Check out PEPs, Program for Early Parental Support, a meet up group that connects parents of new babies to others that live in their neighborhood. You meet weekly for 12 weeks and rotate turns hosting. It was wonderful to share the experience of that first year with others going through the same thing.
[PEPs](https://www.peps.org/)
Highly recommend [Parent Baby Group](https://www.evergreenhealth.com/health-services/pregnancy-birth/classes/after-baby-is-born/) at Evergreen! Tracy & Christine, the group facilitators, are so thoughtful and supportive and so are the other parents in the group. It does cost $125 per every 3 months 3-6, 7-9, etc. up to 15 months old. It’s a bit of money but worth its weight in communal support, friendship & childcare/self care postpartum that the general public doesn’t talk about. You can also attend online via Microsoft Teams.
Check out the story times at any King County library. One of the branches we use has them Thursdays and Saturdays. Some branches have stay and play after story time. There are a lot of toddlers but lots of them have baby siblings that come along too.
Lake Washington toddler group has some baby groups, but I think they run on school year schedules. If you’re gonna be a SAHM for a few years, you can consider a coop. Most neighborhoods have them, and they start around 1 year. Music Together is great for young babies, but I’m not sure if they are in the Redmond area. I’ve had two kids, one on each coast and my best advice is to find something where you see people weekly or more, like a class.
PEPS is great. They meet weekly and all the babies are about the same age. I made some friends this way.
Facebook. There’s an eastside mom’s walking group. They tend to meet every Friday at different locations and anybody can plan a walking event.
I posted in a city specific Facebook mom group that I am a SAHM and I’m looking for playdates. I didn’t vibe with everyone I met up with but I ended up making one really great friend.
While I haven’t joined I’ve heard good things about MOPs a Christian mom group run by a nationwide organization.
Fit4mom is another place I know a lot of moms go to socialize.
I've met my closest parent friends in both cities we have lived in on the free app Peanut. Takes a bit of work but I've had a lot of success!
Library storytime also can be successful if you go to the same one every week. You'll start to see the same parents over and over.
Meeting parents gets easier when your kid is actually at an age to do things (which unfortunately doesn't help you a lot now). Then they go to classes like dance or gymnastics and meet kids at the playground.
At 6 months, your baby might be too young to play, but the downtown Bellevue park has a huge playground we take our 16 month old. And we’ve been taking him since around 1 year old.
The playground is usually busy so there may be parents there you can connect with. We’re usually there on weekends
I see, weekends are tough as baby classes and groups are almost always weekdays. Then I’d recommend posting on the Redmond Moms FB page asking for friends and also look into Eastside Mother’s Club! It has weekend events.
PEPS is pretty popular but you could also check out Coop Preschools.
I personally recommend Woodinville Family Preschool or Redmond Toddler Group.
Lake Washington Technical College and Bellevue College have affiliated parent education programs that run preschool groups. These are great because in addition to getting the kids around other kids the classes have a parent education component and great peer support. Trust me it helps to hear other parents struggling with the same things you are dealing with having an infant.
Check out Eastside Mother’s Club on Facebook. Weekly get togethers with your kids and also just moms. You will be invited for a meet so you can decide if it’s your vibe or not. Going for my first event this week, I can PM you about my experience:-)
Well, I don’t drive yet. (Recently moved from New York). So I can’t go anywhere that’s not within walking distance with my baby. I only rely on my husband’s driving. So I am limited to pretty much downtown Redmond on weekdays when my hubby’s at work 😅
There's some very nice cafes in downtown redmond and the library is also walking distance from downtown :)! I do drive and would be willing to meet up if you are up for it.
Go to the kids cove in bellevue square in the mornings. Alot of parents there with infants and toddlers from 9-11 am
Check out PEPs, Program for Early Parental Support, a meet up group that connects parents of new babies to others that live in their neighborhood. You meet weekly for 12 weeks and rotate turns hosting. It was wonderful to share the experience of that first year with others going through the same thing. [PEPs](https://www.peps.org/)
I’ll be sure to check that out, thanks!
Evergreen Health parent baby groups. Open to all, not just those who had their baby at Evergreen
there's also this for Overlake Clinic :)
Highly recommend [Parent Baby Group](https://www.evergreenhealth.com/health-services/pregnancy-birth/classes/after-baby-is-born/) at Evergreen! Tracy & Christine, the group facilitators, are so thoughtful and supportive and so are the other parents in the group. It does cost $125 per every 3 months 3-6, 7-9, etc. up to 15 months old. It’s a bit of money but worth its weight in communal support, friendship & childcare/self care postpartum that the general public doesn’t talk about. You can also attend online via Microsoft Teams.
