BYOB Bible Study: Bring Your Own Baby

Taryn DeLong shares about the Bible Study playgroup she started with other moms of young children.

When my husband and I discerned that I would quit full-time work when our daughter was born, I was elated. It was what I’d wanted. My only trepidation was the idea of being alone with a baby all day. Would I get bored? Would I miss “watercooler talk” (or, since it was 2021, Zoom talk)?

It’s true that for the first year of my daughter’s life, while her nap schedule was still unpredictable and I was still figuring out mom life, I was lonely and bored a lot of the time. I didn’t want to go back to full-time work, but I did wish for more adult conversation during the day. I found myself listening in on my husband’s work conversations sometimes, desperate for some intellectual stimulation.

Last year, a couple of things happened that made things a lot easier. First, my daughter dropped her first nap, which freed up a lot more time in our day for playdates and outings, such as story time at the library (our favorite). Then we bought a house. We’d been looking for a while, and I was longing to put down roots. I was hesitant to join or start any playgroups or mom groups when we didn’t know which part of town we’d end up in.

Pretty soon after we moved into our new home in a small town outside Raleigh, I started putting down those roots. We go to the same library story time every week, and we frequent the same local coffee shop. Best of all, I started hosting what I call a “Bible study playgroup.” I texted a couple of friends and posted in the Raleigh area Catholic mom Facebook group. The message was simple: I invited other moms who were home during the day to come over one morning a week for Bible study—kids included. It’s a BYOB Bible Study, if you will: Bring Your Own Baby.

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We have a group of six moms and eight children now. All the kids are fairly close to the same age. We spent a couple of weeks getting to know each other, since all of us didn’t know at least one other mom in the group. Now, five months in, we’ve hit our groove. The kids love playing with each other. And we love having some time to talk to other women about Scripture, raising children, and life in general.

We probably have the worst attendance record of any Bible study. Every week, someone is sick or, especially these days, on vacation. But the point isn’t perfect attendance. The point isn’t even to read each week’s readings carefully. The point is fellowship with other Catholic moms. The point is community.

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The point isn’t perfect attendance. The point isn’t even to read each week’s readings carefully. The point is fellowship with other Catholic moms. #CatholicMom

I can’t speak for the other moms, but my life as a so-called “stay-at-home mom” is so much easier now. On days when we don’t have anything planned, I can (usually) stay home and play with my daughter without getting cabin fever. I’m a more present and joyful mother because of the intentional steps I took to start building community.

And, in hindsight, maybe I’d be a little more flexible with my daughter’s nap schedule in those early days if I could do it all over again.

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