The Working Mom Community Gap in the South Bay (And Why I Built Something About It)
I went back to work when Luca was five months old and discovered that every mom group in the South Bay meets on Tuesday mornings. I have a job. So I built something for working moms.
If you're a working mom in the South Bay and you've ever tried to find your people, you already know the problem. Every mom group meets on a Tuesday morning. Every class is at 10am. Every community seems to be built for someone who doesn't have a job outside the home, or whose job somehow accommodates a midweek playdate.
You don't need me to tell you that doesn't work. You already know.
That's why Working Mama Co. exists.
As moms, we’re all juggling different things. But here’s the thing…moms GET IT.
I went back to work when Luca was five months old. And I don’t know about you, but I was wondering, “When will I feel better during postpartum?”
I spent my entire maternity leave in that strange newborn fog — the one where you're somehow both bored and completely overwhelmed, surviving on cold coffee and the VERY occasional shower.
And then going back to work came and I put on real pants (tried to at leat), cried because I didn’t want to be away from my baby (I still do) and went back to my desk and just... kept going. Because that's what you do. RIGHT?
What nobody tells you about going back to work is how lonely the after part is. Not the newborn phase — there's actually a lot of support for that. Classes, groups, apps, lactation consultants who will talk to you for an hour about nipple shields. That exists. And if you’re brave enough, yes, MOM GROUPS are out there too.
But then your baby turns one and all of it just kind of... disappears. The groups move on. The apps stop being relevant (by now you’ve mastered keeping a tiny human alive for 12 months). And you're standing there with a toddler who is somehow already opinionated about his snacks, a full time job, and zero idea where your friends went.
I'm originally from Mexico City. I moved to Ohio and then California. I don't have family nearby. My mom is not driving over when I need a break. My sister is not popping by for dinner. It's just us — me, my husband, and Luca — in the middle of Silicon Valley, trying to do life.
So I looked for mom groups. Found plenty. They all met on weekday mornings.
I'm not free on weekday mornings. I have a board meeting. And need to call a client.
I’m stubborn AF. So, I tried a few anyway. Showed up late, left early, spent the whole time feeling like the odd one out. The conversations were about sleep schedules and keeping your little one entertained all day. I just kept nodding along while internally thinking, I get it, being a full time mom sounds HARD but I need someone to get a drink with. I need someone to text when work is chaos and mom guilt is loud and I can't figure out which version of myself I'm supposed to be today. I need someone who also rolls their eyes at their child free coworkers who actually sleep in over the weekends.
That group didn't exist. Not for working moms. Not here. Not at hours that made any sense for our lives.
So eventually I stopped looking and started building.
Working Mama Co. launched in April 2026. It's a social club for working moms in the South Bay — San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Campbell, Los Gatos and surrounding areas. Every single event is after 5pm, on a weekend, or online. We handle all the planning. Members just show up.
It's small right now and honestly that's one of my favorite things about it. Everyone is new. Nobody knows each other yet. There's no clique to break into, no inside jokes you missed. Just a group of women who all googled "mom friends South Bay" at some point and ended up here, in the same boat, finally talking to each other. There’s nothing exclusive about it, because we are all open and welcoming and will instantly try to understand what your life is like as a working mom.
I built this because I needed it. I'm betting you might too.
To the Working Moms Who Thought Today Would Feel Like a Day Off: Happy Mother's Day
It's Mother's Day and you are still tired. A note for working moms in the South Bay who thought today would feel like a day off — and an invitation to find your people.
Surprise. It's Mother's Day, and you are still tired.
You're not at work — that part's true. But you are probably being climbed on by someone who has never once heard of personal space, refereeing a meltdown over the wrong color cup, or silently counting down to naptime while smiling in a brunch photo.
You get one day a year that's technically yours, and somehow it still involves endless snacks.
I'm Karla, founder of Working Mama Co. and a working mom to Luca, who recently turned one (hello toddlerhood!) and absolutely did not let me sleep in this morning. I'm spending part of today thinking about something it took me a while to figure out: community doesn't just happen. You have to build it. I had to move to a different country, then a different state and another city to figure it out.
That's why I built Working Mama Co.
The Problem With Most Mom Groups (If You Have a 9 to 5)
When I went back to work after maternity leave, I tried to find mom friends. I joined the groups. I browsed the apps. I found plenty of communities for moms, professional-led classes, volunteer-run organizations (that you have to pay for btw) — the problem was they all seemed to assume I had my weekday mornings free.
