- National Organizations
- Baby Wearing Websites & Related Gear
- Local Resources (Los Angeles)
- Midwives, Doulas, & Childbirth Educators
- Photographers
- Web Designers
- Schools & Preschools
National Organizations MochaMoms.org
MomsRising.org
LaLecheLeague.org
Babywearing Websites
General Babywearing groups/ support:
Other good stuff: Try out cloth diapers by Blue Penguin. Their thick cotton underwear are great for potty training time and they make cute cloth diaper covers too. Made in Los Angeles.
Local Resources (Westside Los Angeles) Here are a few fun and useful places. It’s not a comprehensive list — just a few of my favorite recommendations. Feel free to email me your faves and I’ll add them here!
Creative Seeds
www.growcreativeseeds.com
Ashley Thompson offers a fabulous mix of classes for babies, kids, and adults from pilates, dance, art, African dance & drumming to Spanish & English classes too.
YWCA of Santa Monica
www.smywca.org
Affordable programming for parents & kids. Barbara Olinger teaches terrific & affordable classes for babies and toddlers.
La Leche League
La Leche League Web Site
Meetings are held 10am on the 2nd Monday of each month at St. Bede's Church, 3590 Grandview Av @ Charnock (two blocks north of Venice Blvd), Mar Vista. Mocha Moms LA: LA chapter of national organization for at-home moms of color. Prenatal, Childbirth Classes, Mommy & Me Yoga
Katie Wise, doula & yoga instructor at Yoga Baby at 1404 3rd Street Promenade, suite 204, Santa Monica, 90401. (310) 434 1155. www.yogababyla.com
The Zimmer Musuem
www.zimmermuseum.org
This great little “please-touch” museum is affordable and fun for kids probably ages 1–5. On Wilshire near La Cienega. Grandparents get in free when accompanied by grandkids.
Children's Nature Institute
www.childrensnatureinstitute.org
They offer nature walks and other programming for kids.
Skirball Cultural Center
www.skirball.org
The Skirball offers a toddler program as well as occasional free concerts of all types of music on Sunday afternoons.
Connections For Children Child Care Information Service
www.cfc-ca.org
310-452-3202
Free referral service for daycare providers and preschools.
Battery Recycling
www.lacity.org/SAN/safe-htp.htm
Swings & bouncy seats sure do use up a lot of batteries. You can recycle them in LA on weekends, along with your old cell phones, computers, printers, etc.
Moo Moo Musica
Julie Anne’s joyful celebration for newborns to 4 year olds of multicultural music and dance. Instruments provided. FIRST CLASS FREE! Tons of classes every week at Electric Lodge and other locations: http://www.moomoomoosica.com/. Bohemian Baby offers delicious, organic, healthy food for babies.
Midwives, Doulas, & Childbirth Educators Yana Katzap-Nackman is a high energy birth and post-partum doula and midwife assistant based in Mar Vista who loves moms and babies! You can read more about Yana on her website www.headfirst.info www.headfirst.info
Cheryl Baker is a well known childbirth educator, birth doula, lactation consultant and is certified in the Bradley Method of natural, partner-coached childbirth. We used her for childbirth education and found her to be prepared, thorough, and enjoyable. 1810 14th St., Suite 208, Santa Monica, CA. 90404. www.birthdoulas.com
Prenatal Yoga at YoMamaYoga
MaryLou O’Brien has been my certified nurse midwife. She’s eminently experienced, down to earth, and a wonderful person. She’s an extremely capable and warm professional. If you’d like to know more about her services, contact me for more information as she doesn’t have a website or advertise.
Photographers Shlomi Cohen of SoulImages is the fabulous photographer responsible for all the great images on this site. He is available for commercial work, portraiture, etc. If you see an image that isn't so hot, then Rachel probably took it! You can visit his website at www.soulimagesonline.com .
Web Designers blindmicemedia is a Los Angeles website design company that offers website design, ecommerce development, and custom internet applications. They do everything, including updating this website on a regular basis.
Schools Check out humorist and parent Sandra Tsing Loh's hilarious and informative Guide To Schools . A must read for any LA Parent. Writer and parent Tanya Anton also publishes a very informative blog and guide to public schools. Highly recommend! Preschools In the process of researching many daycares and preschools in 2003 in the West Los Angeles area, I have created an Excel spreadsheet comparing features, hours, & pricing. I made this spreadsheet for my own personal use, so I’ve excluded some of the most expensive options and all comments were meant to serve as reminders to myself. You can use my list as a template for yourself to compare rates. Mine is now out of date, but perhaps it will be helpful to you. You may wish to verify all info for yourself as I may have made mistakes and schools may change their rates and services. Hopefully you’ll find this a useful tool in your daycare / preschool search.
Keep in mind there are lots of great, affordable programs for preschool age kids offered by city schools, recreation centers, YMCA / YWCA’s, JCC’s, etc. There are also good private daycares that offer many benefits similar to preschools without the high cost. Good luck!
Download the Excel spreadsheet
Download the Preschool Research Spreadsheet in PDF Format
Download the Preschool List in PDF Format |
