Expecting

Puppet shows, county fairs, star shows and a chance to let trained professionals wiggle and strap your car seat into submission.
Zanzibar Puppets present Cinderella

Extraordinary puppets, a classic story, and a swanky venue. Drag out the velvet dresses for this one.

When: Sat., 6/21, 11am, 1pm, and 3pm; Ages 3+; $15-25.

Where: Harry Denton’s Starlight Room in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell St. (at Sutter St.), San Francisco, 415-391-8619, zanzibarpuppets.com.

Alameda County Fair

Watch the pig races, join the pie-eating contest, and take a chance on the whirling rides — will your kid throw up cotton candy and corn dogs? It’s all part of the fun at this old fashioned fair. Admission is free for kids under 12 on Fridays and always free for kids under 6.

When: Fri. 6/20 to Sun. 7/6, 11am-10pm Mon.-Thu., 10am-10pm Fri.-Sun.; All ages; Free-$10.

Where: Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Avenue, Pleasanton, 925-426- 7600, alamedacountyfair.com.

Lake Chabot’s 125th Anniversary Free Family Fun Day

The venerable planetarium/science center throws itself an anniversary party with admission, movies, free planetarium shows, and special space games, all free. Design a rocket, play space bingo, and kibbiz with Bill Nye the Science Guy.

When: Sat., 6/21, 10am-6pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Lake Chabot Space & Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. (at Redwood Road), Oakland; 510-336-7300, chabotspace.org.

CPMC BabySteps Kick-Off Event

Oh, you got the carseat in your car — but is it in properly? Professionals give it a check at this launch party for a new California Pacific Medical Center parenting networking site. You can also get toys tested for toxic lead levels, eat a free healthy lunch, and enjoy a storytime and face painting for the kiddies.

When: Sun., 6/22, 12pm-2pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Fisher Family Hall in the Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St. (at Presidio St.), San Francisco, cpmcbabysteps.org.

A small-but-interesting study suggests that babies delivered by C-section are more likely to develop asthma and allergies. Researchers analyzed the umbilical cord blood of 50 babies born by Caesarean and 68 babies delivered vaginally, with at least one of the baby’s parents afflicted with asthma or allergies.

Says Dr. Ngoc Ly, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF, “We found a dysfunctional cellular response in the normally protective immune system among C-section babies. And although more work needs to be done to follow how long this response might endure, we think this disrupted immune pathway may influence the development of asthma later on.”

The researchers also theorized that vaginal delivery could expose infants to immune-building microbes.

This seem particularly rich to me given that the U.S. has the highest rate of C-sections in the world. And despite UCSF’s pride at their C-section rate of 22.8%, lower than the national rate of about a third, and also lower than the going San Francisco rate of about a quarter, that’s still almost 1 in 5 women going home with a big slice across their bellies, and an infant who may be affected for life, in ways we don’t even really yet understand.

Interestingly, another of the study’s lead authors, Dr. Wilfried Karmaus, is involved in other crunchy-compliant projects, such as a study to determine the best diet for breastfeeders and a long-term project linking exposure to environmental toxins to immune system damage. Could be a good idea to keep an eye on that guy.

If you have an indifferent nurser or a bad latcher, you may find yourself getting a little paranoid that your newborn isn’t getting enough milk. Is she getting anything at all? How much? Why aren’t there ounces marked on your breasts, anyway?

A call to the pediatrician will net you the following sage advice: if the baby is breastfeeding and gaining weight, he’s getting enough. But who knows if the kid’s gaining weight when she only weighs as much as a economy-size bottle of detergent? How can you tell the difference between 7 pounds and 7 pounds, 1 ounce? Are you supposed to whip out the postal scale or what?

Here’s a better option: soothing retail outlet DayOne (locations in San Francisco’s Laurel Village and Palo Alto) offers gliders and nursing pillows aside precision baby scales. You bring in your baby, strip him down and weigh him, then breastfeed and weigh again. There, you see! You’re doing just fine. Stick around DayOne to browse the parenting library, attend a support group, or just sit with other mamas nursing their babies; the store’s a vital resource for parents of infants and young kids.

Are you enjoying San Francisco in the springtime as much as we are?

Film Night in the Park: The Wizard of Oz

Watch the children’s classic on a blanket under the stars. Dress warmly and watch for flying monkeys in the trees.

When: Sat., 5/17, 8pm; All ages; Free ($3-6 donation encouraged).
Where: Dolores Park, 18th St. (at Dolores St.), San Francisco, 415-453-4333, filmnight.org.

Lollipop Family Fun Run

Make the whole family sweat at this kid-friendly 1-mile or 5K run. There’s a party at the finish line featuring a DJ, scavenger hunt and face-painting, and all participants get a T-shirt and goodie bag. Strollers are welcome, and all proceeds benefit Girls on the Run running club.

When: Sat., 4/17, Registration begins at 9am, runs begin at 10am; All ages; $15-30.

Where: Meet in front of the De Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive (at JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park), San Francisco, 415-831-2700 or 415-863-8942, gotrbayarea.org.
Young at Art: SFUSD Art Festival Family Day

Celebrate budding young artists at this annual festival where thousands of K-12 kids display their visual or performance art. Admission to the de Young is free today, with performances from young dancers and actors at noon and 1pm.

