We couldn’t let the first year of Dakota’s life go by without her first trip to New York City! So we planned a short trip to introduce her to the bustle of the city plus several friends she hadn’t had the chance to meet yet.

We stayed in The Stewart Hotel, just steps away from Penn Station. (Whenever we travel to New York we park at Secaucus Junction and take the train into Manhattan so we don’t have to worry with driving and parking in the city — it’s so easy!)

We lucked into decent weather which made for some long days exploring Chelsea (The High Line), Brooklyn (Berg’n beer garden, Prospect Park), the National September 11 Memorial, Oculus Mall at WTC, and Central Park.

One of our biggest concerns with staying in Manhattan was finding baby-friendly restaurants but we didn’t have any issues grabbing bites with friends at places like El Toro Blanco in Lower Manhattan and Momofuku Ssäm in East Village. After several days traversing the city, it’s clear Dakota has become a champ at riding the subway!