New to Area, Looking for Playgroups or Meetups

Hi M.,

I've had some luck finding moms groups and parents groups on meetup.com Give it a try if you haven't already.

J. :)

Hi, one suggestion is the Moms Club Int.; There is one in Vallejo; i'm not sure where else. Also there are many churches in the area (MOPS is one) that sponsor play groups. There are a couple of dads in the Mom's club group too. Good luck and welcome to CA.

Hi M.,

Welcome to the East Bay! We also just moved here last May and I have a 7 month old little boy.
I am not sure where you are located, but the LaMorinda Mom's Club is a great club. (www.lamorindamomsclub.org) It has playgroups, meetings, and different events. We got involved and I have met some amazing mom's through it. This group is for people living in the Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda area. I know there are mom's from Pleasant Hill, Concord and Walnut Creek as well. Check it out online:)

Enjoy the weather out here...it is better than the midwest:) I am from MN and my husband is from MI! Feel free to email me at ____@____.com if you have any other questions.

Hi Meredith,
I was new last year with a little one so I totally understand. I learned about a support group for mothers (www.supportgroupformothers.com). They usually focus on moms with newborns but when I inquired about a support group for moms of older babies (my little one was 10-months at the time), they were just putting together a group. The group is from all around the East Bay area (Oakland to Berkeley to Richmond to El Sobrante). We started out meeting with a facilitator at a church in Oakland and after 8-10 weeks, we then began meeting with just moms & babies at our various houses. That was almost 8 months ago and we still get together weekly -- it's a wonderful supportive group and has become a great playgroup for the now toddlers!

Good luck!

My church has a lot of moms and dads and are great about getting together in a variety of activities. They are a great support for each other. I'm not a mom, but I'm the godmother of of one of the beautiful daughters of one of these families. Feel free to call our church #. They (a new mom herself-she told me about this site) will be able to connect you to some of them.

Church Without Walls: ###-###-####

If you want to come visit us, we also have a website "nowalls.org" you can check out for location and time. We're moving locations over the next 2 weeks. One week in current site and the new site beginning April 6. Both in West Berkeley.

Good luck!
N. (feel free to respond back to me and i can give you more info too)

Welcome to the East Bay. Luckily, this area is kid friendly with tons of activities and networking groups for parents.

In addition to the great suggestions below of East Bay Moms http://www.eastbaymoms.com/ there also is East Bay Dads http://www.eastbaydads.info/ for your husband.

Definitely join Berkeley Parents Network - kind of a very localized Mamasource that has tons of great information on all things child-related all over the Bay Area. It is open to everyone not just those affiliated with the university. http://parents.berkeley.edu/. Subscribe to all the newsletters (as if you only search the archives the info would see a bit outdated). http://parents.berkeley.edu/mlist_bpn.html

Try http://www.supportgroupformothers.com/ ... their first time Mom's Groups are for parents with younger children but they have informal groups for older children sometimes ... Alta Bates hospital also has drop in groups.

If you want to exercise with your baby and meet new moms - try Stroller Strides or Baby Bootcamp, which both offer weekend classes I think.

Other activities:
The Parkway and El Cerrito Speakeasy have Baby Brigades (one on Monday the other Tuesday as well as family day on Sundays). http://www.picturepubpizza.com/

Try Studio Grow in Berkeley or Habitot
And a fun activity during the day for dad and baby could be: http://babylovesdisco.com/locations/eastbay/

Check out some Baby Yoga classes ... though most are during working hours.

Good luck!

Try Bananas (the childcare agency in Oakland) or PRAM in point richmond. PRAM has organized playgroups.

hth

K.

check your local library....check your local school district
for "Baby and Me" classes...also the city's Recreation Dept.
for classes....the playgrounds tend to be rough....
ask the neighborhood for babysitting co-ops....take walks....
you'll meet the neighbors...
Gramma D.

Hi, we also moved to the East Bay last August and have found a few great groups and activities for our now 1 year old. East Bay Music Together (eastbaymusictogether.com) is a great way to expose your child to music and dance. My son's class has about 10 kids and the oldest one is 3. And it's not only moms that go to the classes with the kids, dads are there sometimes too. There is an East Bay Mom's Club you can find on the Internet. Most of their activities are in the mornings. There is a Gymboree in Oakland on Lakeshore Blvd. and another one in Lafayette. There's also one in El Cerrito I think. Try Berkeley Parents Network for links to other kid friendly groups and activities. By far it is the best resource I have found for lots of things - pediatricians, ob/gyns, etc. Feel free to email me (____@____.com) if you need any more information or want to set up a play date for the kids. We are in Montclair which is near Piedmont and Berkeley. My husband is also a Midwest transplant.

Try East Bay Moms and Tumble and Tea. www.eastbaymoms.com and www.tumbleandtea.com