When: Sat., 5/17, 9:30am-5pm (festival continues through May 25); All ages; Free.

Where: De Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive (at JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park), San Francisco, 415-863-3330, youngatartsf.com.

Zany Patterns: Quilting With a Twist

A teenage quilter shows kids aged 6-12 how to make paper quilts, a great way to experiment with color, form, and design.

When: Sat., 4/17, 2pm; Age 6-12; Free with museum admission, free-$8.

Where: Zeum, 221 Fourth St. (at Howard), San Francisco, 415-820-3320, zeum.org.

Along with meals in white-tablecloth restaurants and morning sex, you can wave goodbye to going to grownup movies once you spawn. Bringing a tot, even a quiet and tiny one, into a film guarantees almost as many glares as breastfeeding a three-year-old on a Muni bus.

So why not frequent one of the many baby-friendly movie showings in San Francisco? Great! Except, there aren’t any. The Red Vic discontinued its Bring Your Own Baby monthly showings (lack of attendance) and the Metreon shut down its weekly Reel Moms screenings. Things got so bad I personally resorted to attending preschool film events at the public libraries.

But I won’t need to watch those wavery filmstrips anymore, now that the Vogue Theatre has launched its Tuesday Baby Matinee series, a film fiesta for parents/caregivers and their young monkeys. Thankfully, they have avoided the Metreon’s mistake and are programming gentle adult fare instead of kids’ movies (which you can go to anyway, am I right?). The lights are raised, the sound is lowered, and no one’s going to give you the stink eye if your baby bursts into hysterics just as Patrick Dempsey lays one on Michelle Monaghan (oh, is that a spoiler? My bad). There’s not much room for strollers inside the theater so leave them at home if you can; or use the hourly parking at the JCC around the corner at California and Presidio and leave the stroller in the trunk. You bring the Junior Mints and I’ll share my Boudreaux’s Butt Paste.

When: Tue., 5/13, 11am; All Ages; Adults $7.50, Kids under 2 free.

Where: Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento (at Presidio), San Francisco, 415-346-2274, Voguesf.com.

May breakfast in bed be coming your way.

SFC Double Dutch Classes

Double dutch bus walking down the street, classes at Cellspace will help you learn to work your feet. Boys and girls aged 7-18 learn the fast-paced jump rope dance for fitness and fun. An adult class follows the kids’ class, for mamas and papas who want to stay and learn some new tricks.

When: Ongoing Sundays starting 5/11, 12-1:30pm; Age 7-18; $25 drop-in, 5 classes $95.
Where: Cellspace, 2050 Bryant (at 18th St.), San Francisco, 415-939-2225, Cellspace.org.

KFOG KaBoom!

More than 30,000 people are supposed to show up at this annual live music-and-fireworks show, which this year features the strains of Los Lobos and Collective Soul. The music and crowds are too much for very little ones, but spunky kids age 6 and up can handle it. And all ages will enjoy the fireworks that cap off the show at 9pm, synchronized to KFOG’s broadcast on 104.5 FM. If your kid’s too little to appreciate a humanity-strewn band show, drive over to the piers, put KFOG on the radio, and get ready to ooh and aah.

When: Sat., 5/10, 4pm; All ages; $15-20.
Where: Pier 30/32 - Embarcadero and Brannan (south of the Bay Bridge), San Francisco, Kfog.com.

Mothers’ Day BikeAbout

You can teach a kid to bike in the city, but where are they going to ride? All through the San Francisco Zoo, where cyclists take an early ramble through the grounds before walking patrons are let in. Maybe you’ll catch the animals yawning and stretching in the fresh morning air.

When: Sun., 5/11, 8:30-10:o0am; All ages; $25-30 for bicyclists, $7 for kids on parents’ bikes.
Where: San Francisco Zoo, Sloat Blvd. (at Great Highway), 415-753-7073, sfzoo.org.

SFC Double Dutch Classes

Double dutch bus walking down the street, classes at Cellspace will help you learn to work your feet. Boys and girls aged 7-18 learn the fast-paced jump rope dance for fitness and fun. An adult class follows the kids’ class, for mamas and papas who want to stay and learn some new tricks.

When: Ongoing Sundays starting 5/11, 12-1:30pm; Age 7-18; $25 drop-in, 5 classes $95.
Where: Cellspace, 2050 Bryant (at 18th St.), San Francisco, 415-939-2225, Cellspace.org.

Patrick Carman reading

Meet the bestselling author of the “Land of Elyon” series at the spiffy Laurel Village outpost of Books Inc. as Carman reads from River of Fire, the second book in his “Atherton” series.

When: Fri, 5/9, 6:30pm; Age 5+; Free.
Where: Books Inc., 3515 California (at Locust), San Francisco,415-221-3666, Booksinc.net.

