Do you need a car with a newborn?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The main issue is bad weather. If you can walk everywhere, that’s great. But what about when there’s a foot of snow or a major rainstorm? What about emergencies? Could you quickly make it to an ER?

These what if’s are rare. I’d give being carless a try but definitely be willing to buy one if necessary.

I've been carless for 10 years, and now have a kid. Weather is a non issue.

There's been a foot of snow in DC MAYBE four times in the 12 years I've lived here. When there's a foot of snow, the city shuts down. People with cars don't go anywhere either. You can walk in a couple inches of snow just as easily as you can drive in it.

Rain is just - rain. You can walk in the rain. I have a pair of waterproof boots I wear when it's raining heavily in the colder months, and in the warmer months, my feet just get wet. Whatever. I have a raincoat and an umbrella. You WILL need one of those waterproof stroller covers - we use ours frequently. And because it's hard to navigate a stroller with an umbrella, I recommend a good raincoat. I generally prefer to wear my baby though, and then an umbrella does us just great. He loves walking in the rain and finds the umbrella fascinating.

As far as an ER - I can get in a cab and get to the ER almost as quickly as someone with a car could drive there. Getting the cab adds MAYBE five minutes, and I only live a 10 minute drive from the hospital. No one would balk at owning a car and living 15 minutes from the hospital. And if it's a true emergency, you call an ambulance.

[Anonymous]

I definitely don't think you need a car to have kids in DC, especially if you live walking distance to pediatrician and childcare, and especially if you've been living without a car for a while. We did have a car because my ILs live in a place that it is much easier to drive to than fly to, but we mostly just walked everywhere with the DC when she was a baby. And we know other people in DC who have kids and no car at all. We live in Capital Hill and lots of our friends just do a combination of baby carrying, strollers, child seats on bikes (or those little wagons you attach), and then Ubers and car rentals when necessary. It works for them and I don't think they feel deprived. I would recommend making sure you investigate which carseats are easiest to install in a cab or rental without a base. Ours was okay for this (the nuna) but I think others might be even easier.

I do think here are other advantages to having a car with a kid in DC, and in the end we're glad we have one. But many of those advantages (being able to drive to parks or hiking opportunities that aren't near public transportation, having a reliable backup for getting our kid to school/childcare/classes if public transportation isn't an option or the weather is terrible, etc.) could be accomplished by signing up for Car-2-Go or something. If we didn't need the car to visit family, I think that's what I'd push for. My my DH also really likes having his own car, it's a security thing. I think if you have a place to park it, it's not that big of a deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main issue is bad weather. If you can walk everywhere, that’s great. But what about when there’s a foot of snow or a major rainstorm? What about emergencies? Could you quickly make it to an ER?

These what if’s are rare. I’d give being carless a try but definitely be willing to buy one if necessary.

I've been carless for 10 years, and now have a kid. Weather is a non issue.

There's been a foot of snow in DC MAYBE four times in the 12 years I've lived here. When there's a foot of snow, the city shuts down. People with cars don't go anywhere either. You can walk in a couple inches of snow just as easily as you can drive in it.

Rain is just - rain. You can walk in the rain. I have a pair of waterproof boots I wear when it's raining heavily in the colder months, and in the warmer months, my feet just get wet. Whatever. I have a raincoat and an umbrella. You WILL need one of those waterproof stroller covers - we use ours frequently. And because it's hard to navigate a stroller with an umbrella, I recommend a good raincoat. I generally prefer to wear my baby though, and then an umbrella does us just great. He loves walking in the rain and finds the umbrella fascinating.

As far as an ER - I can get in a cab and get to the ER almost as quickly as someone with a car could drive there. Getting the cab adds MAYBE five minutes, and I only live a 10 minute drive from the hospital. No one would balk at owning a car and living 15 minutes from the hospital. And if it's a true emergency, you call an ambulance.

We have a car and would probably take a cab if we needed to take our kid to the ER. The parking issues at the hospital are a pain, and if you are stressed about your sick or injured kid, it's a lot easier to let someone else drive and then be able to just get out at the hospital and not worry about parking. Plus there is a good chance you might have to take the kid to the ER on your own, in which case you really don't want to be dealing with the car.

[Anonymous]

With one I agree, try car free. We had three children under three in a row house and went straight to a minivan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could do without but setting up a car seat in a Zipcar or Uber every time you need it would be a serious hassle. Not necessary to get a car but certainly more convenient.

It's extremely easy to set up a lightweight carseat in a rental/zipcar/uber if you buy the right model. Probably takes about 20 seconds if you know what you're doing with the belts and does not take a lot of effort/strength. Never had a problem while traveling.

I imagine that it would be helpful to the OP if you were to recommend your 20-second-install model.

