You Don't Have to Navigate New Motherhood Alone
Mama Circle Café offers connection, encouragement, and professional support for moms feeling overwhelmed, isolated, or exhausted in the early months of motherhood.
Mama Circle Café is a monthly gathering designed specifically for new moms navigating the beautiful, challenging, and often overwhelming season of early motherhood.
Whether you're feeling unsure about your decisions, isolated from your pre-baby life, physically exhausted, or emotionally stretched thin, this space is for you.
Co-hosted by Reba Machado, LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in perinatal mental health), and Linda Gage, IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), Mama Circle Café brings together professional support and genuine community connection.
This isn't therapy, and it isn't a class. It's a warm, encouraging space where you can share your experience, hear from other moms walking a similar path, and receive guidance from professionals who understand both the mental and physical dimensions of this season.
The postpartum period can feel incredibly isolating, especially for first-time mothers. Mama Circle Café creates a place where you can speak honestly about the hard parts, celebrate the small victories, ask questions without judgment, and remember that you're not alone in this journey.
Who is This For?
Mama Circle Café welcomes mothers with babies under 12 months old who are:
✔ Feeling unsure or overwhelmed by the demands of new motherhood
✔ Seeking community and connection with other new moms
✔ Experiencing isolation or disconnection from their pre-baby identity
✔ Looking for a safe space to process the realities of early motherhood
✔ Navigating the physical and emotional exhaustion of the postpartum period
✔ Wanting support from professionals trained in maternal mental health and infant feeding
You don't need to be in crisis to benefit from Mama Circle Café. This space is for any new mom who wants connection, encouragement, and the reminder that the challenges of early motherhood are normal, valid, and navigable.
What to Expect
Each Mama Circle Café gathering creates space for both connection and guidance.
You'll have opportunities to share your experiences, listen to other mothers' stories, ask questions about infant feeding or maternal wellbeing, and receive encouragement from both facilitators and fellow moms.
The atmosphere is casual and welcoming.
There's no pressure to share if you're not ready, no judgment about your feeding choices or parenting decisions, and no expectation that you have everything figured out. We provide light refreshments and a comfortable environment where you can bring your baby and be yourself.
Topics naturally emerge from the group's needs each month, but common themes include adjusting to your new identity as a mother, managing sleep deprivation and exhaustion, navigating feeding challenges, maintaining your relationship with your partner, coping with postpartum anxiety or mood changes, and finding balance in the midst of constant demands.
Meet Your Hosts
Together, we've created Mama Circle Café as a space where the mental and physical dimensions of early motherhood receive equal attention and support.
Reba Machado, M.S., LMFT
is the founder of Raincross Family Counseling and a Certified EMDR Therapist specializing in perinatal trauma and maternal mental health. With deep roots in the Riverside community, Reba brings both clinical expertise and genuine compassion to supporting mothers through the postpartum period.
Linda Gage, IBCLC
is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with extensive experience supporting mothers and babies through feeding challenges. Linda combines evidence-based lactation knowledge with practical, compassionate guidance that honors each family's unique circumstances and goals.
Event Details
When: Select Fridays from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Upcoming Spring 2026 Dates:
Friday, August 21 (our final gathering hosted at the Raincross office)
Friday, September 18 (first gathering at our new home)
Friday, October 16
Friday, November 13
Friday, December 11
Cost: Mama Circle Café is offered free to the community. There is no charge to attend!
A Note on Our New Home
Beginning in September, Mama Circle Café will meet at Sandals Church Palm Avenue in Riverside. Raincross Family Counseling will continue to host and facilitate the group. The babies who joined us back in January are now crawling and walking, and we've simply outgrown our office space. This move gives us more room to keep growing together, and we're grateful to Sandals Church for welcoming us.
Because our new meeting spot is close to our Raincross office, we share the exact address privately after you register. This helps everyone find the right place and keeps our counseling clients from getting turned around on the way to appointments.
Registration: Space is intentionally limited to preserve the intimate, supportive environment we've built. RSVP is required, and spots are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Once you register, we'll email you the meeting location, parking guidance, and everything you need to know before your first gathering.
Who Should Attend: Mothers with babies under 12 months old. You're welcome to bring your baby with you.
Reserve Your Spot at Mama Circle Café
Space is intentionally limited to create an intimate, supportive environment where every mother feels seen and heard. Spots fill quickly and are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
To RSVP:
To RSVP: Complete our brief registration form.
You'll receive a confirmation email with the meeting location, parking details, and what to expect at your first Mama Circle Café.
Questions?
If you have questions about Mama Circle Café or would like more information before registering, please contact us:
Phone: (951) 977-3638
Email: raincrossfc@gmail.com