Yoga at 10am. Playgroup at 11. Coffee meetup Wednesday morning. All lovely. None of them for me. I was sad, and honestly, frustrated.
If you are a working mom in the South Bay — San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Campbell, Mountain View, anywhere in this area — you know the feeling. There is no shortage of things happening for moms. There is a shortage of things happening for working moms specifically, at times that actually work. And so many of us -living in the most expensive zip codes IN THE WORLD - have to or choose to work.
That's the gap Working Mama Co. exists to fill.
What Working Mama Co. Actually Is
Working Mama Co. is a membership community for working moms in the South Bay. Every event we run is after 5pm, on a weekend, or online. We handle all the planning and logistics. You just show up.
Membership includes bi-weekly in-person gatherings in the South Bay, monthly Family First Fridays (kid-friendly, no babysitter required), monthly Mama's Night Out (because you also deserve to exist as a human, not just a parent), weekly virtual meetups you can join from your couch, a WhatsApp group that actually has good, supportive moms, and access to expert sessions and special events throughout the year.
We are not a Facebook group. We are not a networking event. We are a community of working moms who get it — because we're in it too.
Founding Membership is $20/month, locked in permanently for anyone who joins before July 31st, 2026. After that, membership goes to $30/month.
[Join as a Founding Member → workingmamaco.com]
Join Now to RSVP to all our May and June Events
A Note on Community
We're grateful to be building alongside so many great services and providers designed for moms in the South Bay. Today I want to spotlight one of our favorites.
The Village San Jose is one of the best wellness and family resources in the South Bay — and next Saturday, May 16th, they're hosting their Birth and Family Fair in Los Gatos. It's a full day of vendors, resources, and community for families at every stage. If you're pregnant, postpartum, or just looking for your people in the South Bay, this is worth showing up for.
You can also come find the Working Mama Co. booth while you're there. Come say hi, let’s talk about how being a working mom sometimes sucks and sometimes is awesome.
[Register here →The Village Birth & Family Fair ]
With lots of love and coffee,
Karla
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a community for working moms in San Jose or the South Bay? Yes — Working Mama Co. is a membership community specifically for working moms in the South Bay, including San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Campbell, Los Gatos, and surrounding areas. All events are after 5pm, on weekends, or online.
What makes Working Mama Co. different from other mom groups? Every event is scheduled around a working schedule. No weekday morning meetups. We handle all the event planning and logistics so members just show up. And because it's a paid membership, the community is intentional — people who join are committed. We don’t rely on exhausted volunteers planning events either! We are here for the long haul.
How much does membership cost? Founding Member rate is $20/month, locked in permanently for anyone who joins before July 31st, 2026. (you can pause if you are traveling too!) After that, membership is $30/month.
What does membership include? Bi-weekly in-person South Bay events, Family First Fridays, Mama's Night Out, virtual meetups, a WhatsApp community, and access to all WMC programming and expert sessions throughout the year.
Where do you host events? All over the South Bay — San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Campbell, Saratoga, Cupertino and surrounding areas. We also run virtual events so members can connect from home.
How do I join Working Mama Co.? Visit workingmamaco.com to become a Founding Member. Founding Member pricing ($20/month) is available through July 31st, 2026.
Working Mama Co. | workingmamaco.com | @workingmama.co | karla@workingmamaco.com
Why It's So Hard to Make Mom Friends When You Work Full Time
And what to do about it
I thought I was ready to go back to work. I had reliable child care, my work pants zipped up again (some of them at least), baby was sleeping a decent chunk of hours. But what I wasn’t expecting was that nobody warned me that going back to work would mean losing my mom friends.
It was slow too, so I didn’t really notice at first. The Tuesday morning stroller walks I couldn't make anymore. The WhatsApp group that kept planning things at 10am on a Wednesday. The coffee dates that kept getting rescheduled until we both stopped trying. By the time I was back at my desk full time, the community I had just started building felt like it was slipping through my fingers. I felt FOMO, sadness, guilt over not trying harder. I felt like I had failed at building my village! And I really needed one.
If you're reading this, I'm guessing you know exactly what I'm talking about.
So why is this so hard? And why does nobody talk about it?
