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When I moved to Bromley, Kent, heavily pregnant during the lockdown I didn’t have a network of friends close by. Although I had made sure to do an antenatal class and meet NCT friends, I wanted to build out a network of mums that lived say a 5-10 minute walk away from me.
Mums who I could quickly pop out with for a quick break, go for walks and not have to worry about the organisation of things.
That’s where I discovered the Peanut App.
It was in fact recommended to me by my husband’s cousin and I must admit I was a bit sceptical at first. After having my daughter and adjusting to mum life, I was ready to start dipping my toes into getting out more.
I started with baby classes when she was three months but the idea of more local meet ups really appealed to me.
So what is Peanut?
Peanut App is a safe space for women to meet one another and to connect. It’s a place where women can find those who are at a similar stage in life–from fertility, pregnancy and motherhood right through to menopause.
Connecting with Like-Minded Mums
It’s dubbed ‘the tinder for meeting and connecting with mums’ since there’s a wave feature where you swipe right if you want to connect with someone, and only when they also swipe and wave back at you, do you ‘match’ with them.
At this point in my life, I was far away from dating apps so the idea of using this app to meet mum friends felt quite uncomfortable for me.
However, I was willing to give it a go during my maternity leave as well as providing an opportunity to meet new people. I mean how bad could it be?
Say goodbye to mum isolation
What put me at ease straight away was how simple it was to use. You could quickly build your profile, add your pictures, while also reading other mums’ profiles too for some guidance. You’re definitely not alone with the ‘mum dating’ profiles!
But more than that, I loved how you had the ability to ensure you only focused on connecting with mums in your local vicinity.
It was brilliant.
Once I set it up, I could see mums that were in the same area. Result.
Then the craziest thing happened to me when using it.
I was swiping away until I saw someone I actually recognised.
I wasn’t 100% sure if it was the person I thought but I had got this far so I decided to go ahead and message her.
I told her how she looked like someone I went to uni with, adding to it some context so they didn’t think I was an absolute weirdo.
Anyway, it turns out, it wasn’t me being crazy at all. It actually was her!
What are the odds of that happening?
If nothing else, the Peanut App enabled me to reconnect with an old university friend who I hadn’t seen or spoken to for over 10 years.
And the best part about it is how we were both going through this chapter of our lives at the same time.
Plus, she lived no more than 10 minutes away so the walks and coffee catch ups started shortly after reconnecting.
Redefining the way mums connect: you decide
I do think it is a great app but it’s important to remember that you’re always in control and you can use it how you wish to.
What do I mean by that?
Think about what you want to get out of it so you don’t get swept up in being part of tons of groups and swiping with 100s of mums. That is a sure recipe for overwhelm or too much digital admin to keep up with!
Choose what can help you or what you’re interested in knowing about. For example, I joined a sleep deprivation group that was my companion for that first year of my daughter’s life and honestly was the best thing as I didn’t then feel so alone in what I was going through.
Even though other mum friends had sleep challenges, none of them seemed to be having the hourly wakes and tapped out feeling I was going through at the time I needed to understand whether it was normal or not.
These groups can provide reassurance, counsel and good early morning reads when you’re questioning everything.
Moving from online to offline
In an age where we can get so sucked into having virtual friends and connections, it’s important I believe to move quickly from online to offline if you want to build something more.
Although, it does come down to what you ultimately want. If it is about meeting mums local to you, then why not go for coffee with a mum or meet for a walk in the park? There’s often groups of mums meeting so it’s not as scary as a 1-on-1.
For me, the app just like a dating app helps you to initiate that connection so that you can take it offline and let it grow.
An app that’s constantly evolving
What I also appreciate from Peanut is that it’s an app that is constantly developing by bringing out new features and updates to help improve the experience of its users.
There are groups, pods and easy ways to share content to get support, advice or to simply vent to other mums.
For every stage of motherhood
I didn’t realise this at first but the Peanut App is also aligned to every stage of motherhood.
Whether you’re trying for a baby, thinking about having a baby, had a baby, experienced baby loss or even have grown up children. There are so many mums on the app that there really is something for everyone.
It’s a global thing
What else is there to love? Peanut is getting more and more global as it starts to roll out in new territories. I’ve seen USA on there and of course there’s the UK, but I’ve even seen a lot of Spanish users too.
Worth downloading?
In short, yes. There are many benefits from the Peanut App as mentioned above.
Ready to download already? Use this link:https://peanut.app.link/f9e6XpDJbyb
Now here’s a quick recap of why you should download it, plus a couple of why not’s to keep it balanced:
To download:
- You can find mums super local to where you are. You set the parameters and Peanut App does the rest. Goodbye isolation and hello new mama friends!
- If you’re looking for a space to meet like-minded mums at a similar life stage as you/situation to hear from their perspective, contribute perhaps to conversations and get reassurance then download.
- Want to find out what’s going on in your local area then Peanut is great for that too. In fact I discovered a theatre group for children right on my doorstep through the app which I hadn’t come across before – great for businesses and mums alike!
Not to download:
- You have way too many apps and this is not going to get looked at beyond the first open. Don’t waste your time, just download it when you’re ready to.
- If you’re not sure what you want from it. It’s good to know whether you’re joining to meet mums, to vent, to get advice/support or all of these things to make the most out of it. Otherwise it’s just another app collecting digital dust on your phone.
If you enjoyed reading this blog, please check out:
From Pregnancy to Parenting: An Interview with Isobel, Former Antenatal Teacher at Daisy Foundation
3 reasons why you should join an antenatal group
How Mindful Mums can help you in the early stages of motherhood