We've been very happy with this car seat, but it is only good until a little over 20 lbs. The big problem for New Yorkers is taxis. There is no infant seat which mounts on a stroller and which fits infants over 25 lbs. We tried the Safe Seat and it was no bigger than the Snug Ride.

This is the stroller we have now that we need a double. Pros: handles well, fits through doors, great brakes. Cons: not much storage, and won't fold with anything in storage; hard to attach a footmuff. Get a footmuff, panniers, stormcover.

The NYC problem: you need a car seat for taking taxis. For babies older than 6 months, none of the car seats fit onto strollers? So what do you do? Hold on for dear life? This is one solution.

This is for the temperate months - thus the "lite". Very very useful footmuff that attaches to the car seat. Detaches and washes easily. Very comfy.

Fantastic! For newborns this keeps them totally snug and secure, and stops all jiggling.

Really excellent mattress. Worth every cent.

For soothing you have the S's: Swaddling, Shooshing, Swinging, Sucking (feeding), and facing Sideways. This swing fits the graco seats, and folds up so it doesn't take up room in your apartment. We've been very happy.

Traditional size swaddling blanket - we've been happy

Much better than the book, which is padded out to reach book size. Some key skills for new parents on soothing a fussy baby. The author/star is a little icky and cheesy but the advice is solid. This is where the five S's come from.

Why Avent? Because you can buy the bits and pieces everywhere. Get the BPA-free bottles and put your mind at rest. The only downside: if you screw these up too tight or not tight enough they leak - just screw until you feel it get snug. Buy sealing discs, converters for the breast pump if you use one. You need different size nipples at different ages. Buy sizes 1, 2 and 3 to start.

A must-have. You don't want to use the microwave because it creates hot-spots and the temperature is hit-and-miss. This is super simple - just tip water in, press button, and drop bottle in. Two minutes later it's perfect.

These are nicely made, with a hoop that shapes the cover so mum can see baby but the world can't see too much décolletage.

Nicely made, can recline for little babies who can't sit up on their own.

Essential when you're on the go.

Need one of these

A bouncer is essential, non-optional, equipment. This is a lot cheaper than the (admittedly lovely looking) oeuf bouncer and functionally just the same

We have this changing table and we're very happy with it. Drawers to keep clothes in, open space for diapers. Nothing overhead to bump baby's head on.

Wonderful playmats for when they get crawling. Help cushion those falls. Some kids unfortunately learn to pull the mats apart and get at the pieces, which could pose a danger or even a choking hazard. Our daughter has just learned that trick, but we keep an eye on her and she loves the mats so we keep using them.

This is the one we got. You need something. We also have a diaper champ but it gets jammed all the time. We looked at Diaper Genie but the whole system of little baggies seemed annoying - we like using regular trash bags