Urban Mommies & Kid-Friendly City Adventures in the 'Burgh

In 2007, Sheila Solomon realized that new moms in the city needed an escape.

Local mothers like herself needed something that did not involve cartoons and cribs—something that indulged their creative, cultural and adventurous sides. This idea brought about the birth of urbanmommiespgh.com.

Urban Mommies is an online women's community dedicated to programs that get Pittsburgh moms out of the house and into a whole new world of unexplored cultural territory. The best part is, the babies are invited. Moms come, strollers in tow, and explore local art museums, historical neighborhoods and other notable landmarks and cultural events in Pittsburgh.

This past May, Highland Park's Katie Whitlach, formerly of Forest Hills, and Squirell Hill mother Jennie Pelled bought Urban Mommies from Solomon. Whitlach and Pelled met last August at a playgroup in Pittsburgh called Shalom Baby. They realized how important it was for moms to get out of the house and meet women experiencing the same stage of life as they were.

“We love the idea of a community of moms that can go out and get culture and education with babies—no babysitters needed,” Pelled said. “They can meet people and learn things.”

Whitlach, a former lawyer and teacher, decided to leave her job to look after her 19-month-old son, Nate, while Pelled left the real estate industry to take care of her five-year-old son, Zev, and her 19-month-old, Dov. Both now spend their time updating the website and planning new outings for local moms.

The upcoming Urban Mommies agenda includes informative workshops, trips to local universities and studios, and mouth-watering food tours, the next of which will be in the Strip District Thursday.

In addition to the mother-child bonding time, Urban Mommies hosts a kid-free wine night for moms to relax and unwind stroller-less for an evening.

“All of the trips have been so different,” Pelled said. “It’s hard to pick a favorite, but June was great because fathers came along and no one was excluded.”

June was dedicated to dads in Pittsburgh on behalf of Father’s Day. Fathers were invited to come along for tours of Heinz Field and PNC Park.

You can register for more scheduled events on the site. It's $100 for an entire monthly series (usually three to four events) or $30 for individual events. The programs are primarily for children under the kindergarten age—those that can fit comfortably in a stroller.

"Sometimes, when you’re out at a museum with a stroller, you get dirty looks from other patrons,” Pelled said. “When you’re with a group of them though, no one’s really going to mess with you.”

Whitlach and Pelled also write a blog dedicated to things like good places to eat with kids, personal mom insights and helpful parenting advice. Also on the site, there are pictures of past events held by Urban Mommies. Recently, the company was featured on Pittsburgh Today Live .

“We’ve met a lot of great people so far,” Pelled said. “We can’t wait to continue.”