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Our family is what the cool New York City residents call “The Bridge and Tunnel Crowd.” We make our way from Central New Jersey to New York City every weekend we can, stomping through Penn Station, Central Park and all up in the Village. Sometimes we even take our unsophisticated ways all the way to Brooklyn! OK, maybe we don’t stomp, and we’re definitely way cooler than I’m letting on, but it does take a good amount of planning to bring our now family of 5 into the city for a day of fun. When it comes to baby frugal, it’s all about packing the essentials needed for the Urban Jungle. Here are some of my must-haves essentials for a NYC day trip with baby in tow.
Streamline your Diaper Bag
When transporting a baby to one of the most populated cities in the world, the last thing you need is a large, bulky diaper bag to hold you down. But, if you’re a larger family, that diaper bag may be filled with items that are needed for more than the baby. Only include the necessary baby items, like Huggies diapers, Huggies wipes, a changing pad, a change of clothes, a bottle or zippy cup, and a travel tube of ointment. The rest of the space in the bag can hold your wallet, metro card, keys and any other family items you may need to pack.
Always Pack Extra Wipes
This may seem counter-intuitive to what was mentioned above, but bear with me. New York can be a germ-filled place. This also includes the train ride there and back, the subways, the cabs, and the playgrounds you may want to use while in the city. Babies love to touch ALL THE THINGS, then put those chubby hands right in their mouths. Pack wipes within the diaper bag, and also hook a Huggies Clutch n Clean pack on the outside of the bag. You’ll have wipes ready to go for those yucky moments, without having to deplete them for any diaper changes that may happen.
Carry Instead of Push
Have you ever tried to push a baby stroller through a crowd in Times Square? I have, and I’ll never do it again. Look into using a baby carrier when you’re in the city. It makes maneuvering through the streets and crowded subway cars so much easier. Plus, those grabby folks that like to touch on babies they don’t even know won’t have the chance to do so. We use carriers that both my husband and I can utilize. If one parent needs a break, the other and strap on the carrier and hold the baby for a while.
Use The Stores
Remember how I told you to streamline that diaper bag? Well, the real reason is that there is no use packing up your whole house, when you have so many CVS Pharmacies right within NYC. Before our day trip, I went to our local CVS to grab a new pack of Huggies Little Snugglers and Huggies Natural Care Clutch n’ Clean wipes. With a swipe of my CVS Extra Care Card, scan of a sweet CVS coupon from coupons.com, and my debit card, we were ready to start our day in the city.
Bring a Hipster Baby With You
OK, this isn’t completely necessary, but it is New York. Grab a beanie with a graphic on it, some cool baby pants and shoes, and go to work. Also, don’t call the baby a hipster baby. Apparently, hipsters don’t use the word hipster. Only Bridge and Tunnel people do.
This is way cool, and baby frugal just made my day. Thanks for sharing these cool tips.
So, I don’t have a baby and I’ve never been to NYC (thought it was always my dream to live there), so I don’t have any tips, but I know good tips when I see them! These are great tips for navigating NYC with babies. Pack light and look cool doing it. Looks like you got this! #client
Fellow Bridge & Tunnel gal here…love your tips. Especially about using the stores! It helps me pack so much less knowing I can pop into a store to get whatever! I used to fill my bag with so much stuff I never needed…just in case. No more of that!
Yes Stephanie! It was such a chore to take our first kiddo into the city, but I wised up once we had our second. I’d pack the items that were expensive or important (like blankies), but if I needed more of anything else, I popped right into one of the million CVS stores. Less stress!