The plan was two years. Foley would add “worked in the financial capital of the country” to his résumé; we’d have a few great dinners, nights out, long walks on the West Side Highway, and then we’d go home to Atlanta to start a family. That was my plan; Foley tells me now that I was hedging my bets, and maybe he was right!

I arrived two days after he did. He’d made a brunch reservation at Two Hands in NoHo for that first Saturday, and the walk there led us past a playground. I took a mental snapshot, looking with complete surprise. Young parents stood along the fence with their coffees while their children climbed and ran on a seemingly perfect weekend morning. I had never once pictured family life in Manhattan. It simply hadn’t occurred to me that it existed, much less that it could look this lovely! That moment was definitely a God-wink. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was looking through a window at my own future.

In the years since, I’ve been pregnant here, had a baby here, and am slowly learning to mother in a city I once thought was only for grown-ups. It has been so different from what I imagined, and I love it more than I know how to say.

Lately, friends have been asking me about bringing their little ones to the city. What should we do with the baby? Which stroller should we pack? How should we get around? I kept writing the same answers into text messages, and it felt like time to gather them in one place. Whether you’re visiting for a weekend, newly arrived, or quietly wondering if you could ever do this, here are a few good things to consider.

The conveniences

Conveniences?! Parts of city life are surprisingly convenient, and a few of them are especially convenient with kids.

• Central Park is our backyard. Within a ~7-minute walk, we are in Central Park, and there is a lake with toy sailboats, a carousel, 21 playgrounds, more dogs to point at than a toddler could ever tire of, and lots of green grass! Children’s music classes happen every morning during good weather, and the Le Pain Quotidiens are perfect places to connect with other moms before or after activities for coffee.
• Playgrounds are everywhere. Most neighborhoods have more than one, and they’re all wonderful. Central Park alone has 21, each one different from the last, so there’s always a new one to explore. Some are designated toddler-specific, which is especially nice for the little ones learning to walk so they aren’t pummeled by the older kids.
• Almost everything is within walking distance. Our pediatrician is two blocks away. On sick mornings, there’s no car seat to buckle and no parking lot to cross, just a short and sweet walk.
• Moving during pregnancy. Pre-baby’s arrival, walking everywhere kept my body strong and feeling good. I didn’t always love it on the heavy summer days, but I’m grateful for the built-in exercise now.

Getting around without the suburban mom-car

• The stroller becomes your minivan, and your grocery cart too. A few hooks on the handlebar, and it carries the whole day for you.
• Rain gear matters. A stroller rain cover is a lifesaver, and it feels so wrong to put what is essentially a plastic bag over your baby, but they stay warm and dry that way, and it has saved us so many times.
• Children here scoot everywhere. Little New Yorkers glide down the sidewalks on scooters, helmets buckled, as though the city was made for them. I’m always blown away by how quickly they learn to follow the pedestrian signals at crosswalks without frantic mothers yelling at them to stop. Scootin’ around like they own the place!
• Taxis don’t require a car seat. Okay, this is a hot tip in case you’re in a pinch: In New York, it’s legal for young children to ride in a yellow cab without a car seat. Legal isn’t always the same as ideal (or my suggestion), but it does mean a sudden downpour or an Uber/Lyft app that’s not responding never leaves you stranded.

Why my registry looked a little different than friends down south

Researching stroller options was one of my favorite things to do. Since we don’t have a car in the city, it was my chance to test drive and compare brands. Space constraints in an apartment forced different considerations for a couple of baby gear categories.

• The stroller matters more than anything else. It carries your child, your groceries, and truly anything else you need for the day. After all my research, I chose the Bugaboo Fox 5 for everyday life, and I’m a little more than obsessed. If I lived anywhere else, I’d have chosen a stroller that works for multiple children in preparation for growing our family, but here I’m folding this down and using the carry-bar so often that a single-child, lighter-weight stroller made the most sense. It has truly been our minivan. For the bus or the subway, I reach for the stroller’s smaller sibling, the Bugaboo Butterfly 2. I love it just as much. It’s a one-hand fold and small and light, so it’s easy to carry down the stairs or tuck beside my seat. If you’re visiting the city with a little one, it’s the one I’d tell you to pack. They both come with adapters for the infant car seat. More on this later, but when I’d travel to the airport, I’d bring the Fox 5 with the car seat and gate-check both pieces, leaving the travel stroller/Butterfly 2 for MTA transit ◡̈
• On waiting till the last minute to buy a high chair. For the first 5 months of her sitting up, our daughter sat in an Upseat right on or at the table with us. This was truly because I didn’t want another bulky piece of furniture in our living space, but it became one of my favorite parts of the day, because she was right there in the middle of our meals and part of the conversation from the very start. So city moms, put off buying/storing a high chair until it’s necessary, and even then, I’d vote to choose a booster seat of some kind instead.

Everything I use and recommend is gathered on my City Mom Essentials list on ShopMy, including both strollers, an infant car seat, the Upseat, and a few more fun items.

What I didn’t see coming

What has surprised me most isn’t the logistics. It’s the community. We belong to a church that deeply loves families in this city. We’re living alongside friends who have children and are hoping to grow their families too. No one here is waiting to move somewhere easier before they start living. They’re building their lives right here, a few floors up, with the strollers parked in the hallway ◡̈

Mothering in Manhattan has asked things of me I never expected (like my entire reasoning for exercise now is so I’m in shape to carry the stroller up subway stairs without sweating to death- Ha!), but I’ll continue to share more because this isn’t the early motherhood I thought I’d experience- it’s so much better, and I want you to feel capable of being in the city with your baby or starting a family here too.

Back for more soon! Xx!

– Caroline