I'm a different poster (posted on the first page about being carless with no issues with a one year old, although the first month would be tougher with covid). Just wanted to jump in and answer this - if you are going carless, your best carseat option is the chicco fit2. It's the longest lasting infant bucket seat on the market (a kid in the 85% will still fit in it on his second birthday) and infant bucket seats that then snap into stroller is WAY easier for things like cabs rather than dealing with a convertible car seat. You do not need the base - we sold ours to someone who needed a second one. We practiced a few times getting it into friends cars before the baby came, and we quickly learned to install in < 20 seconds. You can go right from a chicco fit2 to an immi go to a bubble bum. Easy peasy.

I had always read that the doona is great for the city. Easy to install in a taxi and converts instantly to stroller. It doesn't last as long as chico fit though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could do without but setting up a car seat in a Zipcar or Uber every time you need it would be a serious hassle. Not necessary to get a car but certainly more convenient.

It's extremely easy to set up a lightweight carseat in a rental/zipcar/uber if you buy the right model. Probably takes about 20 seconds if you know what you're doing with the belts and does not take a lot of effort/strength. Never had a problem while traveling.

I imagine that it would be helpful to the OP if you were to recommend your 20-second-install model.

I'm a different poster (posted on the first page about being carless with no issues with a one year old, although the first month would be tougher with covid). Just wanted to jump in and answer this - if you are going carless, your best carseat option is the chicco fit2. It's the longest lasting infant bucket seat on the market (a kid in the 85% will still fit in it on his second birthday) and infant bucket seats that then snap into stroller is WAY easier for things like cabs rather than dealing with a convertible car seat. You do not need the base - we sold ours to someone who needed a second one. We practiced a few times getting it into friends cars before the baby came, and we quickly learned to install in < 20 seconds. You can go right from a chicco fit2 to an immi go to a bubble bum. Easy peasy.

I had always read that the doona is great for the city. Easy to install in a taxi and converts instantly to stroller. It doesn't last as long as chico fit though.

PP here - we considered the Doona. If we had tons of money and some extra space, we would have gotten one - it would have been nice those first few months. But it's like $500 and the baby would likely grow out of it in the first year. Then what do you do in year two? It's too early for the Immi Go. You'd essentially either then have to deal with a convertible car seat, or buy the Chicco Fit2 - which could have been used the whole first year, too. And now you essentially need storage for two big car seats. In our city apartment, the car seat was literally the only thing we bought that didn't fold flat, and fitting two of them would have been tough. Didn't seem like a wise choice. I can see the argument for it though, especially if you're flush with cash.

[Anonymous]

We did it with our first but abruptly pulled the plug on it when I encountered a drunk homeless man in the subway with my 2 year old

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could do without but setting up a car seat in a Zipcar or Uber every time you need it would be a serious hassle. Not necessary to get a car but certainly more convenient.

It's extremely easy to set up a lightweight carseat in a rental/zipcar/uber if you buy the right model. Probably takes about 20 seconds if you know what you're doing with the belts and does not take a lot of effort/strength. Never had a problem while traveling.

I imagine that it would be helpful to the OP if you were to recommend your 20-second-install model.

I'm a different poster (posted on the first page about being carless with no issues with a one year old, although the first month would be tougher with covid). Just wanted to jump in and answer this - if you are going carless, your best carseat option is the chicco fit2. It's the longest lasting infant bucket seat on the market (a kid in the 85% will still fit in it on his second birthday) and infant bucket seats that then snap into stroller is WAY easier for things like cabs rather than dealing with a convertible car seat. You do not need the base - we sold ours to someone who needed a second one. We practiced a few times getting it into friends cars before the baby came, and we quickly learned to install in < 20 seconds. You can go right from a chicco fit2 to an immi go to a bubble bum. Easy peasy.

I had always read that the doona is great for the city. Easy to install in a taxi and converts instantly to stroller. It doesn't last as long as chico fit though.

PP here - we considered the Doona. If we had tons of money and some extra space, we would have gotten one - it would have been nice those first few months. But it's like $500 and the baby would likely grow out of it in the first year. Then what do you do in year two? It's too early for the Immi Go. You'd essentially either then have to deal with a convertible car seat, or buy the Chicco Fit2 - which could have been used the whole first year, too. And now you essentially need storage for two big car seats. In our city apartment, the car seat was literally the only thing we bought that didn't fold flat, and fitting two of them would have been tough. Didn't seem like a wise choice. I can see the argument for it though, especially if you're flush with cash.

Agree with this, Doona makes no sense, especially since you are rapidly going to need another stroller (even if baby can still fit in it as a car seat, you will want a stroller they can properly sit up in starting around 6-8 months — mobile babies should not be lying down in strollers). Why spend $500 on the Doona when you could get a stroller you really like and will use much longer and a car seat adapter. You will be pushing the stroller much, much more often than taking cabs during that first year if you live in city and plan to walk most places.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't have one for my first, but do now for my second (different city/circumstances). I strongly preferred not dealing with a car. It's just easier to put the kid in a carrier and walk out the door---no need to buckle in and out or deal with a crying baby that you can't reach in the backseat. If your usual routine is within walking distance, you don't need a car.

