Please Note: Tickets are now on sale for the New York Baby Show, coming up on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, at Pier 92 in New York City. The nation’s biggest show for expectant and new families, the New York Baby Show is a wonderful family-friendly mega-event featuring everything to do with maternity, baby, and toddler—from top products, to trusted parenting experts, to lots of family fun and support. The Show welcomes thousands of expectant and new parents from New York City, the Tri-State area, and beyond! For more info and to purchase tickets, visit newyorkbabyshow.com!
For our guide to chic local maternity stores, click HERE!
Interview with store manager Peter Roberge
What are your store’s core offerings?
We run the gamut of children’s products, from strollers to cribs to nursery furniture, and bedding, décor, diaper bags, toys, and feeding items.
How long has the store been in business?
This is our 82nd year, owned and operated by our founder’s children and grandchildren.
Any advice for parents shopping for a nursery?
Everyone wants a nursery that’s special and comfortable, but make sure it’s comfortable for the parents as well as the baby. And don’t be afraid of colors.
We hear ALBEE has some big news to share.
Yes! We’ve re-designed our showroom to make it an even more pleasing experience for the shopper, the products have a better flow, and it’s very visually appealing. It will help shoppers imagine what their own nursery will be like.
What’s one product you love right now?
One exciting new addition to our expansive inventory is a line of juvenile furniture by Natart, a Canadian company with great furnishings for the nursery.
715 Amerstdam Avenue, 212-662-7337, albeebaby.com
What are the store’s core offerings?
Babies“R”Us is the baby product authority and a trusted resource on the journey through parenthood, offering an unparalleled assortment of apparel, gear, and furniture for little ones, as well as all of the necessary essentials for baby. Plus, the Babies“R”Us baby registry is the top choice for expectant parents everywhere.
How long has the store been in business?
The Toys“R”Us family gave birth to Babies“R”Us in 1996.
Notice any interesting trends in the nursery?
It’s all about mixing and matching! Color combinations and personal touches are essential to complete any nursery.
What’s one product you love right now?
Koala Baby is a staple at Babies“R”Us, making sure little ones are always dressed to impress in trend-right apparel and parents can create the comfiest and coziest atmosphere possible with endless nursery items.
24-30 Union Square East, 212-798-9905, babiesrus.com
Interview with co-owner Jared Behr
What are your store’s core offerings?
Behr’s offers the largest selection of nursery and youth furniture in the Tri-State area. We have over 100 cribs and 50 beds on display in our 30,000-square-ft showroom.
How long has the store been in business?
We have been family-owned and operated since 1906.
Notice any interesting trends in the nursery?
The next big thing on my radar is upholstered cribs. This unique style is sophisticated and chic, yet still creates a warm and comfortable nursery for your baby.
What’s one product you love right now?
The Haven Collection from Brixy. This gorgeous furniture is the perfect combination of elegance and style, and with cribs starting at $499, it will upgrade your nursery without breaking the bank!
1220 Hicksville Road, Seaford, Long Island, 516-541-2347, behrsfurniture.com
Interview with co-owner Michelle Freedberg
What are your store’s core offerings?
Our signature collection of nursery and juvenile furniture, including cribs, beds, dressers, bookcases, armoires, and gliders. We have the Bellini collection as well as other custom lines.
How long has the store been in business?
We’ve been in business for 32 years.
Notice any interesting trends in the nursery?
A trend in nursery design is white. White has made a huge comeback in furniture, and it’s keeping things crisp and clean. Also, an eclectic mix of traditional and modern.
What’s one product you love right now?
A specific product I love right now is the Bellini changing table. The over-sized space makes changing your baby
so much easier.
Several locations in the NYC metro area, including one at 1305 2nd Avenue, 212-517-9233, bellini.com
What are the store’s core offerings?
Staffed with knowledgeable experts, buybuy BABY is a leader in baby gift registry offering a fun, educational, and stress-free registry experience. Our Expert Registry Consultants are available for personal shopping appointments to ensure that new and expectant parents and caregivers have everything they need to confidently welcome their baby. Plus, buybuy BABY offers an exceptional selection of top products and brands for children from birth to age 4, including strollers, car seats, bouncers, bassinets, cribs, clothing, bottles, breast pumps, monitors, nursery furniture, and various safety and personal care items.
How long has the store been in business?
We’ve been open for business since 1996.
Notice any interesting trends in the nursery?
When it comes to nurseries, contemporary and sophisticated styles are the themes parents are continuing to gravitate towards. Furniture in crisp whites and calming shades of grey add to that fresh, clean look that parents are seeking. We’re also seeing more of a sophisticated design preference in patterns and colors when it comes to bedding. Parents are mixing and matching crib sheet options, coordinating crib skirts, blankets, changing pad covers, and more for an overall elevated design theme in the room.
What’s one product you love right now?
Installing a car seat has never been easier with the BRITAX Marathon ClickTight XE Convertible Car Seat. Exclusive to buybuy BABY, the XE features innovative SafeCell Complete Side Impact protection technology, ClickTight easy installation system, and loads of other safety and convenience options, like a cup holder, storage pouch, and more.
