First Time father advice
 

Hey,


So I'm going to be a father for the first time, and I'm curious if any of our older wiser members could provide any advice for raising an infant with your FRS/BRZ/86. Such as car seats etc. I'll also be happy to hear any fathering advice in general. The FRS is paid off and selling it is 100% off the table. I also have a '19 Corolla hatch in manual which will be the main baby carrier but I plan to also use the FRS if need be.


Also FYI: My wife is due in early June, so any advice in helping with my wife's pregnancy is also more than welcome.

grats! have as much fun with your kid before they become big or else you will regret it! many of my best memories with my son were/are spent in 86 so I say use her as much as you can. rear facing seat in the back was a bit PITA and admittedly I did switch my boy over to a front facing and eventually booster seat a little early each time :p helped so much after he was able to climb into the backseat on his own lol

Based on the fathers I know alcohol seems to help a great deal.

No issues getting my kids in the back. They are in their late thirties though.

The rear facing car seats take up a huge amount of space. They are angled forward at exactly the same height as the front seat is angled back. In a small car, rear facing seats only fit in the front passenger seat (if your local laws allow) or in the rear passenger seat with the front seat empty. Once baby moves up to a forward facing seat he can fit in the back of a sports car, an extended cab pickup, dog crate, etc.


Keep your car and just know that you can't fit the whole fam in it for a couple years.

I have come to learn that it is very helpful so far during the pregnancy as well so far.

Have 18month and 4 month, put my 1st kid in back with car seat one time. Never again. Enjoy it as a fun DD or track car, and haul the kids around in something else.

I can only give advice about how to be a kid. (The back dash of a '77 Nova sedan is a great place to take a nap on long trips)

Well as a health care person, I’ll give some health advice

-support the neck when holding the baby!
-don’t be a helicopter parent, kids are a lot more resilient than you think
-make sure your wife eats everything during the pregnancy, if there is still some time left. When women avoid certain foods, there’s a chance the offspring will develop an allergy to that food
-vaccinate the child! Not all in the same day though, spread them out
-please try to sleep. It will be hard but virtually every single human disease can be linked to sleep deprivation. Get at least 7 hours. Work it out with your wife.

Have fun!

First year or so, it's just a boring delicate and squishy ball that you just need to keep alive with food and water. Poops and pees and expects you to clean it up, it's just a smelly lazy freeloading bum.
When when it hits about 2 though take that thing and get it all the Legos, puzzles, books and take it too all the parks, zoos, and playgrounds.

Make sure to get lots of videos/pics(pretty easy and common these days) because you and the kid will love watching all that stuff later. I always go back to a video of my son at about 2 being fed by my Mom
at her house, him clamping down on a spoon with his teeth and then pulling it out of her hand and bonking his head on the chair and laughing, funny stuff.

Also, don't kick the baby.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Don't let them run wild, but do give them some free rein.

Kids are awesome.

Remember, they do eventually move out, or you will eventually die, so either way they eventually get out of your hair.

My 18 year old daughter asked if I want to go to the zoo, so, tomorrow we hit the ferry and head to see the lions and tigers and bears oh my, she will be the reasonable adult tomorrow.

Enjoy changing the nappies!
This is much more enjoyable than trying to teach teenagers how to safely drive cars.

Forgot to add, teach good trigger discipline young.

In July or August, sell the car and get a minivan.