NYC Moms - Need tips and pointers!

usually that is a great time to visit--cool autumn weather, clear blue skies, etc. --but last year it got coldcold very early.

odds are it won't be super cold-I'd check with your dad right before-but I would definitely bring hat+mittens and a windproof kind of jacket or covering for ds. ideally it would be like a cool SF day.

as for sling or stroller it really depends on your preference. if I'm taking the subway I like to sling, but my 7month old is 22 pounds and sometimes the stroller is worth it (as long as it's an easy opening sort of slim one, I would imagine one of those mega travel systems would be too much to handle).

as for what to do, since your ds is still small you really can do almost anything. when we have people visiting I try to only visit 1-2 tourista type things/day because it gets too tiring for all of us.

Battery Park City is windy. Wind breaker is necessary. Otherwise, it probably won't be too brutally cold yet.

I'd opt for the sling or some other kind of baby carrier. I, personally, despise the stroller. Just from a safety perspective, as cars cut close around the corners, I don't feel safe with the stroller as I can too easily imagine the stroller getting hit by a car but me being unscathed. I felt safer having the pixie at my chest and nearly eye level. I also felt that if I needed to move fast for some reason (running for a bus, getting out of the way of a recklessly driven car, etc.), it would be easier if he's already strapped to my upper body.

Also, the heavier elements of car exhaust (like particulates) are more concentrated at ground level. The closer you are to the ground, the more of them you're breathing in.

Family activities:

Carousel in Central Park (for really little ones that might not be able to deal with going really fast, sit on one of the things closer to the middle of the carousel. If you're on the outside edge, you go faster. (Whole physics lecture is available, if you like, to explain this phenomenon. )

Statue of Liberty (And the boat ride.)

Madison Square (no, not Madison Square Garden of the sports events, this is the ORIGINAL location of MSG before it moved to where it is now) at 23rd street and Fifth Avenue has a really nice playground.

Just walking around the streets of NYC checking everyone out! It is my son's favorite activity...and riding the subways/buses and flirting with the girls.

If you eat shellfish, the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station (on the lower level, not in the food court, though, it is a separate space) is a great place to go. Sit at the marble counter that is a hard right as you come in and watch the guys shuck the oysters and cook the "panroasts" and "stews" for each person as they order and check out the terra cotta tiled arches of the underside of Grand Central Station. Then go upstairs and look at the ceiling of the big main hall. The food court is good, too, if you can't get everyone to agree on one kind of food. Lots of different stands with all kinds of foods (indian, cajun pizza, fish 'n chips, italian, chinese, japanese, NY deli, german sausage food, pastries, mexican, etc, etc.)

For "traditional" kids' food, check out Serendipity 3 on East 60th Street (? or is it E. 59th? Can't remember. But it is great people watching, too.)

And I think that Wollman Rink in Central Park will be frozen by then. Go skating at night when all the buildings are lit up. It is a real "Manhattan Moment".