“I actually put real jeans on today!”
“I put mascara on for the first time in about three weeks.”
“I thought I’d even curl my hair!”
These are just some of the comments Emily Thomson overheard at her first brunch event for mums.
The 31-year-old secondary school teacher launched The Stirling Mum Club in January.
Emily, who has a one-year-old boy and is expecting her second baby in April, was inspired to launch the group after struggling to connect with other mums in the Stirling area.
What inspired Emily to start The Stirling Mum Club?
It is part of UK-wide event-based community The Mum Club, which brings together “strong, independent women who happen to have children”.
She says: “I first came across The Mum Club on Instagram when I was pregnant with my first and thought it was a great idea.
“The closest one to me was North Lanarkshire, so when my son was about eight weeks old, I went through to an event that they were hosting and thought that it was great.
“It was a brunch, and it was lovely to get out and speak to other mums, and for it to be a nice event for mums, rather than something for babies.”
But despite the fact she met some lovely people, North Lanarkshire was too far away to see them regularly for a casual coffee or walk.
So Emily decided to reach out to The Mum Club and pitch a Stirling group. “Thankfully, they were very much on board and happy to expand further in Scotland.”
So far, she has hosted two events: a brunch club at Mimi’s Stirling on Wednesday February 19 (£28) and a coffee club at The Red Herring on Thursday March 6 (£18).
Between 20 and 30 women attended each two-hour session, which included food and drink, a play area for children, and a goodie bag.
The plan is to continue hosting one brunch club and one coffee club every month, where expert speakers will also deliver talks on topics such as child first aid.
Unlike many baby groups, where parents might only have a few minutes to speak to each other at the start or the end of class, The Stirling Mum Club events are “centred around mum”.
The idea is to help women foster connections and combat loneliness – which Emily says can be common amongst new mums.
‘Motherhood can feel very lonely’
She says: “Motherhood can feel very lonely and it can be quite isolating.
“It’s nice to be able to sit down with someone who just gets it and who can sympathise with it.
“Like, ‘Yeah, we were up every hour last night, too,’ and ‘Yeah, my child is also refusing to nap,’ and all of those different things.
“It’s just that reassurance that you’re not on your own – there are other people going through the same thing.”
Is loneliness something Emily, who has been on maternity leave since February 2024, experienced as a new mum?
“Oh, definitely,” she says.
“When you’ve got a new baby, unless you’ve got something to purposely get you out the house, it can be very easy to stay in.
“And the only person that you speak to while your partner’s at work, if you have a partner, is your baby.
“There have been days that my other half has come home from work at 6pm and I’ve realised that I’ve actually not spoken to an adult all day – which all of a sudden it can be quite isolating.”
What other challenges can new mums face?
‘Taking your baby to a cafe alone can feel daunting’
“If you’re going out and about, it can be quite daunting, being on your own and taking your baby into a coffee shop or somewhere for lunch,” Emily says.
“Some mums get a bit worried that if their baby starts crying, then other people might get annoyed at them.
“There is a feeling of safety in numbers with The Stirling Mum Club.
“We’re just as entitled to be there as anybody else, even with a young baby.”
Emily also thinks that mums can struggle to find the support they need.
She says: “It’s not necessarily that support is not there – it’s just that it can be difficult to find.
“There are lots of people out there that are able to support and offer help, but knowing where to look and knowing that it’s available can be tricky.”
She says there are “no rules” about who can attend The Stirling Mum Club events.
“We welcome anybody: from someone who is expecting their first to someone who might have kids who are at school and grown up.
“And there’s no age restrictions.
“The only criteria is that you’re a mum!”
Fitness classes are next for The Stirling Mum Club
In future, Emily hopes to expand The Stirling Mum Club’s offering by collaborating with local businesses.
She is especially keen to work with those owned by other mums.
Fitness clubs are on the horizon, which will be run with women only Stirling gym, LiFT.
It feeds back to Emily’s ultimate goal of “getting women out of the house for themselves rather than a baby class”.
She adds: “Mums spend so much time looking after everybody else – so it’s nice to run something like The Mum Club Stirling and have even just two hours where mums feel like they’re being looked after.”
- The next Stirling Mum Club brunch will take place at Highland Gate in Stirling on Wednesday March 19. Tickets can be booked on The Mum Club website.
Conversation