Moving to Oakland with a newborn was isolating until I found TNH Co. The park meetups saved my sanity and gave me my closest friends.

When I first moved to the Bay Area, I didn’t know a single person. My partner was back at work after two weeks, and I was alone with a colicky newborn in a city I barely knew. The days blurred together — feed, bounce, cry, repeat.

Then a neighbor mentioned a Tuesday morning stroller walk in Rockridge. I almost didn’t go. But something pushed me out the door that morning, and it changed everything.

Within weeks, I had a group of five moms who became my lifeline. We texted at 3 AM during night feeds. We watched each other’s babies so someone could shower. We celebrated first steps and commiserated over sleep regressions.

That was three years ago. Our kids are now in preschool together, and we still do Tuesday walks. The village I didn’t know I needed was here all along — I just had to find it.