Baby on the way and not sure what to do. Help!

[g0lden]

As the title says, my first baby is on the way. I've done a lot of searching around, but there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info. I checked Jalopnik.com and they seem to have the most info, but not nearly enough.
I understand the for almost the 1st year the baby needs to be in a rear facing seat. So I went to test fit some and they just don't fit very well. Will I have any problems with the law if I just remove the passenger side seat? That seat will completely useless if the baby is in the car and it will give me more room if its taken out.

Also my car is quite loud with the exhaust system being catless. I'm worried about this being to loud for the babies ears.

And what kind of rattles can a baby with stand? lowered on BC extreme low coilovers this car just seems to bounce around with all settings set on 8 all four corners.

Thanks for any help to a soon to be new father.

[leicaboss]

Hey, first of all congrats!

I hate to be the one saying this but I have feeling you might need to transport the child in a different vehicle or revert some stuff back to stock? My main concern (for you) is that the suspension would jolt the newborn up a bit too much. Much respect for taking the time to think about this though! Again, congrats!

[ZionsWrath]

rock stock till the balls drop

[OICU812]

Babies are not that fragile LOL!

[kALMIGHTY]

First off, congrats on the baby.
Second, is it really necessary to remove the passenger seat. Maybe just slide the passenger seat as forward as possible and recline it forward if you need the the extra room. That way you still have a passenger seat when the baby seat isn't in the car.

As far as the carless exhaust being too loud, it's a very strong possibility it'll be annoying for the baby. If you still have the stock exhaust lying around, I'd suggest switching to it at least for a little while the baby grows up and becomes less sensitive to loud noises.

The baby can withstand a lot of rattles in terms of how much their bodies can take without actually damaging anything, but what would worry me is the rattles disturbing the baby enough to wake him/her up, causing him/her to cry. (Trust me, I'm studying to be a doctor currently )

Again, I'd suggest switching to cheap softer springs, or possibly going back to the stock springs for a little while. If you don't have the original parts, they're very cheap here in the classifieds sections. I've seen stock exhausts being sold for $50, and stock springs for around the same price as well.

Good luck!

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by g0lden

As the title says, my first baby is on the way. ..........
Thanks for any help to a soon to be new father.

Well, first off ..... CONGRATULATIONS .........

What a wonderful experience ...

I have some experience, since I've hauled my two granddaughters around in a miata and a FR-S.

About your car and .... the kid. Yep, most states require that infant seats face rearward in the back seat while they are babies. Later, you can turn them around. They can sit up front, if your car doesn't have a back seat.

Although, you may get the little one in the back seat, the care and feeding will be a nightmare, while they are sitting backwards and not much better when they are sitting facing forward.

You might consider running a bluff and fold down the back seat (to make it disappear) and sit the child up front.

As far as a stiff suspension shaking the child, it will probably just put them to sleep sooner. As far as the exhaust noise, when their little lungs cut lose, you won't even hear your exhaust.

About the time they get old enough to fasten their own seatbelt, they run out of leg room in the back seat. Just imagine leaning into the back seat of an FR-S and trying to get a seatbelt around a squirming kid in a car seat.

What would I do? I'd buy a kid friendly vehicle for primary family transportation....

humfrz

[husker741]

Sell it and buy a Prius. This starts the age of nothingness for daddy.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by husker741

Sell it and buy a Prius. This starts the age of nothingness for daddy.

Bullshit.

I've heard many stories about the kids loving the twins more than dad. Usually such stories end with the kid saying "let's go fast, daddy!"

That, and jalopnik had a great article on the twins & baby hauling. Verdict? It can baby!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Andrew025]

Luckily my wife is short and I only had to have my daughter rear facing for a few months in the BRZ.
With that said, there's definitely enough room for the seat but not a whole lot else. Unless your exhaust is incredibly loud, there shouldn't be an issue. Same thing with the suspension. I found that my daughter would get to sleep faster in cars with stiffer suspension. Each kid is different though.

Things get a lot easier once they're front facing.

[nzer]

Congratulations! You will love baby more than your car. I know it is hard to believe but it will happen - eventually!

Biggest difficulty with rear facing will be getting the baby in and out or threading belt and tether and connecting depending on how your baby seat installs. Baby sleeping I don't think will be as issue.

If you really love your car you'll find a way to have baby and car. I suggest you try it once the baby is here and if you find it too difficult then sell or get a cheap car. I had a Nissan Micra little four door for family.

Baby will fit in with you as will know no different. If you have a loud exhaust and stiff suspension the baby is likely to simply sleep through it. We made sure our babies learned to sleep through normal household noise by being normal when they were sleeping. If you tip-toe around and have it dead quiet when they sleep that is what they get use to.

Take baby out in your loud stiff car from an early age and baby will get used to it. Baby will fit in with you as will not know any different, like I said.

DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion and with all parenting there is a million opinions out there!

[Squishy86]

Originally Posted by husker741

Sell it and buy a Prius. This starts the age of nothingness for daddy.

Yeah. Sell the baby and buy a Prius. That way the FRS can be your weekend warrior.

[Bach415]

And since this hasn't been pointed out, you might wanna change you car exhaust back to catted. Those exhaust fumes are no good for a baby! :P

[leicaboss]

Originally Posted by OICU812

Babies are not that fragile LOL!

I realize that, and I'm certainly no expert but the child will be a newborn - I'd be worried even if others reassured me that everything was fine.

Funny thing is, ages ago my parents would take me on long drives in an old Civic - they said that the noises and general atmosphere of the car going down a highway for miles on end would put me to sleep. Then again, that old Civic wasn't a performance vehicle

[Turbo95eg6]

Time for that minivan... Or maybe a nice Altima?