The mom world is built around mat leave hours and early postpartum
Most mom groups, classes, and communities are designed for moms who are home during the day. Story time at the library? 10am Thursday. Stroller fitness? 9am Tuesday. Mommy and me yoga? Wednesday morning. If you work a regular job, you are automatically excluded from most of the spaces where mom friendships are supposed to form.
It's not intentional. I don’t think someone sat down somewhere and decided to leave working moms out. It's just that the whole industry of early motherhood assumes you're available during business hours. And if you're not, you're kind of on your own. And I was here too!
The newborn phase is the only time anyone reaches out
There's a window right after you have a baby when people pour in. Meal trains, check-ins, visits. You're connected to other new moms through prenatal classes, your pediatrician's waiting room, the neighborhood Facebook group. That connection feels real. It IS real.
But it's also tied to such a short moment in time. Once the babies stop being cute little potatoes that aren’t running around causing chaos, the glue that held the group together starts to dissolve. The shared experience of surviving the newborn phase fades, and without something to replace it, the friendships fade too. I don’t know about you, but trying to work full time and having a baby put me in survival mode all over again!
For working moms, that window closes even faster because going back to work pulls you out of the spaces where those early connections happen.
You don't have time to work for your friendships
Making friends as an adult is hard on its own, you have to be super intentional! You have to keep showing up to the same place, at the same time, and see the same people until something clicks. That's hard when you're working full-time, managing a household, and parenting a small human who needs everything from you. It can also be AWKWARD.
The mom friend you met at that one Saturday event? You both meant to follow up. You both got buried in the week. And then three months went by.
It's not that you don't care. It's that the logistics of building a friendship on top of everything else you're already carrying feel impossible.
It gets lonelier the older your kid gets
Here's the part that surprised me most. I assumed it would get easier. Once Luca wasn't a newborn, once we were past the hardest phase, once I found my rhythm at work again, surely the social stuff would sort itself out.
It didn't. If anything, it got quieter. The pediatrician's appointments got less frequent. The new parent classes were behind us. And the mom groups I found were still meeting on Tuesday mornings. Experiencing a whole different kind of tiredness.
The working mom loneliness doesn't peak in the newborn phase. It peaks later, when everyone assumes you've got it figured out.
What actually helps
The only thing that has worked for me is finding a community that is built around your actual life. Not one that tolerates your schedule. One that is designed for it. That means events after 5pm and on weekends. Virtual options for the weeks when leaving the house is not happening. And someone else handling all the planning so you can just show up and actually be present.
It also means finding women who get it. Who don't need you to explain why you missed the Tuesday morning thing again. Who are navigating the exact same tension between loving their work and wishing they had more time for everything else.
That kind of community exists. It takes a little more intention to find it, but it exists. And if you're in the South Bay, that's exactly what we're building at Working Mama Co. A membership community where everything is designed around the fact that you have a job, a life, a kid, and approximately zero free time on Tuesday mornings.
We have events coming up this May — all after 5pm, all planned for you. Come find your people.
Come find your people. We'd love to have you.
He Is The Reason
Before Luca, I thought I knew what community looked like.
I have built one more times than I can count. When I moved from Mexico City to Ohio, I built one from scratch. When I moved to California, I did it again. I have always been a friend maker and a friend matchmaker because I truly believe in the power of having your people around you.
And then Luca was born.
The first few months were a blur. PPD, a baby who needed feeding and changing every hour, and an inexplicable fear of the stroller. I was not ready for any of it. But slowly, as the newborn fog started to clear and I began to feel like myself again, I did what I always do. I went looking for my people.
I joined every mom group, class, stroller walk and story time I could find. And it started to work. I was meeting women. Making connections. Building something again.
And then I went back to work.
And just like that, the momentum stopped. Some of the moms I had met decided to stay home. Others went back to work like me but disappeared into their schedules. The 10am playdates kept happening — I just could not go anymore. And things got a bit lonely again.
I kept waiting for someone to build something different. Something that fit around the reality of being a working mom. Events after 5pm. On weekends. A community that did not disappear once your baby turned one.
Nobody did.
So I did.
Working Mama Co. is my answer to that loneliness. It is a membership community for working moms in the South Bay who want real connection without sacrificing their schedule. We meet after 5pm. We meet on weekends. We handle everything so you just show up.
Luca is the reason I built this. But you are the reason it exists. If you have been waiting for your people — we are here.
