NYC with 11 month old? Mad?

[BabyBforever]

My DH and I are considering a trip to NY with our DS who will be 11m at the time. My thinking is it’s a big city with many baby facilities if needed, great for museums snd walks etc which our DS will enjoy at that age I think. Also best to jump on opportunity now than when he’s mobile?

thoughts?

I live in NYC (manhattan) with 4 year old and a 7 month old. It is TOTALLY do-able to bring an 11 month old, but I've got a few caveats/things to think about:

• I wouldn't do depths of winter or the height of summer because the weather can be pretty extreme and it's tough if they're not used to it.
• Most of the subways don't have lifts, so you'll need to schlep the buggy up and down stairs - totally doable if there are two of you! But bring the lightest push chair you have. We have a babyzen yoyo we just use on the subway and for travel.
• I'd strongly suggest avoiding Times Square and absolutely do not stay there. I recommend staying near Central Park or FIDI/Battery Park City, West Village, Greenwich Village, Chelsea or Union Square.

Happy to answer any questions if you want to know something more specific!

An 11m old is likely crawling if not already walking and might get bored in a buggy or sling. Don’t think NY has great walks, you have Center Park but I don’t think it’s that exciting. Of course it’s doable but not sure it’s that enjoyable. Sounds like hard work dragging a baby around.

@allfurcoatnoknickers Thank you so much for your reply!

we were thinking of end of Feb/beginning of March.

We do have an extremely lightweight stroller for subways etc.

I was thinking we could potentially stay in Long Island city as it’s conveniently located between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

@SoSad44 very true about the crawling/walking but was hoping to incorporate a bit of that in museums

@BabyBforever LIC would be perfect! There are so many families there and loads of kid friendly stuff to do.

It will be absolutely freezing that time of year though, I mean really bitterly cold. I'd recommend a serious footmuff for the baby and you absolutely won't want to be hanging around in Parks, going for walks, or being outside unless you absolutely have to be outside.

The shopping centers - Columbus Circle, Hudson Yards and Brookfield Place are great for toddler. Camp toyshops are also fun to visit and some of them have play areas. My DS enjoyed things like the Color Factory, Museum of Ice Cream and Artechouse when he was a toddler. The Natural History Museum is also fab for small kids, and I hear there's a new play area at the Met, although I haven't been.

There's an Instagram account called playinnyc that highlights indoor play spaces too, which could come in useful.

Following!

Honestly? It’s my absolute worst age to fly with- they’re alert, very likely mobile at 11MO (crawling if not walking), maybe only one 1 nap a day, too big for an airline bassinet yet still have the attention span of a goldfish so anything like watching a screens or colouring to keep them busy on the plane isn’t happening. So expect the flight to be tough. And promise I’m not anti travel, it’s literally just the 9-18 months bit that’s a nightmare!

Feb/March will be freezing. That I could handle as we lived in Chicago for years but I wouldn’t pick it as my time to fly transatlantic with the hopes of exploring a new city. It could well be too cold to spend any significant time outside. Then museums are expensive so it’s less than ideal when DC kicks off because they don’t want to sit in the buggy for longer than 30 minutes whilst you look at stuff. Yes you can seek out indoor kiddy play areas but that would be too much shame shit different place for me to fly that far.

Maybe this is down to my relative’s taste in restaurants but I also found a lot of places really unwelcoming to kids. No highchairs and stuff like asking for a small portion of scrambled eggs at breakfast was often too much trouble. Such a contrast to Chicago where we used to live because everywhere is great with kids there. Then there’s all the carrying of the stroller because of all the steps.

LIC is ok, my relatives live there, don’t know that I’d stay there otherwise but you could do worse.

So up to you really but personally I wouldn’t do it as I think there are far better cities with babies/toddlers and if I could I would be keen to avoid a long haul flight with that age.

And don’t forget you will have a jet lagged baby there and on the way back! I did travel long haul twice with (fairly easy) 11
months old and it was still challenging. But no way would I go to a freezing cold busy city. Not enjoyable!
your baby’s face will be exposed in a lightweight stroller and if it’s windy it’s hell
to walk around and they will be cold!

Agree with pp on indoor play spaces -
you might as well go to somewhere easier.

Thanks for all your opinions. I really appreciate your thoughts. Where would you consider ‘easier’ in contrast? We will be flying from the UK.

Copenhagen was amazing with kids! Again I’d wait a few months for warmer weather though.

Barcelona - warmer and smaller, still lovely museums and parks. And a beach.
Florence might also work (flights are to Pisa).
Generally i find city breaks with small kids exhausting tbh, they don’t care about most things until they are much older and most cities are a challenge with buggies.

Went to Paris with a 14m old and it was difficult. No high chairs, lots of steps on metro and no lifts etc

The cold at that time of year would put me off. 💯

Id go
Barcelona
Valencia
Marrakesh
Malaga

keep NYC for April/October and when LO can be negotiated with 😂

Just why would be my question, awkward age to fly with, it's a lot of walking with busy crowds, just wait a few years or leave baby, NY isn't going anywhere.

We've been to a lot of cities when ours were under 2 but I agree with other posters that buggies are a pain in many cities. We used a little life hiking carrier which my son loved from about 9 months but it did mean that my husband had to carry him everywhere! They are also not as warm as buggies so would probably recommend using them in slightly warmer places than New York in winter!

New York is fab for kids though and as I always say, people live in cities with kids so of course there are things for them to do. We usually do one or two touristy things each day interspersed with play parks and ice cream stops!

Within Europe, we've particularly enjoyed Seville, Toulouse and Copenhagen when ours were younger (they are 6 and 10 now).

Palma is nice if you go April time. Lovely to wander around, warm enough and beaches, as well as nice town. Not crazy with tourists as early in Season.

I love Munich and Berlin if you want a city atmosphere with museums, good food and outdoor spaces to explore. Ds (3) likes the science museum a lot in Munich

Berlin is also freezing in February! Munich likely too.

Anywhere in Italy/ Spain/ Southern Europe is very kid/baby friendly, from what I've seen late at night anyway! And of course it will be milder than NY at the time you are thinking of travelling.

Would you reconsider your destination to Southern Europe, as I agree with others, NY can be tiring and a challenge (though fab) for adults, not to mind babies! And the cold at that time would be off putting, given the extra luggage needed to keep warm.

What @pinklady123456 said. NYC is fab for kids, it's the cold that's the problem. It's hard to overstate how miserable the weather in February is.