Moving to another country can bring up many challenges, but being a new mom and raising a family in a place that you are not entirely used to can be overwhelming for even the most experienced parent. In this post, we’ll give you some tips on how to make things a little bit easier if you’re an international mom in Madrid so that, little by little, you start feeling at home in a foreign country and making the most of this unique experience.
Make plans to meet new people
If you don’t want to get stuck in the expat bubble, you need to get out there and meet new people. Having your own circle of friends will make a huge difference. Not only will you get to share daily anecdotes with them, but you can always plan stuff with the children for fun and help each other with simple things, such as looking after your child for a couple of hours. But… where can you meet people? Depends on your interests! But in Madrid there are thousands of activities for all tastes. We recommend you go into Meetup and search for clubs you might enjoy. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests to you!
Meet new people who also have babies
Sometimes finding time for yourself is quite complicated when you have a baby and you are getting used to this big change in your life. It is normal to get a bit overwhelmed. Madrid offers lots of activities for both moms and babies to do together and it is a great instance for you to mingle with other moms while your child is learning and being taken care of by professionals. Check out some of these Facebook groups where you can get more info on things going on: Mom and Baby Madrid, New and Expecting Moms and Babies Madrid, and Madrid Mums.
Improve your Spanish
The sooner you learn Spanish, the easier it will be for you and your child to adapt to this new culture. Exposing your child to Spanish from a very early age will make a huge difference in his language acquisition process, growing up bilingually, and for you it will open several doors both professionally and personally. What better way to use your maternity leave than to improve your language skills? LAE Kids offer family packages so that you can study together. Our structured sessions are a great way to increase your confidence and fluency.
See the sights of Madrid
There are so many stunning places in Madrid for you to visit and enjoy, so why not create your own route and get to enjoy a new place every week? This is a great way of doing a bit of tourism while spending quality time with your child and avoid the monotony of doing the exact same thing every day.
Take out time for yourself
In the four-last bullet points we’ve gone through activities to do with your child, but here we encourage you to find some time for you to be on your own. Ask your partner or friend to look after your child for a while and spoil yourself with all those things you’ve been looking forward to but haven’t found the time. Go get your nails done, shopping or whatever you feel like. Having some time for yourself will help you recharge your batteries for the rest of the week and realize how lucky you are to be experiencing all of this.
Ready to make the most of your life as an international mom in Madrid? If you need any advice, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We’ve worked with lots of moms in your situation and trust us… this will be one of the best experiences of your life!