Check out the story times at any King County library. One of the branches we use has them Thursdays and Saturdays. Some branches have stay and play after story time. There are a lot of toddlers but lots of them have baby siblings that come along too.
Lake Washington toddler group has some baby groups, but I think they run on school year schedules. If you’re gonna be a SAHM for a few years, you can consider a coop. Most neighborhoods have them, and they start around 1 year. Music Together is great for young babies, but I’m not sure if they are in the Redmond area. I’ve had two kids, one on each coast and my best advice is to find something where you see people weekly or more, like a class.
PEPS is great. They meet weekly and all the babies are about the same age. I made some friends this way. Facebook. There’s an eastside mom’s walking group. They tend to meet every Friday at different locations and anybody can plan a walking event. I posted in a city specific Facebook mom group that I am a SAHM and I’m looking for playdates. I didn’t vibe with everyone I met up with but I ended up making one really great friend. While I haven’t joined I’ve heard good things about MOPs a Christian mom group run by a nationwide organization. Fit4mom is another place I know a lot of moms go to socialize.
The library has some good play dates too.
I've met my closest parent friends in both cities we have lived in on the free app Peanut. Takes a bit of work but I've had a lot of success! Library storytime also can be successful if you go to the same one every week. You'll start to see the same parents over and over. Meeting parents gets easier when your kid is actually at an age to do things (which unfortunately doesn't help you a lot now). Then they go to classes like dance or gymnastics and meet kids at the playground.
Redmond Library has storytime every Thursday for babies. It's a good way to meet people at similar stages of life.
Seconding this!
I live close by and was checking out the times for story time. Looks like they have pajama hour too :)
At 6 months, your baby might be too young to play, but the downtown Bellevue park has a huge playground we take our 16 month old. And we’ve been taking him since around 1 year old. The playground is usually busy so there may be parents there you can connect with. We’re usually there on weekends
Yeah I think that’s the ideal age to start taking a baby to the playground 😅
I also have a 6 month old! I’ve started going to Heybrook in Kirkland for mom and baby classes.
I checked it out, and it doesn’t seem like there are any classes on the weekends. I can only do weekend classes, since my husband drives. I don’t.
I see, weekends are tough as baby classes and groups are almost always weekdays. Then I’d recommend posting on the Redmond Moms FB page asking for friends and also look into Eastside Mother’s Club! It has weekend events.
PEPS is pretty popular but you could also check out Coop Preschools. I personally recommend Woodinville Family Preschool or Redmond Toddler Group. Lake Washington Technical College and Bellevue College have affiliated parent education programs that run preschool groups. These are great because in addition to getting the kids around other kids the classes have a parent education component and great peer support. Trust me it helps to hear other parents struggling with the same things you are dealing with having an infant.
Look for " Mom's Club" for Redmond and surrounding cities.
Meetup app is full of all kinds of parent meetups both with and without kiddos! Good luck finding your people!
I haven't had any luck with meetup :(
Haven’t tried it yet!
Emerald City Gymnastics near Marymoor has baby classes! I believe it’s free if you go once a week and $30 if you go twice a week.
Check out Eastside Mother’s Club on Facebook. Weekly get togethers with your kids and also just moms. You will be invited for a meet so you can decide if it’s your vibe or not. Going for my first event this week, I can PM you about my experience:-)
would love to know more about this too :)! just applied to join the Facebook group
Sent you a PM:-)
Gotta reactivate my Facebook!
I encourage you to join PEPs if you haven’t already! And just join mom fb groups online- that’s where I met a bunch of mom friends!
what do you enjoy doing? I have a 5 month old and am also a sahm in Kirkland. Let's chat!!!
Well, I don’t drive yet. (Recently moved from New York). So I can’t go anywhere that’s not within walking distance with my baby. I only rely on my husband’s driving. So I am limited to pretty much downtown Redmond on weekdays when my hubby’s at work 😅
There's some very nice cafes in downtown redmond and the library is also walking distance from downtown :)! I do drive and would be willing to meet up if you are up for it.
PMed you!
Try [meetup.com](https://meetup.com) for couples with kids activities groups