Re the ped, I actually don't think you need to be close to it. There really aren't that many appointments in the first year or thereafter. Covid does make things harder, but we're still only talking about maybe 7 trips in the first year. And, presumably cases will be going down by the time your baby is here. Personally, I would punt the decision until April and see how you feel then. It's not too long from now, but we may have a little more clarity on the year ahead re Covid vaccinations.

We got our first car about 3 weeks before DD was born. We lived in Van Ness and ped was out in Chevy Chase. We’d had this debate ourselves (DH wanted car, I didn’t). Then he was sick one night (kidney stone) and we were out on CT at about 12:15 am mid winter trying to hail a cab on a weeknight. It was freezing and he was in a lot of pain. I said “imagine how stressful this would be with a sick or injured child!” That was the night we decided to get a car. Definitely not necessary (very easy to seat belt a car seat into a car) but our first was premature and we got sent to the hospital or the pediatrician / lactation consultant 10 times in her first two weeks home! so almost daily! It was miserable and I was in pain and exhausted and it would have been worse without a car for sure. By the time our second was born we’d moved and my DH took the car and older DD to daycare and if I needed to go anywhere with the baby I would just get a lyft. That was a few years ago. I don’t feel comfortable taking lyft or metro or taxis now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't have one for my first, but do now for my second (different city/circumstances). I strongly preferred not dealing with a car. It's just easier to put the kid in a carrier and walk out the door---no need to buckle in and out or deal with a crying baby that you can't reach in the backseat. If your usual routine is within walking distance, you don't need a car.

Re the ped, I actually don't think you need to be close to it. There really aren't that many appointments in the first year or thereafter. Covid does make things harder, but we're still only talking about maybe 7 trips in the first year. And, presumably cases will be going down by the time your baby is here. Personally, I would punt the decision until April and see how you feel then. It's not too long from now, but we may have a little more clarity on the year ahead re Covid vaccinations.

The 7 trips thing is only if you are extremely lucky. None of my kids had any inner ear drainage apparently and all had recurrent ear infections. I would have LOVED to not see my pediatrician as much as I ended up doing.

[Anonymous]

I'm on my 3rd kid and all have HATED the car for the 1st 6mo. The only time they were in it was for pediatrician appointments and if I'd had a pediatrician I could easily walk to I'd have done that instead in a minute.

I would not want to take public transportation to/from pediatrician. The appointments can often lead to missed naps and upset babies. Especially as a frazzled FTM who was still getting the hang of packing a diaper bag without forgetting everything, I would not want a 30min bus wait / ride home with an exhausted / screaming infant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't have one for my first, but do now for my second (different city/circumstances). I strongly preferred not dealing with a car. It's just easier to put the kid in a carrier and walk out the door---no need to buckle in and out or deal with a crying baby that you can't reach in the backseat. If your usual routine is within walking distance, you don't need a car.

Re the ped, I actually don't think you need to be close to it. There really aren't that many appointments in the first year or thereafter. Covid does make things harder, but we're still only talking about maybe 7 trips in the first year. And, presumably cases will be going down by the time your baby is here. Personally, I would punt the decision until April and see how you feel then. It's not too long from now, but we may have a little more clarity on the year ahead re Covid vaccinations.

The 7 trips thing is only if you are extremely lucky. None of my kids had any inner ear drainage apparently and all had recurrent ear infections. I would have LOVED to not see my pediatrician as much as I ended up doing.

Its not only if you're "extremely" lucky (i'm sorry you weren't lucky). Pediatricians answers when you call is almost always they don't need to come in - not for low grade fevers or colds or minor rashes etc. Of my kids, I think we only needed to actually go in once for a sick visit the first year. The well visits still feel like a ton initially but that phase passes quickly

[Anonymous]

So funny my husband did the exact same thing a few months before our baby came. I think it was his version of nesting. We had been car free for years but he out of nowhere really felt we needed a car. I would say it did make things much more convenient, but not absolutely necessary. You have to take the baby to doctors appointments a lot, even if they are healthy. You can do it on public transportation, but having a car is nice. And it made it easier to do little weekend getaways outside the city (pre-covid).

[Anonymous]

Where do you live? We lived in Dupont until our kids were 6 & 8 and never had a car. The only pain was the time we needed to get to Children’s hospital once or twice and had to uber family. Covid should be a non issue with this soon enough. We loved being car free. We saved a ton, learned how to get everywhere without fighting for parking. Zip car to take day trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No but I think it will be tougher with covid.

How so?

Not the PP, but I had a newborn and no car. My baby was in the NICU for 3 months and then needed to do followup appointments at places that were not geographically convenient. So we did need to use public transit, ride shares, car shares, and cabs. It's up to you how good you feel about those options with COVID. I've been car free most of my life, my kid is now ten and COVID finally broke me. In my experience, ride share cars take longer and cost more than they did pre-COVID and you not only need to think about your comfort but the comfort of the people/places you are traveling to. It's also a lot more to ask a friend to give you a ride during COVID, which I relied on in the past.

You could always try car free and then get a rental until you can buy if it's not working.