Coping with losing friends to parenthood

If you think “RIP friendship” when your friends become parents, you aren’t alone. You also aren’t a terrible person. Can we all just admit that it’s sad when our friends become parents?

Yes, we love them. Yes, we are happy for them. But we also grieve the loss of a friendship that, while it may endure, will never be the same. Perhaps this loss is a mutual feeling: I’m sad she is being taken away from me while she may be sad that I won’t be walking the parenting path with her. Regardless, it’s undeniable that a baby causes an inflection point in all of its parents’ relationships, and not all of those relationships survive.

So why do we feel sad? I have bucketed this into three major reasons:

1. I will become a lower priority for my friend
2. My friend will never be the same
3. My friend will become a Parent

I also have a few words of [unsolicited] advice for kidfree folks who are not only feeling sad about losing friendships, but are also feeling guilty or ashamed for feeling sad.

Listen as I dive into the reasons why we’re sad and help you change your perspective so you can preserve precious friendships.