Sometimes I feel like a parent from the old country, making a match for my daughter for her future. In this case, though, it’s not her husband I’m matching; it’s her best friend.

It only seems natural that best friends should be generational, and it’s so special that my best friend, Stefanie, and I have baby girls 5 months apart. BBFF — Baby Best Friends Forever — should be easy for the two munchkins since they both have the same hobbies (putting things in their mouth), tastes in food (Earth’s Best food and Mum Mums), cry schedule (no naps means cranky attitude), fashion style (Baby Gap for the win!), sense of humor (their mamas talk to them in crazy voices and they think it’s hilarious), and — most importantly — types of parents (Stef and I have been friends since 5th grade and we are way too much alike). So, there it is, written in stone — or computer monitor — Brielle + Madelyn = BBFF.

Stefanie and I go way, way, way back to the summers of Camp Alonim where we bonded over hairy kosher chicken, cute (?) pubescent Jewish boys, and complaints about sweat and the nature. We went our separate ways to college and lost touch because it was a [gasp!] Facebook-less era.

But then, only last spring, Stefanie saw a post (because we are now very much in a Facebook-full era) about my pregnancy and reached out to say congrats and that she has a newborn herself. Well, there’s nothing like a mama and a mama-to-be that unites women in mysterious ways. We reconnected and it was just like old times. We missed out on some pretty exciting life events like college graduations, engagements and weddings, and, most importantly, the birth of Brielle, but we are so happy to be in each other’s lives, and, best of all, making new memories with our babies.

During my pregnancy, I learned a lot from Stefanie and Brielle as I watched them team up as the cutest mother-daughter duo I know. A lot of my equipment and tricks of the trade are ideas from Stefanie because she really is a mama who knows best. And Stef was there for me, too. She came to the hospital after Madelyn came into the world and she saw me at my worst during my horrible recovery. She made me feel better about what I was going through, assured me I wasn’t crazy, and supported me through irrational talk and radical feelings. A lot of people in my life did, too, but, until Stefanie, I never really had a girlfriend so present and nearby who was also my rock.

Now that Madelyn is older, she and Brielle interact and it’s pretty much the most adorable thing in the world. They stare at each other and Brielle waves (Madelyn is still working on that trick) and we mamas exchange babies to try to make them laugh. We always succeed. We have fun with our Mommy & Me group and like to go out on great adventures to the mall or lunches with the husbands, too. I know it’s just the start of many years of friendship as families and it’s special that even our parents — the grandparents — are friends. Lunch dates with Mimi and Grammy included are always filled with lots of laughs, and it’s nice to see that Madelyn and Brielle come from a great line of funny women. Stef and I fully believe that laughter is what keeps us going. Cracking up til your stomach hurts — that’s what motherhood is about.

And today is even more special! It’s Brielle’s birthday!! It blows my mind that Stefanie has a one-year-old. That means that Madelyn’s not far from that big birthday, herself! Each time I see Brielle, she has a new skill, facial expression, and sound. She’s been so fun to watch throughout this year and I’m so glad that she’s Madelyn’s BBFF. Happy birthday, Brielle!!