New dad! Kids, baby’s!

[Dale's Jeep]

Just love them. They grow fast then bang there gone.

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[WhereRU_A-A-Ron]

First of all, congratulations!

We did the baby thing when we had our '08 Unlimited. When baby number two entered the picture, we had to trade it in for a minivan which, I am not ashamed to admit, has been an awesome vehicle. Thankfully, there is slightly more rear passenger room in the JL. If I remember correctly, it's only a few inches but I can tell you it makes a HUGE difference. You shouldn't have much trouble fitting car seats.

Our kids LOVE riding in the Jeep. They want the windows down, the top off, the music up, the dogs in the back, going camping, throwing a Christmas tree on the top, etc. Everything is an experience to them in the Jeep. They're after me almost every day now to get the doors off.

I already enjoy driving a Jeep but my kids make it even more fun because they love it so much.

 

[Steph1]

Not much to know since you seem to have the 4 doors which is totally perfect. Only thing to point out to a new parent, is that babies and young children cannot breathe properly in the back seat with the top down due to the extreme draft and vacuum effect that happens in the back seat area.

So if you want some rays, keep the hardtop on and remove the freedom panels and keep your child safe in the back. Don't worry, he/she will learn to be a Jeep kid and enjoy the Jeep as much as you soon enough, even more so if they don't grow to hate the backseat due to bad experiences.

And congratulations

 

[slainte06]

Congrats man, nothing like being a Father, I have a 3 year old princess and 3 boys 10,11,17. The 17 yo old has his own car, so the JLU works well for all our trips with car seat. Boys love the jeep and the princess does too. If we take a full family trip, we switch to the odyssey. Recently ordered some trail doors from ACE, will be a month or so, but want to feel a little safer with doors off when riding around with them. Good luck man, they can be a pain in the ass, but remember, we were too.

 

[Z&KOJL]

www.amazon.com/dp/B07JV7V2G1/

Start em young.

Congratulations and good luck! Hope you can function on no sleep for a few months.

I think this is the only think I actually contributed to our baby registry

 

[ronarc6]

As the title says expecting first kid (little girl)in December what does a Jeep dad need to know?

I also have my first (Also Girl) due this December. I am excited. I just took delivery of my JL and cant imagine why it will be a problem. Yeah its not a minivan, but to me I'm looking forward to having fun in my Jeep with my daughter in the back making memories, which will outweigh any slight issues here and there. If you have the right mindset then you will both have a great time and she will for sure be Jeep girl when she grows up.

 

[YYCSahara]

As long as you're aware there are no side impact airbags back there. That may give pause to a lot of people.

That being said I have my 3 kids in the back of the jeep with and without doors a lot. We do however have another more mainstream vehicle as well as the main family unit. Jeep does have a lot of room back there for being a compact SUV. Way more than others in that size class.

 

[emptyminded42]

I've got a 3.5 year old and a 6 month old and the 4-door Wrangler is a great family vehicle. It is fairly high, so installing the infant car seat is slightly more difficult than my wife's Forester because you have to lift it higher but it's not bad. My older daughter can climb into her car seat using the rock rail, but I'd recommend getting an actual side step or a little folding stool for them to use when they're old enough to climb in by themselves.

There's plenty of room for the girls in the back and parents up front. My oldest loves windows down and freedom panels off but our littlest is too young IMO to be driving around like that - she hates being in the car anyway. It took a little while for my oldest to like all the wind but now she LOVES my Jeep.

In case you were curious what car seats we use, we have the Chicco KeyFit30 for the infant seat and the Britax Marathon for the older one. We love both and would definitely recommend them. They both have high safety ratings and are easy to use. The Britax is heavy AF so moving it between cars kinda sucks but we bought 2 so we don't have to.

Also, in order to get A/C airflow in the back seats, make sure you have it set to full face and consider closing 1 or 2 of the front face vents to direct more airflow back there. Nothing really flows in the back when it's set anywhere but full or 1-notch away from full face.

We have some of the roll-up sun shades but the deep tint on my Sport S hardtop is dark enough we don't worry too much about it. Make sure you have a mirror to keep an eye on the kid. And that's about it! Only thing that annoys me about my Jeep (Sport S) is that there's no rear armrest so my older daughter doesn't have anywhere convenient to put her water bottle or snacks. A minor annoyance but probably easily fixed on Amazon - I just haven't looked.

Congrats and stay safe - public service announcement below...

I think this is the only think I actually contributed to our baby registry

Please, please, please don't buy one of these infant walkers!!! Infants get seriously injured or killed using these types of walkers - they can fall down stairs, tip over, get stuck, or otherwise grab things they shouldn't.

" According to a study in the journal Pediatrics, between 1990 and 2014, more than 230,000 children less than 15 months of age were treated in US emergency departments for injuries related to walkers. The majority of injuries happen when children fall down stairs in a walker, usually injuring their head or neck, sometimes seriously."

Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/parents-dont-use-a-baby-walker-2018092714895

 

[rallydefault]

Congrats!

Seriously, like others said, SLEEP NOW lol

The jeep is one of the few modern vehicles that doesn't have door airbags, though, so make sure you're ok with that. Once you have a kid, you start caring about stuff you never thought you would.