Several stores in the NYC metro area, including one at 270 7th Avenue, 917-344-1555, buybuybaby.com
Interview with owner Adriane Stare
What are your store’s core offerings?
Caribou Baby offers adorable and eco-friendly products, and hosts a full schedule of educational classes for new and expectant families. Our knowledgeable and caring staff are in-store and online seven days a week to empower moms to follow their instincts and forge their own paths! We have a thoughtfully curated selection of maternity and baby essentials, as well as the widest selection of baby carriers in the Tri-State area. We have a reputation for freely sharing hands-on education to guide and support families who aim to live life naturally, keep things simple, and carry their babies close.
How long has the store been in business?
Four years.
Notice any trends in baby-wearing?
Handwoven wraps! These are long, woven wraps that you tie around your body to carry your baby. Almost all of the woven wraps available to the retail market today are machine-woven. However, there is a burgeoning community of weavers who are learning to make these fabrics by hand, and the result is truly special.
Please share one piece of baby-wearing advice.
When it comes to choosing a baby carrier, start by first thinking about your lifestyle and needs during the first four months of your baby’s life. It’s hard enough to predict how the newborn period is going to go, let alone anticipate what you’ll want or need when they’re a toddler! In our experience, there is no magic bullet with baby-wearing—it’s normal to not know what your baby will be like, or how baby-wearing will fit into your life, but it’s worth fantasizing a bit ahead of time, and finding a carrier that will meet your needs when your baby is an infant. Ask yourself: Where will you be spending most of your time? What will be most comfy to wear at home? Will you need something that is easy to sit down or breastfeed in? What will fit well under your jacket or coat in the colder months? Families will often times choose several carriers over the course of their baby’s life, as they and their child’s needs change.
What’s a specific product that you love right now?
Ruskovilla woolens! These are, hands down, the softest and sturdiest woolens we’ve seen for kiddos on the market. All of their fibers are organic, and their production process is totally sustainable to boot. Their thermal base layers for babies and kids and scrumptious wool balaclavas are just about the best investments you can make for quality clothing that will last for many kiddos. Every time one of my kids is sporting a Ruskovilla piece, I get at least three other parents asking me where they can get them too.
272 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, 347-460-2229, cariboubaby.com
Interview with CEO Beth Guastella
What are your store’s core offerings?
With a commitment to creating a safe, happy, and stylish world for little ones, giggle offers a carefully curated
product assortment ranging from nursery furniture and baby gear to clothing, toys, gifts, our own line called giggle Better Basics, and much more—making the transition to parenthood a whole lot easier (and a lot more fun!). And this month, giggle will introduce our own line of infant and toddler fashion apparel.
How long has the store been in business?
The first giggle store opened in 2003, and we now operate three stores in New York with locations in SoHo, on the UES, and on the UWS, as well as stores in Greenwich, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Notice any interesting trends in the nursery?
For 2015, we are inspired by the metallic nursery trend. Parents are embracing both gold and silver accents as they fit into just about any nursery style. You can see this trend in our SoHo and UES locations with nurseries designed by the dynamic design team Sissy + Marley. There you can see glimmering stars, metallic accents, soft textures, and neutral shades, all of which make for a magical nursery look.
What’s one product you love right now?
Right now I am loving the Monte white leather Joya rocker with a white base. With its sleek contemporary style, this rocker will a centerpiece long after the nursery. Couple the Joya rocker with the Duc Duc Austin crib and you’ve got over-the-top style!
1033 Lexington Avenue, 212-249-4249; 352 Amsterdam Avenue, 212-362-8680; 120 Wooster Street, 212-334-5817, giggle.com
Interview with owner Vanessa Antonelli
What are your store’s core offerings?
We offer furniture, strollers, gear, bedding, layette, clothing, custom nursery design services, and an in-store and online baby registry. Basically, we’re a one-stop shop for parents looking for everything, plus service.
How long has the store been in business?
Our original store opened four years ago and just moved to a much larger location in Manalapan, NJ. Our second store in Livingston, NJ opened two years ago.
Please share a piece of great advice for parents shopping for a nursery.
Don’t design a room for a baby. Design the room for you. It’s not selfish or strange, it’s smart. It will be years before your child develops their opinions on the subject and you have no way of predicting what those ideas might be. So pick the pieces you love, the ones you want to look at all day and during sleepless nights over the next few years. Make it a functional and happy place for you to spend your time with your baby.
What’s one nursery product that you love right now?
I’m in the process of designing a nursery for my second baby and, even though I do this day in and day out, it’s a totally different perspective doing it for myself. This week I’m in love with Ubabub’s See Shelves. I have always been a huge acrylic lover and I like the idea of book storage that doesn’t take up much space or depth, and is sleek and stylish while allowing you to see the wall behind it. This is extra-great when you put up a beautiful wallpaper and don’t want to hide it.
What’s a trend in your industry that you’ve noticed?
Upholstery! And not just on gliders. Upholstered walls, cribs, cornices—you name it and the uber-stylish parents-to-be are throwing fabric on it. It’s another way to go one step further and customize your room.
