Stages

Your first NYC apartment had a bathtub in the kitchen. But even if the living arrangements have improved post-baby, not everyone’s getting a good night’s sleep (forget it if you’ve got twins sharing what used to be, literally, a closet).

Dream Team Baby’s infant and toddler sleep consultancy will give your new family a little snooze support. For little ones up to 2 years old, they will come to your home and stay overnight to work through a child’s “sleep challenges” — including that 2am crying fit. And if your walk-up doesn’t have room for an extra body, a phone consultation may be enough (the advisory board includes a pediatrician and psychotherapist).

You’ll rest easier.

Visit dreamteambaby.com.

A hot and hazy weekend in the city is enough to make anyone melt — now multiply that if you’re pregnant, have a new baby or just need a break. Luckily, there’s a service out there that will make the sweltering summer just a teensy bit more bearable. Try one of these if you’re…

Hightailing it to JFK

Planning a baby shower

Getting organized

Moving uptown (or downtown)

Going suburban

Vacationing at home

Pretending to make it from scratch

Shaping up

Puttin’ on the Ritz

Mondays used to mean packing your tot off to preschool and enjoying a few precious hours of free time. Now that it’s summer, Monday means scrounging to line up another week’s worth of activities to keep him entertained. July 4th just ended, and you’re already at a loss. (Sure, Petland is kind of like an air-conditioned zoo/aquarium, but the cashiers are starting to give you dirty looks.)

Thankfully, this particular Monday brings sweet relief for kiddies spending summer in the city. The Police Athletic League has opened more than 100 safe-play sites throughout the five boroughs, closing off streets to create open spaces where children can enjoy outdoor games, make new friends from the neighborhood, and splash around in the open fire hydrants. There’s also a supervised day camp program, so you can take off for errands or just a little “me” time.

Unlike the water park or the museum, the play sites are free (aside from a nominal sign-up fee), so you can go up to five days a week. An array of classic street games and other activities keep the days from feeling redundant: double-dutch, hopscotch, music and dance, street hockey, basketball, and arts and crafts projects. There’s even a mobile library where kids can borrow books.

Sign up by visiting your local PAL summer play street. And save the next Petland excursion for Saturday.

Visit palnyc.org.

You can’t help but describe your in-laws with a lot of “o” words — overbearing, over-involved, overwhelming. Throw those endearing qualities into the mix once your baby is born and the postpartum chaos escalates.

UB spoke with NY-area psychotherapist and parenting coach Tammy Gold about tips for preemptively (and politely) clamping down on the in-laws before bringing baby home from the hospital:

• During the pregnancy, or soon thereafter, design as a couple a “parental plan” and “parental philosophy” to navigate the postpartum period and beyond. The plan covers who is going to do what when (night feedings, grocery shopping, greeting visitors). The philosophy deals with all the emotional stuff such as family issues and house rules.
• Respectfully communicate your rules on everything from naps and pacifiers to bottle feedings to your in-laws. Perhaps even give them a written list.
• Be clear about when they’ll visit, whether they’ll bunk in your 700-square-foot apartment and what they’ll be doing (caring for the baby? running errands?).
• Outline your philosophy on baby presents and the fact that you don’t want weekly deliveries from FAO.
• Get on the same page regarding the bris/baby naming/christening and your preferences for the size and tone of the event.
• Have a response ready for any unsolicited (translation: undermining) parenting advice they may hurl your way. Verbalize your opinion and explain that you’re trying to figure out things on your own.
• Decide on a secret password to use with your sig-o when you want to bid adieu to your in-laws (or any other guests overstaying their welcome).

We told you so.

For more information, visit goldparentcoaching.com.

High-maintenance hairdos are a thing of the past when pregnancy or toddler patrol sets in during the summer. But you still need to look chic, should a last-minute rooftop cocktails invite come your way.

