As a mum of three, Jade Read, a photographer and the heart behind The Gold Coast Bump To Bub High Tea, found after each child, she became more and more isolated, the old-style parenting groups had morphed and changed into online groups and no one really met in person anymore.

“Gone were the face to face events where you could share your challenges and little one’s big steps and get someone to hold your baby for a little while,” she said. “If I needed help with anything, I asked online in a group, but no one really knew me or my family.

“As much as I love social media, it just doesn’t cut it when it comes to making real, personal connections.

“The more I thought about it, the more I realised the close friends I made when I had my first child eight years ago, were not there for my second and third child.  It has become virtual hugs and kisses. Even at the school gate, no one really knows any one, no one has time to stop and talk so that community I had with my first child was gone.

“When you are struggling, online relationships will not get you through those really tough times when you are desperate. Who is going to bring your soup when you are sick or come care for your kids if you had an appointment?”

So, Jade created the Bump To Bub Events, to provide a place for local mums and mums-to-be to talk to local businesses and pregnancy related services in the local area and to spend time, in person, with other mums in their shoes.

“Given so many mums now work for themselves, around raising their family, the Bump To Bub High Tea is a chance for them not only to connect with others in the community but to see they do not have to do it all by themselves. That there are businesses and support groups out there to help them along their journey,” she said.

The Bump to Bub High Tea will showcase local Gold Coast businesses, services and products in an exclusive marketplace at Southport Sharks on May 4 from 9am, but it will also have a breastfeeding zone, a soft play area, pram parking and guest speaker Dr Jennifer Hacker-Pearson talking about the things she wished people had told her before having children.

“This is a chance to get offline and make some real connections,” Jade said. “It is also a chance to support a great charity – Support The Girls. Founder Jane Homes will be sharing what the charity does and why it is important.”

www.bumptobubevents.com