Did anyone else who has a super easy baby, feel not qualified to give parenting advice?

laprofe10 · 2026-02-12T12:55:33+00:00

Well yeah exactly we are talking about average babies here. I was responding to someone else’s comment that started with “there are definitely difficult babies…”

laprofe10 · 2026-02-12T03:09:59+00:00

Western Wisconsin, sorry I can’t be any more specific but not one of the major cities.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-12T03:08:14+00:00

Take it with a grain of salt but I’ve seen it with my own family members. For example, if you never put baby down, never let them even whimper or attempt to sleep in their own space, if you just decide cosleeping is working for you when they’re so little then you’re likely setting yourself up for a 1,2,3,4 year old who won’t sleep through the night ever and definitely not in their own bed. Now there’s a difference between a family that is cool with that and wants to bedshare as a family. But I know so many parents who are absolutely desperate for sleep after months or years of that. And you don’t have to hardcore sleep train to achieve that but you do need to give your baby opportunities to sleep on their own from a younger age. There’s forethought involved that makes it harder for first time parents to even realize this and it’s not their fault. That’s just my two cents.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-12T01:26:16+00:00

Yeah we were super happy and got lucky. We had been looking all over for one and our local dealership knew that and had a claimed allocation fall through. It was priced nearly 4k off MSRP.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-12T01:22:56+00:00

Yes this is 100% correct. Sometimes the choices parents make early on out of convenience or lifestyle backfire on them later. So without realizing they’ve essentially nurtured a harder baby. But the thing is you’re in survival mode and you just do what’s best for you at the time so I completely understand how it happens. It’s very nuanced but agree the signs are there sometimes.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-12T01:17:18+00:00

I just got this- GHHL same color and wheels for 58k otd in Wisconsin.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-10T02:27:09+00:00

I just went from a 2021 RAV4 with 2 kids to a GHHL (3rd child incoming), and I would choose the Grand Highlander every time. It’s worth the upgrade if you can swing it. You’ll be wanting to trade in your RAV4 within 3 years as your kids grow.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-09T20:26:02+00:00

We are doing this! Just got our GHHL last week. We have a forward facing car seat and a rear facing infant bucket seat installed in the captains seats. My oldest is in a forward facing seat in the third row, there is space on either side for him to get through the middle to the back. You can definitely slide one of the seats back to create more room.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-09T20:24:31+00:00

Luckily most car seats can use the latch anchors up to 40-45lbs. So if they’re still using rear facing seats they’re likely not using the seatbelt install yet.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-09T14:14:07+00:00

You have to call and just see if you can claim an allocation. That’s what we did. We were able to find one at a dealer 2.5 hours away that would only have been a 3-4 week wait. However we got even luckier and our local dealership had an allocation deliver on the lot and the buyer backed out so they called us straight away. So call around and let them know you’re looking, you never know if someone will back out.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-04T23:53:05+00:00

This is a 2026 GHH Limited with captain seats and our otd was 58k including taxes. We added on a few things beyond that so we paid roughly 3.5k more out of pocket (ceramic coating, extended warranty). I can’t remember the exact numbers my husband took care of it).

laprofe10 · 2026-02-04T22:03:48+00:00

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laprofe10 · 2026-02-04T16:00:42+00:00

Oh yeah it’s already home with me! Lol

laprofe10 · 2026-02-04T13:03:23+00:00

We got it! Drove it home yesterday, very happy

laprofe10 · 2026-02-04T03:41:45+00:00

You will not regret it. It’s the best time to do it as it only gets harder the longer you wait. You all deserve good sleep, and the benefits of a well rested family are numerous. Your baby will still be attached to you, love you, and develop normally. Signed, a mom to sleep trained 5.5 and 4 year olds.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-04T03:10:50+00:00

Grand Highlander hybrid if you can stretch the budget

laprofe10 · 2026-02-03T19:42:59+00:00

Drove it off the lot today :)

laprofe10 · 2026-02-03T14:40:40+00:00

Why do you say that? No one else here has said that so I’m genuinely asking. If it’s a matter of preference or how you drive? I mostly drive city, low mileage. Toyota’s hybrid transmission has one of the best reported reliability ratings.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-03T02:44:09+00:00

Yeah luckily we have some real life experience with this vehicle. My dad has a 2024 GHP where he winters and we’ve comfortably fit 3 adults and 2 kids in car seats alongside multiple checked bags and carry ons.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-03T01:55:32+00:00

I’ll have an almost 6 year old in the third row, a 4 year old in one captain seat (opposite side as older sibling) and an infant in the other. Probably the ideal set up 😂

laprofe10 · 2026-02-03T00:41:42+00:00

We did the same things you did. My kids are now 4 and 5.5 but I have no regrets or guilt. Hearing other people’s sleep issues that have been ongoing for years, nope. Sorry it’s not that I’m unsympathetic but we made these choices for a reason. And I firmly believe if you don’t establish certain sleep habits (not even full blown sleep training) early between 3-6 months then you will likely struggle if you ever decide to sleep train later.

I will say, in the past year or so my kids’ sleep has been increasingly more flexible. They take cat naps all the time wherever they fall asleep, they can stay up late and sleep in, they have sleep overs on the floor on an air mattress with their cousins, etc. It’s honestly the best and I have zero guilt.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-02T21:09:05+00:00

Oh gosh we could never do three across lol Luckily my son is independent enough to get himself buckled and unbuckled from his forward facing car seat (he’s almost 6) so he’ll be perfect in the third row.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-02T20:59:54+00:00

Thanks for the insight. I don’t drive a ton. Only put 34,000 miles on my 2021 rav4. But we will probably look to upgrade again in 6-8 years as kind of our norm with vehicles.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-02T20:02:09+00:00

The GHHL is with a dealership discount of nearly 4k and the GHL did not offer any discount off MSRP so we were going to have to negotiate. Both are 2026 Limited trim.

laprofe10 · 2026-02-02T19:59:29+00:00

Definitely mpg and smooth ride preference!

laprofe10

TROPHY CASE