CHICAGO -- Dying to visit Chicago, but Baby is holding you back?

Take heart, Mama and Dada. You can take your toddler or baby along.

''We took our daughter to Chicago when she was 4 months old, then again when she was 7 months old,'' says Tina Dzikowski, 30, of Eastpointe, Mich. ``It worked out fine. I haven't tried it yet with two. But I'd say, go.''

Naturally, taking the under-2 set to a big metropolis like Chicago poses some challenges. Where to eat? Where to stay? How to transport a baby in a taxi?

Then there's the equipment issue. New parents lug strollers the size of snow blowers. They tote bulky port-a-cribs. They bring baby slings, baby backpacks, baby diapers, baby diaper bags, baby formula, baby food, baby toys, baby coats, baby hats, baby pajamas, baby wipes and baby blankets.

It's easy for parents to get overwhelmed.

''If you really want to explore the layout of the city, I would recommend ditching the children and making this a couple/solo vacation, or wait until they are older before you start schlepping them along -- you will be super frazzled,'' says Melanie Herron of Ypsilanti, Mich. She has taken her daughters, ages 4 and 7, to visit relatives in the Chicago suburbs at least three times a year since they were born. ''If you have really young toddlers,'' she says, ``don't try and pull them around downtown.''

Unless, of course, you are armed with good advice, which we are about to offer.

Q:Where should we stay?

A: First choice: Impose on friends or relatives. Chicago lodging is expensive.

Second choice: a hotel. Michelle McCulloch, mother of a 5-year-old and a 6-month-old, recommends staying in the River North area of Chicago, roughly bounded by Michigan Avenue to the east, Chicago Avenue to the north, Wacker Drive to the south and the Chicago River to the west. Embassy Suites Chicago in this area is good for young families because tots can sleep in one part of the two-room suite and the adults can sleep in the other.

Another choice is to stay up in Evanston at someplace like the newish Hilton Garden Inn near the Purple Line Davis Street El stop. It's near the beach and offers high chairs and cribs.

Dzikowski uses the hotel bidding site priceline.com with good results.

''I always put in that I want a five-star hotel near Michigan Avenue for $75 a night, and it always comes out as the Hyatt Regency,'' she says. The Hyatt Regency Chicago (normally about $179 a night and up) is centrally located and good for walking on Michigan Avenue.

The Days Inn Chicago Lincoln Park offers a lodging/breakfast/nature museum child-friendly package, and the upscale Swissotel Chicago has a package that includes admission to Shedd Aquarium.

Q: Do hotels have cribs, or should I bring my own?

A: Most hotels have cribs. Call to make sure.

Q: Where should we eat?

A: Maybe not where you think.

''Touristy restaurants, like Ed Debevic's, Uno's, Cheesecake Factory and Rainforest Cafe, although lots of fun for little kids, tend to have long waits for dinner, like two hours or more,'' says McCulloch. ``I remember waiting for a table at the Cheesecake Factory on Michigan Avenue with a hungry 2-year-old and really wishing that we had gotten there earlier.''

Herron recommends a restaurant called Portillo's Hot Dogs for casual food: ''You feel comfortable even if your little one is singing loudly to herself,'' she says.

Other good choices: Gino's East and Giordanos, both Chicago pizza institutions and both casual and relatively fast. For breakfast, try the Corner Bakery, a chain that actually seems to be on every corner in Chicago (it has 16 locations).

Anyway, you get the theme here. Look for chains and Chicago pizza spots. Although most restaurants don't explicitly ban babies or toddlers, stay away from bars or high-priced restaurants with white tablecloths.

Q:How can I take my baby or toddler in a taxi?

A: Commercial vehicles like Chicago taxis are exempt from child restraint requirements.

Some taxis have child car seats available, but there's no guarantee, a dispatcher at Chicago's Yellow Cab Co. says. You can't order a car seat when you call for a taxi.

Some parents take a risk and hold the baby on their laps. However, you can bring your own car seat.

Q:Can you take a stroller on the El?

A: Yes, but you may have to carry it up or down flights of stairs at some stops. McCulloch, who used to live in Chicago, has taken a baby on the city's elevated train many times.

''You have to fold up a stroller before you board,'' she says. ``When you go through the ticketing turnstiles you need to use the handicap entrance if you have a stroller, which requires help from an attendant. I'd advise using a baby carrier/sling instead for an infant or one of those baby backpacks for an older child.

''If you've got children with you, sit near a door, even if the train is empty when you board. It will fill up quickly. Oh, and bring sanitizer. The trains tend to be pretty dirty.'' Avoid the El at rush hour.

Q:Would a toddler like Shedd Aquarium(www.sheddaquarium.org)?

A: Parents say yes. Even babies like all the lights and motion. Even better, Shedd has ''Tots on Tuesdays,'' a day of stories, crafts, animal touch programs and singing. The program is geared to 3-5 year olds, but younger children are welcome.

Q:Can you take a baby or toddler into theArt Institute of Chicago(www.artic.edu)?

A: Yes. In fact, the museum has strollers available (or bring your own), plus changing rooms and a nursing area in the restrooms. There's a stroller/wheelchair entrance ramp at the Michigan Avenue entrance. Its Kraft Education Center has activities for young children.

The museum recommends doing the museum in short 10-15 minute sessions with breaks, and stay ''only as long as your child is engaged.'' And no touching the paintings.

Q:Where else is good to take a little child?

A: ''For the 2 and under set, I would keep it simple,'' says parent Ann Hill. ``Go down to Navy Pier (www.navypier.com) and see the lake. Do the Ferris wheel if you're brave.''

Also try:

• Millennium Park (www.millenniumpark.org): Toddlers can look at themselves in the funny reflective ''Bean'' sculpture. 'The Bean is a fun place for the little ones to play, for Mom and Dad to get some very `Chicago' photos for the scrapbook,'' says Hill.

• Lincoln Park Zoo (www.lpzoo.com): Free zoo is small and perfect for the under-5 crowd.

• Top of the John Hancock Tower (www.hancock-observatory.com): As long as the lines aren't too long (be warned that you may have to carry the stroller up and down stairs on the plaza).

• Chicago Children's Museum on Navy Pier (www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org): Children can dig ''dinosaur bones'' and touch flowers as tall as they are.

• Shopping: Malls and most shops along Michigan Avenue allow strollers. Of particular interest to new parents is the huge Baby Gap/Gap Kids store.

Q:What Chicago children's attractions are not suitable for toddlers or babies?

A: The American Girl store (www.americangirl.com) in Chicago is meant for ages 3 and up; its smallest clothes are 3T. Chicago Children's Theatre (www.chicagochildrenstheatre.org) productions are geared to various ages but rarely under 4. Avoid Hershey's Chicago (www.hersheys.com) if you want to keep candy from your baby.

Remember: When you have toddlers, you have to operate on toddler time.

''We have tried to push it and do too much, or messed with the nap schedule, and that's always a recipe for disaster. But if we made sure the kids were well rested and well fed, we had a fun time,'' says Hill.

So, go to it. Enjoy. Baby may not remember Chicago. But someday he'll have the pictures to prove he had a great time there with Mama and Dada.

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