Travel in late February with Baby in NYC, Child day care place?
 

We are planning our travel to NYC in late February with our 23-month son. We have booked a hotel around 13th St & 40th Ave in the Long Island area. We plan to stay in NYC for five days. Any suggestions for our travel as to food and transportation in the city? We are told that there is no sense to take a baby to NYC in February. I have a conference in NYC, and my wife want to go with me. So we have to take our baby. Also, we are considering find a close child care place for those days. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Are you talking about Long Island City in Queens (which is part of New York City). The hotel website probably has a webpage telling you what the nearest subway station is so you can figure out how to go into Manhattan if that is your plan.

Yes, the Long Island City in Queens. We got the way to the Manhattan through subway. Our main concern is about food and child care. Thank you.

I don't know that any daycare establishment will take a child on such short notice. There are probably bonded baby-sitting businesses in NYC that could provide a baby-sitter for you, though I doubt any of the hotels in Long Island City could or would arrange that, and I don't know of any companies myself. If you were staying at a big hotel like the Hilton, then I'm sure you could get a babysitter through the hotel's concierge.

The Long Island City area has some residents in big buildings, but few families, so I doubt very much that there's a daycare center in the immediate area.

You'll see all manner of baby strollers on the subway, though I think a carrier you wear will suit you better for getting around the city. But a lightweight umbrella stroller should be possible to carry around, and you see them everywhere.

This sounds like a terrible plan. While the area is perfectly safe and a good location for budget hotels, it offers very little in the immediate area for dining or services. You'd be much better staying IN Manhattan in a hotel with suites with kitchens where would be able to heat up food, have take away and a bit more space. The Eastgate Tower hotel and the Milburn Hotel are 2 budget suite hotels in Manhattan. Staying in Long Island City is just a bad idea.

Babysittersguild.com is a reputable service for visitors. There is no daycare that would accept a child who's just visiting.

Google is your friend

http://www.nymetroparents.com/articl...ork-Metro-Area

To Doug_Stallings, Thank you for the suggestion for umbrella stroller. We will get one before we set off for NYC.

To mclaurie, yes, it is a terrible plan. I booked the hotel before my wife decided to go with the baby. So maybe we should change a hotel. Our current hotel do have frige and microwave, but the room may not be spacious. We will check Eastgate Tower hotel and the Milburn Hotel.

To jcb, thank you for the link :-)

IMHO you really need to rethink this. A day care center - even if you were near one - won;t take a small child on such short notice and for so little tim. If you want a babysitter expect to pay $15 to $20 per hour for an adult with any sort of credentials.

Agree ou should try to stay in Manhattan - in a budget suite hotel (rates are typically rock bottom in FEb) - but not sure that your wife attending the conference with you make sense - since having someone watch the baby will be at least $200 per day - plus whatever costs for transit and entry fees for wherever the sitter and child go. (Unfortunately the best places - playgrounds and Central Park - are unlikely to be available for much of the time in Feb.

As for dining - NYC has many thousands of restaurants of all types at all price points in all neighborhoods. However, many places are not welcoming to children - esp if you try to eat dinner at prime tim e- 8 or 8:30 pm. Before taking the baby call and find out if the restaurant has a high chair - that will tell you if the baby will be welcome. (NYC restaurants are very crowded with tables close together - and bring a stroller to a table is usually not possible - they typicalay need to be folded and left near the door or in the coat room.

I agree with nytraveler. You really will not be able to leave your child in a daycare place. Whichever one would take an out of town child for a few days would not be a place where you would want to leave your child. Plus you would expose your child to a whole new world of illnesses...NYC germs. Just what would an expensive babysitter do with the child all day in a hotel room??
Now what could mother and child do all day in NYC? The Children's Museum in the UWS has playrooms for young kids. But someone must be with the child. There are also indoor place spaces which you use by the hour. I do not know locations.
Subways with strollers are difficult. Most subways do not have elevators or escalators so you carry the stroller with child up and down, often 15/20 steps.
I am sure that parents of other 2 yr olds will have suggestions, I just think it is hard in the winter.
It certainly is possible, but not easy.

Unless you ar willing to pay a fortune for a sitter, mom needs to stick with baby. there are a ton of places to go (use buses - no steps but you have to fold the stroller and hold that and baby). Is wether is decent go to central park - small zoo, playgrounds and room for a little kid to run aournd. Indoors think o f Museum of Nat'l History - which is always full of moms or nannies with little kids.

Thank you for the replies. My wife won't go to the conference. She will just stay with the child, take him to museums. I have conference in Manhattan but I do not need to attend all the sessions. So I should have time to hang around with my wife and child. The conference host will provide $300 subsidy for child day care. It can only be used for a licensed child care or nanny. We are considering use it for some hours.

I have a friend in NYC. He told me that there is no sense to bring a child to NYC. That's why I booked a non-suite hotel in Long Island, but not in Manhattan. After I booked my tickets and hotel, my wife decided to go. We need to do another business in NYC with my wife and child together. If we don't go this time, we have to go next time. If we go this time, we will save some money.

So the main concern is weather, traffic, and food.

Oh, good grief! Your friend is wrong. What about all of the families raising kids in NYC?

I agree with changing hotels to something closer to the conference to cut down on travel time. Your wife can visit the nearest park and your child can play. She can sightsee in the city. Visit some of the places suggested here. NYC is a great city for babies, toddlers and kids of all ages.

Your friend might have been trying to help, but he didn't. Feb. is a great time to find hotel bargains in NYC. Where is the conference? Babysittersguild.com should be considered a licensed nanny. I would trust them more than a drop in daycare facility.

As for your concerns, you can't change the weather. I don't know where you live, but you can buy anything you need and don't have here. Food is not a problem in NYC. You can find whatever you want/need.

http://www.kidslovenyc.com/NYC_Any_Weekend.html

http://gonyc.about.com/od/familyfun/...ttractions.htm

http://nymag.com/urban/guides/family...aygrounds1.htm

Good info on travel gear for baby
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-may-2011.cfm

Thanks starrs for the links. And thanks mclaurie for the suggestions.

I live in Columbus OH. And my conference will be held in two buildings: Hilton New York (1335 Avenue of the Americas, NY 10019) and Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers (811 Seventh Avenue, NY 10019). My current booked hotel is HOWARD JOHNSON INN, LONG ISLAND CITY / NYC AREA (38-71 13th Street, Long Island City, NY 11101). I will stay in NYC during Feb. 23-28. I have a presentation in the afternoon on Feb. 28. On other days, I have options to attend or not attend those sessions. I may select some interested sessions to attend.

I have more questions: Is it easy to bicycle in NYC? And is it easy to rent bicycles at good cost?

There's a good chance you can get that Hilton on Priceline or Hotwire. With Hotwire you can bid for 3 people and be sure to get a larger room (with 2 beds for the 3 people). It would be SO much better to be close to the conference hotel(s).

There are tens of thousands of children being reared in Manhattan - and millions throughout the city. Granted Feb is not theb best time - but there is still a lot to do wiht child. Just avoid Times Square and other very heavily trafficked areas - so no one trips on the stroller. It might be best to stay in a more residential family area - like upper west or east side - which are busy but not frantic like midtown.