New dad! Kids, baby’s!

[RLC2020]

My wife and I have a 4 year old and a newborn baby currently. We also just got our JLU 2 weeks ago! We put off a Wrangler for the wife for the last 4 years even though she wanted one because we didn't think it would be practical with the baby, now we have 2 kids and decided life was too short to waste it driving a boring vehicle. She loves the Wrangler even though it has half the room in it that we had in her large Buick Enclave that she traded in for it. Enjoy the baby, becoming a dad was the best thing I ever did.

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[SoCal]

congrats!!!

cherish every moment of those early years...they will seem like a PITA at the time, but you will look back and miss those moments....take lots of pics and vids

the older they get the more expensive they get....my son is heading off to UC Santa Cruz next month and it isn't cheap

they grow so fast, so like I said, cherish every moment of it......I miss the spontaneous trips to Chuck E Cheese

seems like yesterday

 

[OldMarine]

Congratulations! My daughter is now 11, I have no idea where the time goes. When they are babies they are a logistical nightmare, just pack smart and you’ll be fine.
Spend as much time as possible with her and she’ll share her hobbies/interests with you and want you to share yours with her.
My daughter has me wrapped around her little finger and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being a Dad is the greatest gift but, it comes with awesome responsibility. Get your sleep now.
What an exciting time, have fun picking out EVERYTHING with your wife. Both of you will laugh when you talk about your crazy decisions when the baby was coming.
Watch her sleep…it’ll blow your mind! (And you’ll miss it.)
Once again congratulations!

 

[RedundanT]

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

Trade it for a Grand Cherokee?

 

[Z&KOJL]

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.

Depending on where we get stationed next (active duty AF, waiting in my follow on orders any day

Trade it for a Grand Cherokee?

Haha…?

 

[aro]

Wondering why plural (kids) and singular possessive (baby's)...

Anyway, good luck ! You will be molding a human being for life.

 

[RagTopDeluxe]

Congratulations! How exciting for you and the other new dads on the thread.

Your wife will he absolutely exhausted and sore (it takes quite a while to recover from birth), so extra patience will be good. Get sleep while you can!

Holding your baby is one of the most amazing experiences ever. It’s truly awe inspiring.

I agree with the sentiment about driving boring cars. I did and was so excited when I got my Miata after my daughter was older.

 

[The Fixer]

If you pack correctly, there's no reason on earth you'd need to get rid of a JLU, unless you wind up having 3 or more kids that all need to be in car seats. There's a ton of cargo space and it's super easy to get in and out of the rear seats with the extra doors.

My wife and I never did the minivan thing. She loathes them. She bought an '03 Liberty Limited in September of '02. Our son was born in May of '03. My daily driver was an '87 Monte Carlo SS. Honestly, it had more trunk space but we managed with the Liberty - pack light, and make all the puzzle pieces fit. My daughter was born in '06, so my son moved into a booster seat and she got the bucket-style car seat. I sold the Monte SS and got an '01 XJ, because 2 kids in car seats in a daily driven 2-door car that only had lap belts was pushing my comfort level on safety sketchiness.

One other member commented on the wind/breeze with the little ones. Their little lungs don't deal well with excessive wind and pressure, so make sure you're mindful of that. In the timeline of life though, having to keep your Jeep a little more closed up when she's little goes by in the blink of an eye. She'll be 5 years old before you know it, climbing in and buckling herself in the back, and raring to go out driving with the top down and doors off.

 

[MassMopar]

Congrats on the addition to the family. It'll slow you down a bit but don't let it stop you from getting out there. Yes it'll look different but it won't be any less fun. We added a trailer and never looked back.

 

[Alex01]

Congratulations!!

 

[XJfanatic]

Congrats!

I have three girls (2,3,6) and they all love riding in the JLU. So much so that the baby will tell me to take the doors off when the weather is nice. But as stated be prepared for the looks from people. That said I get as many “the kids have to love it” as I do looks.

A sunshade is a must if you do the topless thing. Biggest thing I can recommend is getting narrow car seats, I recommend the Diano ones. Not only will they fit three across, they fit infant to harnessed booster and have a steel frame. I have probably waisted over 1000 on seats trying to avoid the expensive ones. The kids like their comfort the most and if you watch Amazon the often go on sale for 40-50 off.

 

[The Fixer]

Congrats!

I have three girls (2,3,6) and they all love riding in the JLU. So much so that the baby will tell me to take the doors off when the weather is nice. But as stated be prepared for the looks from people. That said I get as many “the kids have to love it” as I do looks.

Wow - been over 10 years since I had to use a car seat. Those are a nice design, and it's amazing you can get 3 across!

 

[Sidspider]

Congrats!
Don’t worry too much when you hit her head on the roll bar. Every parent trying to get a kid in and out of a car seat has done it, and the kid’s turn out OK.

 

[John Galt]

Congratulations! We had our little boy last May. We got ourselves a cybex Sirona S car seat that can swivel on its base from rear facing to either side, it makes getting him out of the Jeep a lot easier for my wife who is only 5’2 tall.

 

[Beaching631]

Congratulations!!!

My only advice would be that I personally keep the back doors on all summer for my kids. They're 13 and 10 so obviously they won't fall out. In fact, we let the 13 year old sit in the front when the front doors are on. But I just don't trust other drivers on the road not to T-Bone the kids so they always get doors. This may also be a function of most people being awful drivers where I live.

Enjoy every minute with your kids! Do as much fun things as you can with them including the Jeep. I never worried about how old my kids were, just did everything that I thought would be cool with them. Luckily all of those "field trips" took root... now I have two kids that love going to baseball games, driving on the beach and hiking, and the older one is already a better guitar player than me

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