If you are a mom in the Beaverton, OR area, you might be wondering, "How do I meet other moms?". It can be hard to find friends sometimes, especially friends with little children who will understand what you might be going through as a mom. If you join a Mommy and Me class like the Signing with Baby classes here at Baby Express, you can have a lot of fun with your baby or toddler while also meeting other moms who are learning to sign. It can be a great way to find new friends and playdates! But sometimes you might want even more interaction than you would get in a parent/baby sign class. Happily there are many mom groups in Beaverton that could meet your needs! Here is a list of mom groups that might be a good fit for you. (The descriptions are excerpted from the organizations.)

MOMS Club-Portland-West Hills, OR
MOMS Club-Beaverton-South
"MOMS Club® (Moms Offering Moms Support) is a non-profit support group for stay-at-home or part-time working mothers and their children. Collectively, this organization has over 1,500 chapters and over 10,000 members. Our group is a wonderful way for you to meet other moms with similar interests and schedules, as well as a social outlet for your children. MOMS Club is not affiliated with any religious group or political organization. We are here to support you, no matter what you believe."

Beaverton MOPS
"Beaverton MOPS & MOMSnext—a gathering place for moms with young children (birth through kindergarten and beyond) that offers connections, community, resources and support."

Providence New Moms' Groups
"Becoming a mom can be the most rewarding experience that will ever happen to you. It can also be exhausting and confusing at times. Join other new moms in celebrating the fourth trimester as you share your joys and challenges. This group provides a welcoming environment to share experiences and learn about breastfeeding, sleep, postpartum emotions, and other important topics. Newborns up to pre-crawling babies are welcome to attend with their moms. Groups meet weekly. You may join a group at any time!"

Hanau Doula New Parent Power Hour
"Have a newborn at home? Looking for a community of other new parents to discuss ALL THE THINGS?!  Come join me, with your baby, at the New Parent Power Hour and be in community with other families! You don't have to be a first-time parent to attend. Your baby or babies are welcome. We will talk about the joys and struggles of navigating life with a newborn."

La Leche League of Oregon - Beaverton
"La Leche League of Beaverton was founded in 1965. Our Series Meetings follow a schedule of four broad topics that cover the practical, physical and psychological aspects of breastfeeding. No two meetings are alike."

Breastfeeding Circle
"All nursing moms are welcome. You don't have to be a current WIC participant to attend. Meet with other nursing moms and consult with our breastfeeding specialists. Moms returning to work can get equipment (if eligible) and support to make the transition back to work as successful as possible. Scales are available for weighing babies. Drop-ins welcome!"
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Meetup.com Groups
Beaverton Stay-at-Home Moms Meetup
"A fun interactive group of mama's who love being home with their kids, but want more social interaction both with and without their kiddos. Planned activities can be park play dates, indoor play parks, happy hours, picnics, moms night-out, and other fun activities. I love the idea of bringing mamas and kiddos together for fun interaction."

Westside Pregnant/Postpartum Mommies and Their Babies
"The goal of this group is to connect with other expecting and postpartum moms in an effort to create friendships, uplift and support each other and have fun! We are planting the seeds for life long friendships among ourselves and little ones. All moms are welcome! Serving the SW PDX, Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Hillsboro area (for now!)"

Facebook groups
Beaverton, OR Area Moms group
"A group for Moms in the Beaverton,OR area who want to get together, network and be friends!"

Beaverton Moms
"A friendly drama free place for moms local to Beaverton and Washington county. A safe space for making mom friends, planning play dates, and venting about our daily lives."

We hope that you can find a good supportive group of friends with one of these organizations! While you are choosing a mom's group to join, here's a reminder of how to sign mom and friend!

Christmas Day is over but we are still enjoying winter vacations and holiday fun!  Many people wait until after Christmas to travel for the holidays.  If you and your baby or toddler are traveling soon, here are some signs that can help as you talk about your trip.  
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We've traveled with our daughter a few times since she's been born, and I've found that preparing her beforehand can make a huge difference.  Read books about airplanes and traveling like Goodnight Planes by Adam Gamble or make your own little book about where you are going and how you will get there.  We read our books every day for about a week before the flight and played with toy airplanes.  When it came time for the trip, she was so excited to fly that she was even willing to wait (for a painfully long time) on the tarmac before our flight was cleared for departure.  The other key to our airplane survival was buying her a seat and not lap sitting.  It's expensive but so worth it to have that extra space.  As an infant, we brought her carseat on board and she slept through most of the flight, just like she would have in a car.  When she was older, we started using the CARES airplane safety harness to help keep her safe in her seat.  Unfortunately there's no way she's going to sleep sitting upright in a plane seat, but hauling on her car seat at this point just seems like far too much to handle.  So some other helpful signs during the trip are definitely SIT and WAIT! 

If you are flying soon, good luck!  Bring lots of new toys, books and snacks and hopefully all will be well.  But you might want to download some episodes of Daniel Tiger on your iPad just in case! 

As you learn more ASL signs to use throughout the day while you talk to your baby or toddler, it's great to occasionally expose yourself (and your little one!) to the full language.  If you and your baby discover that you love signing together, continuing on to learn ASL is a wonderful enrichment for the whole family.  The Rocky Mountain Deaf School has a toddler program that posts videos of picture books being told in American Sign Language.  These videos are fun to watch and read aloud with your toddler while the story is being very exuberantly signed. For December, we will share their retelling of Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner.  Enjoy!

There are only a few weeks left until Christmas!  Time flies with a two-year-old, and sometimes it seems like there won't be enough days to enjoy all of the wonderful aspects of the season. From finding and decorating a tree to  the emergence of our infamous Christmas Pig, there are so many fun activities to share with the family.  Our very excited little one is using her holiday signs now, some of which she actually remembered from last year when she was only 18 months old.  It's never too early to incorporate signs into your baby's day.  All you have to do is sign it when you say it!  Baby brains are primed to learn language and even if their mouths aren't ready to speak or their hands aren't ready to sign, they will begin to understand the meaning of the words they see and hear .  Here are some Christmas signs to get you and baby started.  The video from ASL That shows the movements of these signs and many more great Christmas words!   

Here's a transcript of what's being signed: 25 CHRISTMAS SIGNS 1) NORTH POLE 2) SNOW 3) SANTA CLAUS 4) SNOWMAN 5) REINDEER 6) GINGERBREAD 7) RUDOLPH 8) TREE 9) CANDLE 10) LIGHTS 11) WREATH 12) ORNAMENTS 13) LIST 14) LONG LIST 15) CANDY CANE 16) SHARE 17) HOT CHOCOLATE 18) SLED 19) ELF 20) KIND (NICE & SWEET) 21) GIVE 22) COOKIE 23) MILK 24) GIFT or PRESENT 25) JESUS