I had a 2 door Altima coupe when I nannied. Let's just say I switched DH and he drove the coupe and I drove his 4 door. I thought it was a PITA with a 6 month old and 3 yr old. The 3 yr old because he tripped over my seat belt getting in and out unless I pushed it back and the 6 month old was tough to wrangle in and out. Plus I hated being so vulnerable halfway in a car in a parking lot.
Just my opinion :-) I'm curious what others say. Knowing we wanted a baby in the near future swayed our decisions in late 2012 while car buying.
We have a new nissan rogue that will be our primary baby wagon
My car is a little convertible beetle, we drive around our God daughters (3 and 5) in that, but only one at the time. It is a pain to get them buckles in and when they had rear facing seats it was near impossible.
I had a two door civic when I nannied an infant and it wasn't that bad! Yes, it's more of a pain but it definitely worked! My husband actually drives the same car and will drive it until we are able to buy a new family car!
Heather
Southern CA
2nd Pregnancy
May 2012 -- MC
Due Date July 5, 2014 <--- prayers for sticky baby
A few months before DD was born my mother ordered a new car (2 door convertible) despite the fact that we kept telling her it would be so hard to get a baby in and out. She did not listen and oh lawdy is it hard to get DD in and out. It got easier when we switched her forward facing and she could climb into the seat herself, but those first 2.5 years were rough!
Now that we have another on the way she's telling my dad she needs a Nana car to replace the one she got in 2011.
So while it's not impossible it's not easy or ideal either.
We have a new nissan rogue that will be our primary baby wagon
My car is a little convertible beetle, we drive around our God daughters (3 and 5) in that, but only one at the time. It is a pain to get them buckles in and when they had rear facing seats it was near impossible.
We have a nissan rogue and just discussed on Sunday having to get something bigger. When we bought it (3 years ago) we knew we'd be having a family and thought it'd be enough. We're going to the beach in April and I'm already trying to figure out how we'll get the three of us plus our niece that we're taking, our 2 dogs, and all of our stuff into it. Strollers take up way more room than you realize! DH has a volvo. It's 4-door, so not the PITA a 2-door car is, but getting the infant car seat in and out of the smaller door opening isn't fun. Also, DH is tall so he has to remember to move his seat up when the car seat is in so they aren't touching.
Not speaking from having a 2 door car, but I would think the infant carrier won't be all that hard, it just has to fit in the door. I would think the trouble will be when you are not using the infant carrier any more but also don't yet have a toddler who can just climb into their own seat.
I have a honda element with suicide doors, it's not ideal but I make it work. It would be a great car for older kids but for now it will have to do! So I feel your pain. We also have a 4 door honda civic and it's actually a tight squeeze with car seats too so I wish you luck!
I had a Honda Civic forEVER until we got our CR-V. I had two kids in huge carseats in the back. Sure, it wasn't ideal, but it worked. It's definitely doable. You will live, I promise.
“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a
thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the
beginning of fairies.” - J.M. Barrie Peter Pan
I have died every day waiting for you. Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. And all along I believed I would find you, time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you a thousand more.
Blah. My husband keeps saying we should swap my car out but we JUST got it last year. Hopefully the trade in value will be more than what we owe if we go down that route.
It won't be. Just a heads up. Your car depreciates 3-4k as soon as you drive it off the lot. :-S
You may be able to negotiate. I owed 15k on my Altima and made them give me at least 16k for the trade-in. But we were also buying 2 cars the same day.
I had an acura integra with an infant seat, a ford aspire (it aspired to be something better than a ford), and a nissan 200sx with a toddler seat. All of these were 2 door.
The infant seat was a pain when trying to use it as a carrier (so I rarely did) since maneuvering it out behind the seats kind of sucked (a lot). The toddler seat was okay though, since it was more getting the child out, not the seat itself out.
Re: Baby+2 door Civic=disaster?
Just my opinion :-) I'm curious what others say. Knowing we wanted a baby in the near future swayed our decisions in late 2012 while car buying.
My car is a little convertible beetle, we drive around our God daughters (3 and 5) in that, but only one at the time. It is a pain to get them buckles in and when they had rear facing seats it was near impossible.
Heather
Southern CA
2nd Pregnancy
May 2012 -- MC
Due Date July 5, 2014 <--- prayers for sticky baby
A few months before DD was born my mother ordered a new car (2 door convertible) despite the fact that we kept telling her it would be so hard to get a baby in and out. She did not listen and oh lawdy is it hard to get DD in and out. It got easier when we switched her forward facing and she could climb into the seat herself, but those first 2.5 years were rough!
Now that we have another on the way she's telling my dad she needs a Nana car to replace the one she got in 2011.
So while it's not impossible it's not easy or ideal either.
“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.”
- J.M. Barrie Peter Pan
married on the sweetest day 10.20.12
Chicken - 07.08.06 | Bubsy - 02.24.09 | Sunshine - 07.16.14
The 2014 rogues are significantly bigger than the previous, but even so I am not sure we could also fit in a dog or 2!
It won't be. Just a heads up. Your car depreciates 3-4k as soon as you drive it off the lot. :-S
You may be able to negotiate. I owed 15k on my Altima and made them give me at least 16k for the trade-in. But we were also buying 2 cars the same day.
The infant seat was a pain when trying to use it as a carrier (so I rarely did) since maneuvering it out behind the seats kind of sucked (a lot). The toddler seat was okay though, since it was more getting the child out, not the seat itself out.