Rear facing car seat in front passenger seat

[CaptainKit]

What's the difference in risk level of having baby in a rear facing car seat on the passenger seat, with the air bag turned off, in comparison to the rear seat?

Baby's due in February, and I know the back seat on the passenger side is the best place for the car seat to be, and for the majority of time this is where I'd put it. However, there are likely to be times I want to go somewhere with baby and with my two dogs, and to take the pram, so as to be able to walk the dogs and have baby in the pram. In this case the only safe way of loading the car would be to have the pram in the boot, dogs in the back, and baby in the front. Is this too dangerous? The dogs aren't huge, but I figured putting baby and dogs all in the back seats was a bad idea.

A semi-viable alternative is to take a sling for baby, and leave the pram behind, so the dogs fit in the boot and the baby can go in the back seat. This would be fine for a short outing as long as I can get back to the car/home whenever baby needs something, but I can imagine carrying a full changing bag, as well as having baby in the sling and occasionally having to have the dogs on lead is just going to be more aggravation than the walk would be worth, whereas having the extra carrying capacity of the pram would be a great help.

[SpendSpendSpend]

Once baby is here, you may find that its impossible to walk two dogs on leads and push a pram!

However the reason for having children in back seats is because in the front seat a crash impact is much greater.

It would be very dangerous to have the dogs on the back seat with the baby when they out of reach from you.

[blackteaplease]

Can you use a backpack for a change bag and stick with the sling for walks? It will be very tricky to manage a pram and walk 2 dogs I would imagine.

[randomsabreuse]

Assuming dogs are well mannered sensible types I'd go with the sling plus a small rucksack containing edited change bag gubbins - a few nappies, extra layers. If you're breast feeding all you'll want is some method of draft exclusion and a clean top in case of incidents. The soft wrap type slings work better for me than those with padded straps for rucksack compatibility.

You might also find that interesting terrain for dogs isn't very pram friendly and mist pram friendly walks are pretty short.

Would invest in some form of rain cover (I have a close cocoon) for when the coat n longer fits over the top. Waterproof stuff for kids seems to start at about 9 months and even maternity sized waterproof coats will struggle before then so good to have something available if the weather turns!

[CaptainKit]

It would be very dangerous to have the dogs on the back seat with the baby when they out of reach from you. - I don't think I made that clear enough in my OP; I figured that was a bad idea, which is why my initial thought was to put baby in the front, and why I wanted to know what the safety risks were.

Thanks for explaining about the crash impact - that's the bit I was missing, I think, when trying to work out the reasons not to have baby in the front. I do have a larger (and therefore taller) car, but I suppose that only makes a tiny difference if something's driving toward me at speed, and means nothing if it's a van or lorry.

Backpack's a good idea, although I don't relish the thought of being covered in straps from both it and the sling (a baby bjorn carrier, so a bit bulky), but the benefit of having my hands free might make it worth it.

Most regular dog walks I'll be able to manage with the sling, it's more the longer days out where I'll need to travel somewhere and have both dogs and child with me that I'm thinking about. Sounds like the pram was possibly not the wisest of purchases if I'm rarely going to be able to use it! Will look into waterproofs for the youngling as I'm thinking the weather's unlikely to be nice next Feb.

Older dog is mostly sensible as long as there are no squirrels around, but younger dog is 7 months and a hare-brained lurcher, so unless I've made a great breakthrough in his recall in the next 4 months (am attenting training classes, so there is some hope) we'll be starting off in local, safer spots before moving further out, but I really want to have the opportunity of making the most of my time off; even if I don't feel up to it and spend the whole time in doors, at least the choice will have been mine and not due to transport logistics!

[TeaandHobnobs]

Captain I'd recommend searching out your local sling library and seeing what other slings are out there other than the babybjorn - there are many more comfortable options (with buckles if the idea of tying puts you off, although you get the hang of it quickly) which will last you a lot longer than a babybjorn, and make your life a hell of a lot easier with two dogs, I reckon!

[randomsabreuse]

I have a labrador. Fortunately sensible but our usual walks involve stiles and narrow muddy paths. I am still bored by tarmac path sanitised walks so pram has been used once in the garden while we sorted the shed! Fortunately it was borrowed!

DD is now a 9th percentile 3 months and got away with a too large (9-12) waterproof suit with not doing up the front zips and keeping a close eye on her. Arms were the funniest. Something that clips onto the sling is good to keep that dry and if your DH is bigger than you borrowing a big coat helps too (sadly mine is smaller in width!)

[fredandme123]

Can you fit the pram in the front seat and the unused seat behind you? Presume it splits in two? (Also agree that BabyBjorn is not a comfy carrier so if you have a receipt i would take it back Fred was given a 2nd hand one and he grew out of it by 7mos)

[MrsAukerman]

3rd-ing getting rid of the Bjorn.
The only place we ever walk dogs is definitely not pram friendly. We have a mei tai for baby (brand is Lenny lamb).
Check out a sling library and reconsider the value you place on a pram if your dogs are important to you.

[AliceMum09]

This article suggests that the front seat is perfectly safe and that it's commonplace in Sweden for children to travel rear facing in the front seat.