Mom group holds speed dating event for moms to find their 'soul mom'

Mom groups across the nation are holding speed dating events as a unique way for women to find their perfect mommy friend.

MOMnation, an Arizona-based mom's group with 4,700 members, hosted their own speed dating night on March 30, where 30 women gathered in search of their "soul mom."

Katie Lambert, founder of MOMnation, said this was third event since launching the first speed date for moms in 2014 after welcoming her son.

"I wanted to find mom friends who were going through the same things and maybe to find a couple of play dates for my little boy," Lambert told ABC News. "We wanted to create something that's very laid back, non-judgmental, really easy and quick and you didn't have to feel awkward because you don't have time to feel awkward."

For a ticket price of $16, moms gathered at a Phoenix-area restaurant Boulders on Southern to enjoy appetizers and timed icebreaker conversations with other moms.

Each participant had four minutes to find compatibility with other women who share the common ground of motherhood. Lambert said the moms are encouraged to avoid asking one another easy questions like, "How many children do you have?" but rather ask, "Are you a wine and bath kind of mom, or a beer and live music kind of mom?"

"[We ask them], 'See if you can find a match based on you and not your children,'" she explained. "Our knee-jerk reaction as moms are to meet the needs of our children and we tend to forget our needs. Let's stop losing who we are as people just because we made small humans."

Holly Parker, a mother of two from Glendale, Arizona, said this was her first speed dating event with MOMnation.

"Making friends once you're a mom is really hard," Parker told ABC News. "Everybody that you knew from school is really hard to stay friend with. You don't get together like you used to. The event is unique because you have the opportunity to meet with multiple people at the same time."

Mom of two Erin Rodriguez of Mesa, Arizona, said she partook in the speed dating to reconnect with old friends and enjoy the night.

"It was a great way to meet a lot of new moms and different personalities that I wouldn't typically meet on a day-to-day basis," Rodriguez told ABC News. "I was unable to attend the first two [events] and heard they were a lot of fun. I did meet a couple of moms as well that I hadn't known before."

Nicki Medford, a mom of two, is the local publisher for the online community Macaroni Kid in Raleigh, North Carolina. On March 29, Medford hosted 26 women at her first mom's night-out event called "Find Your Mom-Tribe: Mommy Speed Dating."

Medford said she came up with the idea to do a speed dating night so women can find those friendships separate from their "identity as mom."

"The feedback that I received was overwhelming," Medford told ABC News. "Finding mom friends is harder than dating sometimes. To watch those friendships and watching it resonate made me feel like I was doing something good by helping these women come out of their comfort zones."

Medford's event cost $20 and included appetizers, live music, gift bags and giveaways.

Both MOMnation and Medford plan to host more speed dating events in the future, they said.