Hi AP parents.

I don't know anyone in real life who practices AP. Well I know one family but they are very religious and that is not part of my plan. I come from a childfree social background, am an immigrant in the US and only know one other family with a baby and they are already having him sleep in a separate room at 2 months in. And they are not AP.

I am mostly worried about going back to work. My maternity leave is up in 8 weeks and I don't like the notion of having someone else be with the baby all day, and on top of that I hate my job. But I am the sole insurance provider for my family - my partner is self employed. I am fortunate in that my works offers excellent on site daycare that aligns with my values. Though it's not cheap. What can I do? What would you do? What did you do? This is my only so I just don't want to miss out on him growing up. My job is not a 'career' - honestly I don't know how I ended up here but for a basically unskilled job the pay and benefits are great. But I don't want to work there forever.

I'm also sad about how few families I know. I don't want to join local breastfeeding groups because they are super judgey and weird (I use they them pronouns and these groups seem to be only for women/mothers), definitely don't want to join any religious groups and I just don't know where I could possibly meet more people like me with a baby. Maybe... the farmer's market?! Is there like a regional Montessori network or anything?! I used to be in the local vegan group on Facebook but then I deleted Facebook because reasons. That seems to be another obstacle.

Seeking both advice and commiserations. I'm in the Western US!