The Chronicle had an amusing little squib in last week’s paper about a local trend to give pets “people names.” No, Pickles or Midnight isn’t good enough for us; instead, locals are chasing Chesters and Henrys around the dog park. What really amused me was the list of the 10 most common dog names in the Bay Area, which are:

• Buddy
• Max
• Lucky
• Lucy
• Daisy
• Rocky
• Molly
• Charlie
• Bailey
• Coco

Do I miss my guess, or do some of these names also sound like currently trendy kids’ names? Let us check the Oracle of All Name Wisdom, the Baby NameVoyager. Hmm, Lucy, let’s see, on a sharp upswing, quadruple its popularity in the ’80s. How about Daisy? Like Lucy, the name hit a nadir in the ’80s but has bounced back, part of the flower-name trend (Lily, Rose, Poppy, etc.). Molly? Now almost as popular as the full name from whence this nickname sprang, Margaret. Max? If you haven’t met a little Maximilian or Maximus on the playground, your kid needs more fresh air.

Are pets the new kids around here? And if that’s true, how long will it be before a new crowd of canine Joshuas, Emilys, Ethans, and Sofias are drooling on Bay Area sofas?

Outdoor festivals abound, but if you’re not at the Maker Faire, you’re so square.

Maker Faire

There’s one event this weekend that should have been red-circled on your calendar for months: Make magazine’s Maker Faire. The family-friendly weekend-long San Mateo conference is intended for creative weirdo types: sculptors, knitters, robot makers, and the like. Ideally you’ll be there all weekend enjoying the exhibitions, workshops, and vendor booths, but particularly appealing to kids will be the the Life-Size Mousetrap, the Bike Rodeo and Power Tool Drag Racing, while parents should make sure to attend Saturday’s lunchtime lecture, Five Dangerous Things Your Kids Should Do. In between, make sure to get a good viewing spot for the Diet-Coke-and-Mentos Fountain (going off at 4pm daily), listen to live music, stroll around the Expo Red kids area, and bring some discarded wearables for the Swap-o-Rama-Rama (plus a bag to carry the new clothes you scoop up).

When: Sat., 5/3, 10am-10pm; Sun., 5/4, 11am-6pm; All ages; Free-$25 daily.

Where: San Mateo Event Center & Expo Address, 2495 South Delaware St. (at Concar), San Mateo, makerfaire.com.

Cinco de Mayo Celebration

Everybody’s Mexican today at the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Dolores Park. Bring a blanket, spread on some sunscreen, and watch performances from Latin music and dance troupes.

When: Sat., 5/3, 10am-4pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Dolores Park, 18th St. (at Dolores), San Francisco, 415-647-1533, sfcincodemayo.com.

“See Me” Let’s Go!

This free city-sponsored party is gentle fun for the little ones: bounce houses, face-painting, puppet shows, storytelling, live music. UCSF doctors and dentists will also be there to do on-the-spot health and developmental screenings.

When: Sat., 5/3, 11am-3pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Civic Center Plaza across from City Hall, Polk (between McAllister and Grove), San Francisco, 415-934-4849, first5sf.org.

Stay Tooned, Kids!

Offbeat animated offerings for sophisticated cinephile kids. Short films screened during this San Francisco International Film Festival event include “When I Grow Up,” illustrated conversations with children about their dreams.

When: Sun, 5/4, 10:15am; Age 7+; $10-12.50.

Where: Sundance Kabuki Cinema, 181 Post (at Fillmore), San Francisco, 925-866-9559, fest08.sffs.org.

Bay Area kids reared on gentle PBS cartoons and vegetarian snacks get a real snootful of violent American culture at the movies, in THX no less. Hey, let’s stick a terrifying CGI dragon in a movie about princesses! Let’s have some great big freaking sharks menace a tiny fish! Hey Hollywood people, d’you think you could make a movie that wouldn’t give my preschooler nightmares for three days running?

Berkeley’s Elmwood Theatre’s this-week-only revival of Mary Poppins is a kinder, gentler option for moviegoers, and a rare chance to see a classic on a big screen — a great big screen in fact, in a theater that hasn’t carved up its space into a multiplex. Enjoy the pristine Art Deco lobby and the nice price for early shows. The main-floor screen is even stroller and wheelchair accessible.

When: Wed.-Fri., 4/30-5/2, 1pm, 4pm & 7pm; All ages; Adults $7.50 for early shows, $9.50 evening show, Kids under 11, $7.

Where: Rialto Cinemas Elmwood,  2966 College Ave. (at Ashby), Berkeley, 510-433-9730, rialtocinemas.com.

Yeah, you meant to keep a baby book for your kid. But then you got busy feeding, burping, changing, soothing, rocking, walking and talking to said baby, and your good intentions went up in smoke. San Francisco-based Memento Press will do the work for you . For about $60 and up, Memento will transform your digital or hard-copy photos into a luscious book; for about $100 more they’ll even pick through your disorganized photo files and optimize the best ones for your book. These things are coffee-table worthy. I’ve seen ‘em. And grandparents cream over ‘em. There are other companies that perform this same service (people seem to like Picaboo), but I certainly wouldn’t want to trust my precious hard-copy photos to the mail when I could just stop by Memento’s San Fran store at the Crocker Galleria, 50 Post Street in San Francisco, 415-773-1878.