We checked in with Suki Duggan of the Donsuki Townhouse Salon for some low-maintenance summer styling advice. Below are her tips for time-strapped tresses:

• Grow out your hair during pregnancy, and for fun add long layers around the face — it will not only shape your glowing skin but make you look thinner as well.
• If your hair is fine and straight, try giving your locks more oomph by using a mousse or gel product on damp hair. From the bottom tips of your hair scrunch it in an upward movement and then loosely blow dry.
• The messy side ponytail is very popular this summer. After volumizing your straight hair or soothing your curly hair, pin back the top crown section of your hair, and tease it in a gentle forward manor with a bristled brush. Then take the bottom portion of your hair and loosely pull it back in a low ponytail to the side.

Your type-A personality has always served you well in academic, professional and athletic pursuits. But during pregnancy it’s been no match for your out-of-control appetite.

The registered dietitians at Poshan Complementary Nutrition can educate you on the best way to eat for two. Hint: It’s got nothing to do with doubling your caloric intake. Co-founders Alana Kessler and Sapna Lalla (both with an MS, RD and CDN) help pregnant women find healthy, low-cal, tasty food options (rich in folic acid and calcium) so they don’t fall prey to a midnight pint of Ben & Jerry’s. In addition to prenatal and postpartum nutrition consultations, Poshan also offers cooking lessons as well as yoga and Pilates instruction.

And save your alpha-mom tendencies for preschool admissions.

For more information, visit poshannutrition.com.

The discomforts of pregnancy — swollen feet, heartburn, annoying aches — mean your Jimmy Choos go into hibernation and you’re never without a bottle of Tums. But it pays to be well-rounded.

The WellRounded NYC program was designed to give women a more positive and comfortable pregnancy experience. The instructors, trained physical therapists, teach women how to relieve and even prevent typical pregnancy back pain caused by a shift in gravity, and changes in spinal curves…and cup size. In prenatal sessions, clients work on strengthening not only the upper back and abdominal muscles but also the pelvic and gluteus muscles. Outside of class, regularly stretching lower back, buttocks and hamstring muscles is the key to alleviating soreness.

And you thought pregnancy was just a pain in the neck.

For more information, visit wellroundednyc.com.

The crazy competition for spots in Spain’s top schools has couples getting divorced in order to take advantage of an admissions system that favors single parents’ tots. And you thought New Yorkers had it bad.

Well, it’s still not ideal in the Big Apple. But local school consultants like Robin Aronow, Ph.D., help guide parents through the anxiety-riddled process. A social worker by training, she informs clients about important application and testing deadlines (no coaching!), helps them come up with a realistic school list (both private and public), and teaches them how to best advocate for their children.

This month, Aronow will host two workshops called “Life After Nursery School” ($65 each, $100 for both) on the ins and outs of applications and admissions. Hey, anything to get an edge.

Private School Workshop
When: Wed. 5/21, 6:30-8:30pm.
Where: Ansche Chesed, 251 West 100th St. at West End Ave.

Public School Workshop
When: Wed. 5/28, 6:30-8:30pm.
Where: Ansche Chesed, 251 West 100th St. at West End Ave.

For more information, visit schoolsearchnyc.com.

Still looking for something to do? If you’ve got a little chef on your hands, you may want to spend tomorrow rolling and wrapping veggie sushi with PBS Vegan Chef Christina Pirello. CMOM’s healthy cooking series invites kids and parents to help prep — and of course, taste — healthy creations.

When: Sat. 5/10, 2pm; Ages 5+; Free with museum admission.
Where: Children’s Museum of Manhattan, 212 West 83rd St., cmom.org.

Judging by the parade of prams through Carl Schurz and Park Slope, the stroller is a little New Yorker’s transportation of choice. So why not declare your Big Apple babe’s city style with Pluto’s new ”I Stroll NY” tee. It’s a kiddie take on the classic ad campaign – stay tuned for knockoffs on Canal Street.

Available at kitsel.com.