New to Iowa City

[mama2leila]

Hello ladies (and gents, if there are any out there!)!

We are new to Iowa City and I'd love to hear if there are any playgroups meeting regularly. We left a very active group back in the Seattle suburbs and my 3 year old is missing her friends! So we need to make some new ones.

Also, if anyone can suggest a good crunchy ped/family doc and a dentist, that'd be much appreciated. We found a nice chiropractor (Ron Robinson, he's AWESOME with children), but haven't found a doc or dentist yet. There's no rush on the doc, but my son has caries, we've been treating with xylitol/mi paste/diet with some improvement, but I do think he'll need to be seen soon.

Oh, we have two kiddos, a dd 40 months old, and a 17 month old ds.

[mama2leila]

Oh, and if there are any homeschooling groups, I'd love to hear about those too!

[Seeking Refuge]

Originally Posted by mama2leila

Oh, and if there are any homeschooling groups, I'd love to hear about those too!

Welcome to Iowa City!

I just posted about this on the 2008 Iowa Mamas Thread but ICHEN which is a local homeschool association will be hosting a Not Back to School Picnic on September 1st.

PM me if you need directions or more information about the group. We have at least a couple other three year olds who come to things.

[Seeking Refuge]

Me again! LOL

I also thought I would mention that we have sort of a standing playdate on Wednesday afternoons at the Iowa City Public Library with another homeschooling family. There is a little girl who just turned four who comes to that who would love another little girl to play with. My little guy will be four in November and they are great friends but she is usually outnumbered by the boys.

[mama2leila]

Thanks Stephany, I joined the yahoo group, and we'd love to come on Wednesday. What time to you guys meet?

[Seeking Refuge]

We are usually there around 2 p.m.

My oldest daughter has a therapist appointment then so we show up right after we drop her off.

We are looking forward to seeing you.

[smokeylo]

Welcome to Iowa City! This is a great place to live.

I have a dentist I really like, but I don't know if I'd call her "crunchy." Extremely professional and kind and awesome -- yes! Dr. Ann Connors on Market St. All the dentists in her practice are awesome.

I've heard good things about Dr. Hackbarth (sp?) at Ped Associates.

You should join up with Friends of Iowa Midwives if you support homebirth -- it's another great way to meet families in the area.

[mama2leila]

Great. We might be a bit later than that because my son is sometimes still napping then. I just hope we can make it this week, my boy came down with a virus Saturday, fever Sunday, and it hasn't broken yet. I obviously won't bring them if he's sick. And there's always the possibility that dd will get it. Ah, new town, new viruses. At least we already had an appointment with the chiro for this morning.

[mama2leila]

thanks Lauren! I just joined the friends of Iowa Midwives group this morning.

And thanks for the dentist rec. I'll check them out. I'm wary because I don't want to do anything invasive at this point (like filling with sedation or worse, pulling), and I fear what I'm going to hear from a dentist. But on the other hand, it needs to be taken care of and monitored.

[Seeking Refuge]

Originally Posted by mama2leila

And thanks for the dentist rec. I'll check them out. I'm wary because I don't want to do anything invasive at this point (like filling with sedation or worse, pulling), and I fear what I'm going to hear from a dentist. But on the other hand, it needs to be taken care of and monitored.

I used Dr. Connors when we first moved here and while seems very nice, she did refer us on to a pediatric dentist to take care of the boys dental work that needed to be done.

His name is Dr. Petersen and he is in Coralville. I am happy with the clinic. They even have Tom's toothpaste that they will use to do cleanings with if you ask which I have never come come across before. They also ask if you want to use flouride or not and if you do choose to do so I believe they have a treatment that is dye free.

[Dmitrizmom]

There is also a standing playdate at the Coral Ridge Mall on Wednesday mornings... we meet betweeen 10-10:30 at the play area just outside Barnes & Noble, play for a bit, then head down to the food court for lunch (some bring sack lunch, some get food there).

I'm also establishing a Crafting Coffee on Friday mornings at my place in Coralville - just drop in. PM me for directions.

I agree with Steph's rec for Dr. Peterson - he's my dd's dentist.

My dd just turned 5, and ds is 7. We're planning on another in a year or so. to Iowa City

[FiddleMama]

Hi Sarah (and everyone)! We go to Dr. Peterson too. He's great. He's also very fast and straightforward which is a plus for us. He has 4 kids and doesn't seem to be phased by anything.

I didn't realize the Wednesday playdate at the mall was a regular thing- we might try to come sometime too!

Your chiro is our yoga teacher's husband. She's awesome too- here's her website if you haven't come across it yet.

We're big fans of the Children's Museum here also we go at least once a week, sometimes more. They have a wonderful art room there that we're just starting to explore when I can drag Liam away from the train table. They have a free night once a month so people can come check it out (although, fair warning, free night tends to be PACKED!)

Hope to meet you and your kiddos sometime soon!

[Seeking Refuge]

Originally Posted by FiddleMama

We're big fans of the Children's Museum here also we go at least once a week, sometimes more.

We are always up for the Children's Museum, too.

[Dmitrizmom]

We spent 2 hours there yesterday afternoon and the kids want to go again later in the week. It's the hotspot for the 8 and under crowd.