I moved to Chicago, leaving my close friends and entire family in California to be with my now-husband. We met at my best friend's wedding, did the long-distance thing for two years, and it made more sense for me to move, as he was working on his new business here in Chicago.

I'm almost 18 weeks, and it's really dawning on me how alone I am here. My job is stressful, and I've had a difficult time making friends. Because of the stress at work, I've tried to keep my distance from coworkers, because I don't want to talk shop after work.

I have no one here to call or who will bring us a meal after the babe is born. My husband does, and maybe his friends will, but they are all past the newborn phase, as we are older parents at 35 & 42.

My mom is throwing me a shower with my side of the family and my close friends in California. I am traveling out for that, but it has solidified my fear of being completely alone. All these people are so happy to see me, but they are over a thousand miles away.

My husband is wonderfully supportive, but he is self-employed, which means no paternity leave.

My husband has aunts, uncles, and cousins here, tons of friends, but they never invite us to things--even though we frequently invite them to our home or our events. I would never call any of them in an emergency. It bums me out reading people's posts on here, complaining about their close-by family, when even super annoying family or friends would be better than being alone.

I'm scared of being alone in the first few months. If you have experienced something similar, how did you manage? Any tips?