Iron Horse Mothers Club Connects San Ramon Moms

It's a typical Monday morning at the park, where San Ramon members of an Iron Horse Mothers Club playgroup gather around the play structures to talk shop.

Between feeding crackers into passing toddler mouths, rocking a newborn baby in a sling and pushing children on swings, moms share tidbits about the last week.

One laments her newborn's acid reflux symptoms. Another pair swaps recommendations of local kiddie gyms and birthday party plans.

"The playgroups are a big draw for moms who want to meet people with kids the same age," says Mary Kaiser, who joined the Iron Horse Mothers Club in 2006 when her first son was a toddler. Kaiser now has a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old who each have weekly playgroups and growing bonds with their network of friends in the club.

"A lot of moms in our group went through their second pregnancies together," says Kristine White, who joined around the same time as Kaiser and has been in the same playgroup with her older son for almost three years. "We even scheduled our kids' preschool days around our playgroup so we could keep meeting when they got older."

Natalie Edgerton, who joined in December shortly after moving her family from Scotland, sees these playgroups as a great networking tool for the moms, too, who exchange tips on everything from finding a good pediatric dentist to discovering the best toddler-friendly parks.

The Iron Horse Mothers Club offers a lot more than just the ever-popular playgroups, organized by the child's birth year. The club features a "New Mommy Meals" program where members deliver dinners to moms after the birth of their babies. The club also runs a popular Mom's Night Out, an active Yahoo Group for online social networking, sub-clubs for scrapbooking enthusiasts, golfers, and book lovers, and even a monthly speaker series.

 "[The speaker series] gives me a chance to learn something," says Edgerton, "and it always relates to my life."

The Iron Horse Mothers Club boasts nearly 600 members sprawling from Dublin to Alamo, with some moms coming from as far as Pleasanton and Walnut Creek.

"There is not a day that goes by that I don't turn to 'the mothers' for advice, referrals or information," says Melinna Gershik, co-director of the club and mother of two. "Our e-mail list provides a lifeline to new mothers, veteran mothers and everyone in between.

Gershik describes mothers clubs like the Iron Horse Mothers Club as "the new neighborhood."

"We many not know our physical neighbors," says Gershik, "but we know 600 mothers in the Tri-Valley area. It's an amazing network—for friendship, for activities, for community building."

With so many moms in her playgroup transplants from all over the country, Kaiser feels the club is a great way to connect families and build a community.

"I always tell people that the yearly membership cost is the best $37 you'll ever spend," says Kaiser. "There are so many activities you can take advantage of and you can make some great friends."

For more information, visit http://www.ironhorsemothersclub.com.