves much to be desired. A plethora of baby stores exist here – Babies R Us, Mamas & Papas, Chico, etc. – but the price for anything baby-related is insane. So a lot of expats rely on visitors bringing suitcases full of Magnatiles, Melissa & Doug toys, and Target clothing, or we use a trip to the US to stock up. Since those occurrences aren’t very often, we share a lot with each other.
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We also have frequent play dates that move around to different houses and texting groups so when someone finds tortilla chips at the grocery (rare), or when Bath & Body Works is having a candle sale, we can clue each other in.
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I think I have more of a mom community here than I would have in the US simply because we really need each other (and all the women are amazing). We don’t have grandparents down the street or cousins who can come over to play. We don’t have libraries with story time, summer tee ball teams, or neighborhood swimming pools. Living here means making sacrifices. But in the absence of those things, we have created strong bonds with other families here in the same boat. I mean, if swapping sitz baths and nipple cream doesn’t draw you closer, I don’t know what will.
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