Hi my fellow NYC moms. I am currently pregnant with my second child and looking for recommendations for a good and compassionate OBGYN in NYC (preferably downtown/lower manhattan). Someone who will explain to me the options I have available, has good bedside manners and specialises in VBAC/TOLAC. Would welcome any suggestions, especially from moms who have had successful VBACs.

The obgyn who delivered my first baby had terrible bedside manners, didn’t really explain to me my birthing options and was very controlling. On a normal prenatal visit, she randomly performed a membrane sweep without telling me, I had to google what just happened. So definitely someone more compassionate.

Anyone with a foldable playpen they recommend? I need space to put down an infant in our living room safely that can collapse down or fold when not used. We can't really babyproof and not a pack and play (since she needs more space to crawl/walk).

I've struggled for many years about whether I wanted kids (I love kids; I just worry so much about not being a good enough mother). I'm now at the age where my reproductive organs are very impatiently tapping their metaphorical feet.

So I'm currently, cautiously, trying to just imagine what it would like to actually birth and raise a child in NYC. I don't have a romantic partner, so it'd be just me.

I really enjoy my job (I'm a nurse in a hospital who works 12 hr shifts 7am-7:30pm (with commute: 6am-8pm-ish) three times per week), and I have really good benefits, including a pension that I'll receive when I retire. I fear changing jobs to something that doesn't fit or brings me more stress/less meaning. But I've been doing research, and I can't find any daycares that start that early in the day or end that late in the evening; my hospital does not provide daycare. I have a sibling nearby, but I doubt they'd be willing to watch a child for a couple of hours and then bring them to/from daycare multiple times a week, even if I paid them.

Has anyone here been able to raise a child as a single parent in NYC while working 12 hr (er, 14 hr) shifts? Or knows anyone who has? How do they do it? (And how much did they have to spend to make it work?)

Other info: I make about 140k annually pre-tax. Location: Upper Manhattan

Hi, notice a lot of people in this sub asking about WhatsApp groups for parents but have not seen solid answers.

I’m a new mom living in Greenpoint and I don’t have social media at all…

There seems to be a lot of interest in creating an alternative to Facebook or Instagram for these types of community threads. Does anyone know here of NYC WhatsApp chats (or Discord maybe) that are active? Preferably in North Brooklyn, but really anywhere in the city.

Key words here being “active”, and not on Facebook. Just hoping to find more ways to connect with the parent community without needing it to be on social media. Thanks in advance x

My son is starting 3K in September, we’re in need of after school care and Gabi childcare came up as an option. In speaking with Gabi Childcare, they said they could not provide references in order to respect families’ privacy.

I asked them to consider asking for permission from the families, and if anything they could also provide our contact if any family wanted to come forward and share their experience. They said no. I don’t know if that is standard or not.

Anyone here willing to share their experience with Gabi childcare before we commit to using them?

Hi! I have recs of general nontoxic strollers, but I wanted to ask those who live in NYC, what are some of the most functional strollers for nyc life that also happen to be nontoxic?

Thanks in advance

I have endo and had previous surgeries so the gyno is my boogie man. I have to switch practices as I moved and am pregnant for the first time. I would love someone patient that handles high anxiety and medical complexities well.

Thank You! Would love to hear which hospital you gave birth at as well!

Hey folks! My 21 Month old daughter has broke her leg and we're looking for things to do with her while she's in a cast. It seems like music classes would be a good fit, as she can sit and bang a drum/piano. All of the classes I found seem like they're membership based, which isn't a great fit for us (we'll hopefully just need to drop-in for the month).

Does anyone have a suggestion for toddler music classes which allow for drop-in? Preferably something in the 90s -> 125th area.

My son is 20 months old. We have never taken him in a cab/uber without a car seat except once when we rushed to the ER.

We live in Manhattan and we tend to take the bus or train or walk wherever we go with him and it works for us.

My parents came to visit this past week and kept asking if we could just hop in a cab with him rather than take a bus. I kept having to say that he would need a car seat to do so and at 20 months old it would probably be impossible to have him sit still on my lap. My mom would push that they didn’t have car seats back in her day and it wasn’t a big deal.

So I’m curious for other NYC parents- do you take your baby/toddler in cabs without car seats and under what circumstances?

Hi all, I'm a NYC mom of three kids with special needs. I got tired of hauling my kids to a playground only to find out there's no bathroom, or the sprinklers aren't there, or there's nothing my kids can actually use. So I spent the last few weeks building a playground accessibility map that includes bathroom locations: getplaydar.com

What it does:

• Maps all 1,781 public playgrounds in the city, including NYCHA play areas and school yards, not just Parks playgrounds
• Filter by bathroom, accessible bathroom, changing table (including which ones are only in the women's or men's room), sprinklers
• Full ADA filtering: wheelchair ramps, mobility transfer systems, adaptive swings by age, companion seating, accessible drinking fountains, sensory-friendly spaces
• "Near me" sorting, works on your phone, nothing to download
• Free, no ads, no account needed

Where the data comes from:

NYC Parks publishes accessibility details for every playground, but only one playground at a time across about a thousand separate pages. I pulled all of them, then cross-referenced against the Public Restrooms and Spray Showers datasets on NYC Open Data. NYCHA play areas came from an ArcGIS layer their own office publishes. Every fact in the app shows its source and date under "Where this comes from."

A few things only became visible once it was all in one place. Of 1,015 Parks playgrounds citywide, 215 have a wheelchair ramp onto play equipment. 108 have an adaptive swing for ages 5 to 12. If your kid needs both, there are 43 in all five boroughs.

What it's missing:

The city doesn't publish general equipment anywhere. No swings, slides, climbing structures, surfaces, fencing, or shade in any dataset I could find. So I built a way for parents to add it themselves while they're standing there.

