V.-
I live in Buena Park, so fairly close to you, but my son is 14 months. email me if you'd like to get together, and I'll see if I know anyone with kids around 9 months. I found a group of other moms in my building who have kids about my son's age, which was great for me because he also is an only child - I mostly ran across them going in or out of the building, or while out walking the dogs. If you live in a high-rise building, there might be other kids in the building you haven't run into yet. We started a parent's group for our building and have had good turnout through that as well. THe park might also be a good place to find neighborhood moms with kids about your age. It's harder as a working single mom, but there are a lot of us out there, and I"m sure now that the weather's better, you'll run into more of us. I"m a working single mom in law school, so I know how busy you are. good luck on your dissertation.