ALL THE LINKS for parents and parents-to-be of babies in San Francisco
We find ourselves regularly making lists of parents groups and resources - here they all are, for you or your expecting friend!
This post focuses on babies, but we will follow up with one for toddlers.
ALL THE LINKS
For expecting parents
Meeting other expecting parents
This list is not exhaustive! Just things we or our friends have used.
Natural resources, in the Mission, hosts facilitated classes and meetups for expecting parents (some free, some not) and has an indoor play space designed for young children. They also have a dads group.
The Children’s Council hosts a free expecting parents and new parents group and a parent café.
Several yoga studios host prenatal yoga classes (at time of writing: Yoga Flow, the Pad studios, Yoga Beach.
The Peanut app aims to help moms meet.
Joining your neighborhood parents mailing list or online groups: see sfparents.com. There are also chats without a public link, often on Whatsapp. The best is to ask another parent (don't be shy at the playground! :) ), or on the aforementioned public facing groups.
The largest local parents group is Main Street Mamas. It also has subgroups by birth cohorts where you can meet parents expecting at the same time.
More new parents support circles (require payment): Recess Collective, Early Childhood Matters.
Where to find all the baby things!
The stores for baby stuff often mentioned on the moms groups include BuyBuyBaby, SproutSF, Aldea, and Natural Resources.
Beyond the usual second hand options (Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, Nextdoor, your Buy Nothing Group), there are specialized websites such as GoodBuyGear.
Do check out Chloe’s Closet (mostly clothes and toys) in Bernal Heights or Inner Sunset and Picky Monday near Presidio. Goodwill and Salvation Army also have children's clothes (they grow so fast!) but focus on older children. Goodwill has some used toys, too.
CPR and First Aid Class
Parenting classes may be offered by healthcare providers, and some employers provide access to additional online services. Children’s Council, a local community organization (the one that helps parents get the free or discounted childcare the family is under an income threshold) and Natural Resources have in-person CPR classes for parents.
Newborn baby (0-3 months) and older
The sleepy newborn stage is often the easiest age to take babies with you to do anything, anywhere, anytime! Just bring some formula or a nursing cover if you're shy about feeding in public. Enjoy!
Logistics
There is a Bay Area Babywearing group that hosts occasional meetups where you can try different baby wraps and carriers to see what you like. If you're physically able, it can be nice to have your hands free and not have to lug around a stroller (see - public transit below!). Plus, babies tend to sleep longer when held.
We use: soft carriers like Boba Wraps until 3 months; structured carriers (enabling forward-facing carry) from 6 to 9 months (like Ergobaby, Mobi, Infantino); and Tula carriers until preschool.
Some babies are picky about wanting their bottled milk warm; I've had luck with heating up the milk at home and keeping it hot with a reuseable heat pack and thermal bag. Others carry a thermos of boiling water to heat up the milk, for example this one from Tommee Tippee.
Public transit with a stroller can be tricky. All of the underground Muni train stops are accessible, but only some of the overground ones. Bart stations all have elevators (but sometimes they are down for repairs). They have escalators too, but you're not supposed to use those with a stroller. The buses are the most reliably accessible, but can be tricky during rush hour. If it's not too busy and there's no wheelchairs, sometimes you can pull the seats up and use the wheelchair area. Otherwise, there is ONE seat on the bus with a stroller symbol that lifts out of the way to make room for you and your stroller.
If you are physically able, you may find that babywearing is the most convenient way to get around on public transit. For example, I find that I can get from 16th and Mission to the Ferry building in 15 minutes if I don't take the elevators, but waiting for elevators doubles that time to 30 minutes.
San Francisco has a strong family biking culture – including parents using electric cargo bikes to transport newborn babies. Urban Arrow and Riese and Muller cargo bikes enable to safely attach a car seat. The San Francisco Family Biking group is a great place for asking questions and getting used gear.
Activities
Having a group of parents with babies of similar age (or a little bit older) is incredibly useful. See the above parents’ groups, and join or start a meetup!
Subscribe to the San Francisco Department of Early Childhood’s calendar, including bilingual playgroups and meetups for LGBT parents.
You can take your baby to public pools ($8 for adults and $2 for kids - click through for our guide to family swimming and classes). La Petite Baleen classes are free for infants 2-5 months.
Baby storytime at the library. Beware - at some of the indoor locations the number of people allowed at the event is limited (for fire safety reasons) and some caregivers show up early and wait in line to be able to get a spot. The outdoor locations are more forgiving for less organized parents.
Baby+me yoga, baby+me classes more generally, are designed to support new parents. Then again, at that age babies are usually happy to be taken anywhere. We did so much sewing when our babies were little!
Infant massage classes can be taken online or locally (currently Natural Resources hosts a regular workshop).
Baby day at Alamo Drafthouse - baby-friendly movie screenings for adults! For all movies before 2pm on Tuesdays. They turn the lights up a bit and the sound down a bit, and baby crying is totally ok.
Work n play at Manny's café - Every Tuesday at 11am (previously Thursday). The café has a kids play pen, toys, and baby bouncer. Parents read, write, or just chat while kids play.
Let us know in comments if you have additional recommendations:
3-9 months and later
At this age, your child may get picky about how they take their naps, and not be quite as flexible. But there's still lots of resources you can take advantage of.
Toy lending library. Also, see our appreciation post about toy libraries :)
Children’s council playgroups on Tuesdays and their monthly sign language class.
Music Classes! Music Together SF and SF Music Together have been recommended.
Weekly parenting classes at CCSF Mission, or the daily playgroup/child observation class at CCSF Ocean Campus (it’s easier to attend and register on site)
Project Commotion Gymfants classes
Every two months, SAMP (Small Art Music Projects) hosts an afternoon to discover music instruments with your young child on a Sunday.
See above!
Community Indoor Play Spaces
Also note that many rec centers have outdoor play spaces, too.
Upper Noe Valley Rec Center - see the program schedule for "A Place To Play" for 0-5 year olds
Eureka Valley Rec Center - not listed anywhere online, but their tots room is open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. everyday that they are open (Tuesday to Saturday). You can call to confirm.
Glen Canyon Rec center - see their schedule for "Tots Playtime."
New Resources features a small play space with a small kitchen and toys where parents can meet during their opening hours.
Playgrounds with Astroturf
We love playgrounds with astroturf for babies to sit, roll, and crawl around in! This isn't a comprehensive list, just the ones we know and love. See the SF Rec and Park insta for new updates on fresh turf :)
Balboa Park, turf redone in 2024
Sierra Playground, turf redone in 2024
Duboce Park Playground, turf redone in 2024. This playground has a bonus older kids area in the back with climbing structure and monkey bars with rubberized flooring.
In Chan Kaajal Park (17th & Folsom). There's also a button-activated water fountain structure that older kids love, usually active May to October. And an exercise equipment area for adults.
Susan Bierman Playground, turf redone in 2023
Raymond Kimbell Playground (in Japantown). If your kids get bored here, there's ANOTHER playground right across Geary that's part of Hamilton Recreation Center.
That's it for now! Stay tuned for the next post in this series – all the links for toddlers! Have fun, and bring baby along! :)
What we’re up to
Reading When You Care by Elissa Strauss, a book inviting us to reevaluate how we think about care. Parenthood and care generally are too often represented as a burden; Strauss reminds us it’s a defining aspect of our species and necessary to our happiness.
Organizing monthly creative support groups and a bookclub for Mothers in Art and Design.
