Last weekend we traveled home for my sister’s wedding. That could really be the beginning of a column on anything, considering we brought our kids. I had initially assumed I would cover travel with kids because we were going to be flying and then staying in multiple locations with three-fourths of my entire family. The reality is “good luck, hold onto your hats” isn’t exactly a column’s worth of information. “Vacation Parenting” is nothing to write home about. It seems to be, in part, about survival and and well-timed distractions.

As we were getting ready for the big day, it was just me, my sister, and her friend who happens to be a super fancy make-up artist. The make-up artist’s choice of profession was ironic almost as she had the kind of skin and impossible features that require very little make-up, let alone the advanced skill to apply it. She wore her son’s name around her neck in the least Mom, mom necklace I’ve seen, and was away from her infant son for the first time. He had gotten a fever, of course, just as she was leaving. The conversation moved to nursing, when the wedding coordinator came in. She was a mom herself, three boys, 18 months apart, explaining she nursed for, what I figure, is the equivalent amount of time it would take get a law degree. Except for what she was left with was not something you can hang on the wall of your office, if you know what I mean.

The coordinator told the make-up artist, who was struggling with all the things you do — solids, supply, that question of “how long can I do this?” — that she was doing great and whatever she chose was enough. The make-up artist, skillfully helping me look nice as the oldest of the sisters in each picture, said something I think most mothers have said, “Why does nobody tell you that? I feel like I’m going to cry.” It reminded me that community, however big, is crucial for new parents. How else are you supposed to know that it’s fine when it can all feel like life or death? The only way I felt better was to have someone tell me they’d been there too, and it was totally normal and OK.

So, I have rounded up a ton of great local resources for new moms. From exercise groups to support groups, to Mom’s Night Out, there is somewhere for you to turn right here in Edmonds.

First, there is the go-to group, PEPS, Program For Early Parent Support. Even though I worked with women who had already had kids, I still didn’t fully understand that this was an option for me. PEPS can be a really great place for new parents, or grandparents to find a safe landing spot. Groups range from newborns to toddlers to groups with new siblings. For more information on the group right for you, visit PEPS.org.

I made a great friend in the PEPS group I went to. I will never forget her tearily sharing in our first group meeting that her son would probably have to be an only child. I remember this story fondly and she was being vulnerable and it was touching, also because she went on to get pregnant with twin boys and join another great resource for new Moms SnoMoms, Snohomish County Mothers of Multiples. This group is a really great resource and “offers a wide variety of educational, social, emotional and practical support for moms during all stages of their “multiples” experience.” They also have an amazing sale each year of used children’s clothing and gear. This year’s sale will be October 17th and held at Edmonds Community College. For more information visit SnoMoms.org.

There is a drop-in support group called “Adjusting to Parenthood: A Postpartum Emotional Support Group” supported by PEPS and Postpartum Support International of Washington. This group, previously held at Edmonds Family Medicine, is now held at the Play Happy Cafe, 4114 198th St. S.W. #3, Lynnwood. I spoke with the group’s creator Terri Buysse and she explained, “this group is unique in its focus on the emotional lives of new mothers and speaking the truth about motherhood.” Meetings are on the 1st and third Tuesdays of the month from 12:30 to 2 p.m., and their next meeting is on May 19. The group cost $5 for those who are already a member of a PEPS group, even if you are on a waiting list. If not, the group cost $10, though Buysse let me know that no one is ever turned away. For more information, you can find the group on Facebook.

Swedish Medical Center Edmonds, 21601 76th Ave. W., has a lot of options as well. While they have the typical childbirth and parenting classes, they also have support groups for moms and dads as well as, breastfeeding. Their free, drop-in Breastfeeding Support Group is held Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.. This group is for Moms who “have questions about breastfeeding, want to check on baby’s growth or are looking for support from other mothers but don’t feel they need a one-on-one consultation.” I will forever sing the praises of their lactation consultants who helped me through two kids starting back when the hospital was known as Stevens. They also have a “Moms group” per their “New Parent Information Line,” 425-673-3352, that meets Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.. This group is aimed at babies 0-6 months, but all are welcome to come and talk and learn about resources in the community. Swedish.org says the group, which has no fee or need for registration, covers “sleep, feeding, infant development, the emotional adjustment to parenthood, maintaining your relationship with your partner and adjusting to changes in work circumstances.”

Click HERE for more information on classes and groups at Swedish Medical Center Edmonds, as well as their other locations.

Another great way to connect with local Moms is Stroller Strides. Stroller Strides, through FIT4MOM, is led by an Edmonds mom of two “sweet and energetic girls,” Heather Alschuler. Classes are full of not only exercises for Moms, but songs and activities for those sitting in the strollers. Classes meet up at The Edmonds Center for the Arts Gymnasium, Civic Center Playfield, and Hickman Park as well as other nearby locations in Lake Forest Park and Mountlake Terrace. Alschuler told me that they invite all moms, not just those attending classes, to join “Our Village,” a Moms group who get together for playdates, has monthly nights out, and gives back to the community by doing small volunteer projects. Classes can be as low as $10 a class with a punchcard and the first class is always free. Alschuler let me know, as a “Mother’s Day gift to moms, all Washington locations of FIT4MOM are offering classes free to new clients all of next week.” You can find the classes on Edmonds.fit4mom.com.

If you aren’t ready just yet to either meet people or get everyone out of the house just in time for a diaper and a feeding, you can always get a question answered on The Edmonds Moms Facebook page. The group is not only a sure fire way to get a question answered, but also a way to meet new moms, buy their old gear and hear about great, local events in Edmonds.

— By Jennifer Marx

Jen Marx, an Edmonds Mom of two young boys, is a traffic reporter by dawn and writer and PBJ maker by day. She is always looking for a fun place to take the kids that makes them tired enough to go to bed on time. You can find her trying to make sense of begging kids to ” just eat the mac n cheese” at SnackMomSyndrome.com. If you have a kid-friendly event you’d like to share, email her at play@myedmondsnews.com.