 

[Z&KOJL]

I really appreciate all the replies. We still have a more “practical” family ride that my wife drives daily and I have no plans on driving anything but the wrangler for years to come. (That and the motorcycle are non negotiable and the wife agrees lol) if my mom raised us in a YJ and a 90s 4-runner the wrangler unlimited will do great.

I know things will change with family life and I’m looking forward to it. Luckily with the drought this year I’ve been able to soak up a lot of top and doors off time before the little one comes, but even then I’ll still have my freedom panels.

For all of its shortfalls, having a lifted Jeep is one thing that brings me a smile every where I go and I can wait share those trips and adventures as a family.

Life is too short to drive boring cars!

 

[emptyminded42]

...Life is too short to drive boring cars!

Totally agree - my Jeep makes me smile every time I look at it or drive it!

You can always pull the front doors off and leave the rear doors on if you want to drive doorless while keeping some protection for the little one in the back. You also might want to look into getting a Sunrider soft top for your hard top so you can just flip it back for some sunshine instead of fussing with the panels. I'm kinda wondering if I should sell my soft top and get the sunrider. Pulling the rear windows and crap takes more effort than I'd like.

Eventually when the kids are older and out of car seats I might sell the 4-door and get a 2-door but for now, it's a fantastic do-everything. I originally scoffed at the idea of a 4-door Wrangler but now I really appreciate it.

 

[JimLee]

I joke, I joke...Congrats!

 

[Maverick909]

Congratulations on the little girl. My girl and i are expecting a little baby Girl at the start of December. I am so excited to show her the world that many will never see! I am thankful i have had my JLUsporticon almost 3 years to get most the bigger mods complete. Enjoy every moment you can while you can!. I most excited to to teach her how to work on the jeep and her moms Barracuda we got just before we found out about being pregnant! best of wishes to you!

 

[RubyRubi]

I really appreciate all the replies. We still have a more “practical” family ride that my wife drives daily and I have no plans on driving anything but the wrangler for years to come. (That and the motorcycle are non negotiable and the wife agrees lol) if my mom raised us in a YJ and a 90s 4-runner the wrangler unlimited will do great.

I know things will change with family life and I’m looking forward to it. Luckily with the drought this year I’ve been able to soak up a lot of top and doors off time before the little one comes, but even then I’ll still have my freedom panels.

For all of its shortfalls, having a lifted Jeep is one thing that brings me a smile every where I go and I can wait share those trips and adventures as a family.

Life is too short to drive boring cars!

So glad to hear this man. Life is way too short to drive boring cars. Jeeps bring a smile to everyone’s face. You will always get the crazy people who are too scared about wind vortexes to ever have fun. As for adventure, my babies have been off-roading with us since two weeks old. Don’t let anything stop you and you’re family. The kids need to fit into your life, not the other way around. As for safety, I grew up in a CJ7 and 70s Vw bug. The JL is a massive improvement.

 

[TrailSnail]

So glad to hear this man. Life is way too short to drive boring cars. Jeeps bring a smile to everyone’s face. You will always get the crazy people who are too scared about wind vortexes to ever have fun. As for adventure, my babies have been off-roading with us since two weeks old. Don’t let anything stop you and you’re family. The kids need to fit into your life, not the other way around. As for safety, I grew up in a CJ7 and 70s Vw bug. The JL is a massive improvement.

1) pumpkin seats are super tight, front passenger will not have an issue reaching the grab handle

2) memories are made and more important than ‘the practical option’

3) no Dad ever looked cool in a minivan

in all seriousness I did the grand Cherokee until my second turned 4, space was too tight with 2 littles. Now 2 car seats is still tough with the JLUR but doable if you can pack super tight. We also have a 60 lbs dog and to do a 2 night camp trip we have a rooftop softbag. My 4 year old LOVES jeepin, but keep it to 2.5 hrs or less or they will hate it

I had mine almost 7 months ago. Very active baby girl. I am a very involved dad, wife has a pretty demanding job and so do I so I have to put as much effort as I can to help. It is gonna be life changing. I had a very active lifestyle we camped a lot, hiked, mountain biked, offroad, you name it. It all pretty much ended and it felt very shitty since we were used to doing so so much.

But that part ends. And it is the best thing in the world. At around 5 months I started getting it all back. 2 weeks ago I packed the Jeep (2 door) Yeap 2 door fully loaded and baby giant seat. Wife, me, baby and another family member and went to our first vacation to Big Bear since she was born. I got to wake up early morning I went wheeling with friends and got my first badge of honor (gold mountain). Our little baby girl loved it and it was perhaps the best vacation Ive had in my life. First badge of honor first vacation with my baby, how cool is that? I will never forget it.

Most people are not honest about it, too much taboo perhaps. It is gonna be pretty hard, but it is all worth it and the bad part doesnt last that long. No camping for us yet but very soon!

Oh and remember. It is never gonna be as hard for you as it is for her, specially if she is breast feeding. And if it feels hard for us imagine how it is for your wife. Happy wife happy life keep that in mind lol.

Can't advise about babies, but... when she's old enough, invite her into the garage to work on the Jeep with you. Don't think she won't be interested because she's a girl. Start her young and she'll be well set when she's older!

These men know what they are talking about. Congratulations, be excited, don't worry that it's a girl, don't sell your Jeep, sleep now while you still can, and most importantly... love every minute of it.

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