339 Route 9 South, Manalapan, NJ, 732-431-0008, 615 South Livingston Avenue, Livingston, NJ, 973-200-2422, nessaleebaby.com
Interview with founder Suzanne Price
What are your store’s core offerings?
We sell everything that you need for baby in the most natural and organic materials possible. We have a huge selection of organic cotton clothing, ages 0-4, and organic bedding and mattresses as well. We also sell solid wood furniture, all-natural personal care, wooden and organic cotton toys, and strollers and car seats free of all toxic chemicals. We also offer classes in our playroom, such as music and new moms’ support groups.
How long has your store been in business?
We’ve been on the Upper East Side for 3.5 years.
What’s a specific product that you love right now?
We have the only organic plush sports balls on the market. Our set of an organic cotton basketball, soccer ball, baseball, and football is one of the most popular gifts among our customers.
Any advice for new parents as they shop for the essentials?
At Sprout, we believe that it’s important to surround your children with the healthiest materials possible. Often this means avoiding scary chemicals and buying organic when possible. However, we don’t want parents to drive themselves crazy with worry at an already stressful time in their lives. Do what you can and control what you can control. You can’t control everything your child comes into contact with, so make their meals, home, and the products they’re surrounded by as safe as possible.
1375 3rd Avenue, 212-861-0670, 376 Court Street, Brooklyn, 718-488-8200, sproutsanfrancisco.com
Interview with owner Felina Rakowski-Gallagher
What are your store’s core offerings?
Expecting and new moms flock to our spunky full-service resource center to obtain immediate relief on all things pertaining to hospital-grade breast pump rentals, pump accessories, obtaining proper nursing bra fittings (we have an expansive collection of non-underwire styles), and lovely-but-functional breastfeeding tops, dresses, and night attire. Just as important, we have vetted specialists in the field of breastfeeding that conduct home visits, hold top-notch clinics, and hold educational seminars. And our most outstanding offerings are the services at our unique “milk bar.” There, moms physically use and learn proper pumping methods. Today, through the Affordable Care Act, most insurance companies provide personal-use pumps. Unfortunately, the model is often watered down, and sent (before the baby is born) without consideration for the strength of the milk supply or nursing challenges.
How long has the store been in business?
The Upper Breast Side was launched in 1999… We recently moved into our brand-new brick and mortar location on Amsterdam Avenue between West 84th and West 85th Street.
We hear that the new location is situated right near another relevant stop for pregnant women. Do tell!
Our new location is directly across the street from the sweet Jacob’s Pickles! When expectant moms are done visiting us, we recommend that they head over and sample Jacob’s wonderful collection of pickles, and for nursing moms (whose milk supplies could use a little bump up) ask for “The Upper Breast Side Beer Flight”—the bartenders give you little shot glasses of tasty, hoppy, malty beer (of course, we recommend that you do your own due diligence on alcohol and nursing).
Please share one piece of breastfeeding advice.
Don’t underestimate the importance of seeing/watching/hanging out with breastfeeding women during your pregnancy. These opportunities will provide some of the best foundations for nursing.
What’s one product you love right now?
Babies 3-15 lbs can be worn skin-to-skin with a NuRoo top. Think of it as a shirt that acts like a baby carrier. We originally discovered its wow-factor when tested for us by a mom with a baby in the NICU!
510 Amsterdam Avenue, (212) 873-2653, upperbreastside.com
Interview with owner Amanda Cole
What are your store’s core offerings?
All of our offerings are geared towards making breastfeeding easier and more comfortable—and we sell tons of nursing bras, nursing tops, and breast pumps.
How long has the store been in business?
We opened in May of 2009.
Notice any interesting trends in maternity clothes?
Just a few years ago, clothing was designed either for an expectant mom or a mom who was breastfeeding. Today, tops and dresses are made to be worn both during pregnancy and after pregnancy for breastfeeding. There are also a growing number of designs and fabric options, including organic fabrics, to fit different personal styles.
Please share one piece of breastfeeding advice.
It’s really important to be your own advocate. If you’re determined to breastfeed, educate yourself with a prenatal class. Speak up in the hospital to ensure you’re seen by the lactation consultant. Tell your partner to protect you from anyone who isn’t in support of your breastfeeding goals. And make sure you do your research to see if you are eligible for a breast pump through your insurance plan.
How does a mom find out if she is eligible for a breast pump through insurance?
That is a great question, because there is still so much confusion out there. First, you should contact your insurance provider to find out what you are entitled to through your insurance plan. Then ask which DMEs are in their network, and if they are in network with Yummy Mummy, you are in luck. You can place your order online or through our call center, 855-87-YUMMY.
What’s a specific product that you love right now?
The Boob Nursing Singlet is a favorite of mine because it is such a versatile garment that can be worn with almost anything. It has a little extra length to cover your mid-section. Another favorite item is the PumpEase hands-free pumping band. It holds your pump in place, is comfortable and easy to use, and once you pump with your hands-free once, you will never want to pump without it again.
1201 Lexington Avenue, 212-879-8669, yummymummystore.com