Founding memberships are open now at $20/month.Join Working Mama Co. 🤍
THE BEST MOM GROUPS IN THE SOUTH BAY (AND WHY MOST DON'T WORK FOR WORKING MOMS)
Finding your mom tribe in the South Bay sounds like it should be easy. This is a big, connected area full of families. There are Facebook groups, local programs, community organizations, and apps promising to match you with other moms. And yet, if you're a working mom, you've probably tried a few of these and walked away feeling like something just didn't fit.
You're not imagining it. Most mom communities weren't built for you. Here's an honest look at what's out there and what's actually missing.
The Facebook Group
Every neighborhood has one. They're free, easy to join, and full of moms who seem to have it together in ways that make you feel slightly behind. Facebook groups are great for recommendations (best pediatrician in Willow Glen, anyone?), but they rarely turn into real friendships. There's no structure, no one organizing actual meetups, and the conversation tends to stay surface level. You can be a member for two years and never meet a single person in real life.
The New Mom Program
These are usually well-run, warm, and genuinely helpful, especially in those foggy early weeks after having a baby. Many South Bay hospitals and wellness centers offer new parent classes, postpartum support groups, and mom-and-baby meetups. If you caught one of these during maternity leave, you probably loved it. The catch? They're designed for the newborn phase. Once your baby hits around 12 months, the programs wind down. The assumption is that you've found your people by now. But if you went back to work, chances are you didn't. You were too busy surviving.
The Volunteer-Run Community
There are some wonderful long-standing mom organizations in the South Bay that have been connecting women for decades. They're warm, community-driven, and full of moms who genuinely want to help each other. But they're volunteer-run, which means someone in the group has to take on the planning, coordinating, and logistics. That someone is almost never a working mom who gets home at 6pm and still has dinner, bath time, and bedtime ahead of her.
And when events do happen, they're often on weekday mornings or early afternoons. Because for a long time, that's when most moms were available.
The Fitness or Activity Class
Mommy-and-me yoga. Stroller fitness. Baby music class. These are great for getting out of the house, and yes, you might chat with someone afterward. But the friendship-building is incidental, not always intentional. You're there for the activity, not the connection. And again, most of these run during business hours.
(If you are expecting or looking for postpartum fitness classes, I do have a rec for you! Check out Mama Flow Studio in San Jose - the BEST prenatal and postpartum yoga and sculpt classes in the South Bay.)
So What's Actually Missing?
What working moms in the South Bay consistently say they need is surprisingly simple: a community that meets when they're actually free, where someone else handles the planning, and where the friendships go deeper than a group chat. After 5pm. On weekends. For moms whose kids are past the baby phase and who are done putting their need for connection last.
That gap is exactly why Working Mama Co. exists. It's a membership community built specifically for working moms in the South Bay, with in-person gatherings after 5pm and on weekends, online connection during the week, and a team that handles every detail so you just have to show up. No 10am Wednesday playdates. No volunteer coordinators. No programs that disappear when your baby turns one.
Just real friendships, built around your real life.
Working Mama Co. launches in May 2026. Founding memberships are available now at $20/month, a rate that locks in for as long as you're a member.
Welcome to Working Mama Co.
We should absolutely be mom friends.
Hi, I’m Karla.
I’m a working mom to a toddler, and for a long time, I felt like I was navigating this season alone.
I was surrounded by people, but still missing real connection. The kind where you do not have to explain your schedule, your guilt, your ambition, or the way your days actually feel. The kind where someone just gets it.
I would look for spaces to connect, but they never quite fit. Events were during the workday. Conversations felt surface level. And most communities seemed built for a version of motherhood that did not reflect my reality.
So I started imagining something different.
Working Mama Co. was created as a space for working moms to connect, build real friendships, and feel supported in this season of life. A place that fits into your schedule, not the other way around.
Here, we meet in the evenings. We gather on weekends. We show up when we can, and we meet each other where we are. There is no pressure to be perfect and no expectation to have it all figured out.
Because the truth is, being a working mom is layered.
You can love your child deeply and still want your career.
You can feel proud of what you are building and still feel tired.
You can be grateful for your life and still want more connection.
All of that can exist at the same time.
This space is for that version of you.
Over time, this community will grow into something shaped by the women in it. The conversations, the connections, and the support will evolve as we do this together.
For now, I hope this feels like a place where you can pause, take a breath, and feel a little less alone.
If you are here, you are already part of it.
Karla
Founder, Working Mama Co.