The 5 Stages of New-Mom Friendships

Motherhood changes everything, including your choice of friends. But beware: Much like first love, first-time-mom friendships don't always stand the test of time. In your exhausted, euphoric, overwhelmed state, you'll take support where you find it -- even from someone you have nothing in common with. Following are the five stages of a standard new-mom friendship.

You meet a woman in your Lamaze orientation who shares your due date. You bond instantly. By the end of the class, you're both ignoring your husbands and the teacher in order to get every last detail about third-trimester cravings (hers: watermelon; yours: clams) and how big your boobs have gotten.

Who else can hold a 30-minute conversation about strollers? Certainly not your husband. You exchange numbers and plan to meet at prenatal yoga. You've met a new best friend. Well, heck, your old best friend still cares about her career and doesn't want to see your sonogram printouts anymore.

She calls every morning at six because she knows you're up. "How's the baby?" she asks.

"We had an okay night," you say. "Yours?"

"She's good. She had three poops last night."

"Really? What did they look like?"

You agree to meet up later in the day, assuming either one of you can make it out of your pajamas. Since she lives nearby, she sometimes drives over in her pajamas anyway, and that's fine, since your big plans for the day involve sitting on the floor rehashing labor stories, nursing, and weeping for no particular reason. Mostly the two of you are just content to be together: a single, new-mommy mind: blank, exhausted...and blissfully content.