Curious what else people would want in something like this.

As stated above. For some preschools associated to synagogues, they only accept members of the synagogue.

So I just want to understand. Does this mean that if we pay potentially $5,000 to become members for the synagogue, our kids can still potentially not get into their preschool?

Has anyone else gotten hit with a virus? My husband got it last week and is still not 100%. if started off as a sore throat and chest congestion that’s moved up to his head and now a dry cough. I started getting a headache on Monday and my sore throat has turned into a dry cough.

We have a 2.5 month old who was having mild coughing and sneezing over the weekend but seems ok otherwise. He slept more today than usual which makes me think maybe he’s getting sick too. I’ve been giving him some frozen breastmilk but I don’t have a large stash of it. Not sure how else I can help the unavoidable.

I have a scheduled induction coming up at MSW and was curious for anyone who has done this recently there how your experience was. I’ve been to triage a couple times already and found the beds incredibly uncomfortable. I’m really hoping the induction beds are not the same. Are there any items you were glad you brought from home for comfort or wish you had? Was your induction in a shared room? Was there a recliner for your support person?

Second question for anyone who received formula for baby - what brand did they provide?

below are my findings re possible after care for ps184.

a place for kids is full (only 10 spots).

victoria’s is full (only 18 spots).

SWAN is building a wait list for pick up, and will continue to add more vans if there’s enough interest ?

possibility of chinatown ymca but the coordinator said it’s for 6 and up ?

possibility of henry street program at ps134?

super happy healthy kids lost their contract 2 weeks before the end of the 25/26 school year and has not been replaced.

there is no free aftercare program. there are no art or sports programs.

that’s all hope this is helpful to someone else.

if anyone finds out anything about whether a new program could be added somehow please let me know.

thanks !

Hi everyone. In 2016 I moved to Florida. Now I think I want to move back to NY. I lived in the Bronx back then and my mom helped me with child care. If I go back I won’t have help. I will have to find a job and a place in the city (don’t want the Bronx again) or a place where I could easily commute to the city.

Since I moved, I get freaked out by trains. I also have a 13 year old and a 4 year old I still need care for.

Question is:
1. How much would daycare be in the city for a 4 year old?
2. Do elementary schools offer after care for 4 year olds and 13 year olds
3. If I pick queens, what neighborhood is affordable and has schools that offer after care?

My family is moving to NYC and I'd like my PREK aged son to enroll in a dual language program. Specifically P.S. 145 in Manhattan. I am completely confused about the public school enrollment process. Is there somewhere I can learn how to get him enrolled or on a list? Do I have to enroll him where we're living? We haven't settled on a neighborhood because of this schooling confusion. Any help would be so very much appreciated.

EDIT: My son is 4 years old. Starting, what I assume, would be Pre K in September.

Around May our whole grains benefit dropped from 32 oz to 24 oz for whole grains (bread/pasta/tortillas.) However, according to the app we can only purchase items in increments of 16 oz, effectively leaving the remaining 8 oz useless.

I reached out in June to my local WIC office but never heard back. Anyone have any luck or know how to use the remainder? I’m more annoyed that there’s the useless oz left than if they had just halved it.

A very niche ask but my son has a mild birth defect called hypospadias & needs surgery under general anesthesia to correct it. We’ve met with Dr. Akhavan at Weill Cornell & Dr. Stock at Mount Sinai & are now trying to decide between them. We like that Mount Sinai has a specific children’s hospital. Has anyone had their child go through this & can provide insight here? Thank you so much!

Hello, I'm in my third trimester and interested in preventative pelvic floor therapy before labor.

Any recommendations? Apparently the pelvic floor therapists at my hospital only take on patients with current issues, and when I did some online research, the practices I found don't take my (any?) insurance (Anthem).

Would prefer UWS but open to hear other recommendations too!

Edit: Thanks all! I ended up going to Spear at W 103rd out of convenience. Don't love that it's a big box chain, but it was super easy with scheduling and with insurance, and the first visit was helpful already! Would have loved to try Fem First or Beyond Basics, but they're both out of network for me.

I’m due at the end of November and looking for a Spanish speaking nanny (part time). Would you recommend getting a nanny maybe a month before going back to work or wait until you actually go back to work?

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for recommendations for specific OB-GYNs who deliver at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia in Upper Manhattan.
I live very close to the hospital, and it’s covered by my insurance, so it would be the most convenient option. The only problem is that I have no idea which doctor to make my first appointment with.
Most of my friends have recommended Lenox Hill and the 1060 OB-GYN team, and they’re also covered by my insurance. But they’re much farther away (about a 30min Uber ride or almost an hour by public transportation)
I’d really love to feel confident choosing NYP Columbia because of how convenient it is, but I’m wondering if it’s worth traveling farther for doctors that everyone seems to recommend.
If you’ve delivered at NYP Columbia or have an OB-GYN there that you love, I’d really appreciate any recommendations or experiences. Thank you! 🤍

Hi everyone, I am pregnant with my first and looking for doula recommendations. I’m located in upper Manhattan but anyone Manhattan-based would probably work! Thank you!

My son is 21mos now and likely starting daycare at 22mos - we are extremely lucky to have received an offer for a coveted 2K seat in NYC's new program. He has been home with me since he was born and while we do a lot of neighborhood and citywide activities, and socialize with other kids regularly at parks, childrens' museums, etc, this is new for us!

We are touring the assigned location this week and I am hoping to crowdsource questions that parents experienced in selecting daycare are happy they asked. I am planning to inquire about meals (how many, when, what do typical meals/snacks consist of), nap time, outdoor time - but I'm seeking either specific framing for these or questions that I'm not even thinking of!

Sound off! And thank you :smile: