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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Why do people use car seats as baby carriers?

277 replies

Polestar50 · 02/08/2018 00:41

Genuine question.
I have fairly recently has a baby and have only just noticed that most parents use their car seats to carry their babies if walking a short distance (in and out of baby classes etc.)

It hadn’t occurred to me to do that. I just get my baby out and carry him in my arms, which seems much easier to me. He normally stays asleep snuggled up to me.
I find it much more comfortable to have him in my arms than to carry a bulky heavy car seat around and it’s not as though you can leave them in the car seat for any length of time once inside so what is the benefit?

AIBU to think that faffing around with a car seat is much more difficult and uncomfortable, for both parents and baby, or is there some advantage that I’m not seeing here ?

OP posts:
hobnobsaremyfavourite · 04/08/2018 16:58

I am pissing myself laughing at some of the comments on this thread
Adults with bad backs because they were left in car seats too long GrinConfused
Teachers claiming they can recognise poor posture in children who have spent too long in car seats oh fuck off really
That would meant that all the kids aged about my sons age and a bit older who were born long before these guidelines would be hunchbacked, pain addled things
It’s amazing any of mine have survived to adulthood
Never met a child my sons age (mid twenties) with a bad back or any other complications of car seat use
Hmm

peachgreen · 04/08/2018 16:58

I wouldn't do it now but as a small baby my DD preferred to be in her car seat looking at us than in our arms and was much more likely to get antsy and cry if we took her out. So for short visits like doctors etc we kept her in.

PrimalLass · 04/08/2018 18:19

Exactly Woodall and you’re right bouncers and walkers are terrible for babies pelvis and not advised by the nhs.

Meh. My athletic teen loved his baby walker. He was a huge strong baby with head control at birth. Nothing made him happier than zipping about. These things are always over exaggerated - and I'm paranoid about accidents generally.

PasstheStarmix · 04/08/2018 19:06

PrimalLass My health visitor made a point of
checking we didn’t own a bouncer or walker. It’s amazing I’m okay because my parents used bouncers/walkers and god knows how poor the car seats were back then.

timeisnotaline · 04/08/2018 19:12

I think it’s quite sad
Well shame on me for having my baby in something that means I can lie down for my pelvic floor physio, to get my stitches checked, use both hands to eat a quick snack with, go to mu Pilates class (babies allowed) , get an injection , and other women will have a longer list but that’s some of my past few weeks.

5000KallaxHoles · 04/08/2018 19:56

I know of a teacher who says she can identify which children have spent long periods of time in car seats as babies, by their posture.

She'd be talking out of her arse then - because the child of mine with poor posture has problems with low muscle tone (and has had from birth), poor core strength and poor upper body/shoulder strength... and we used a Britax First Class Plus seat with her that stayed in the car as she was (still is really - you can move her anywhere when she's asleep and she'll snore through it aged 5 1/2) snoring sloth baby once she'd fallen asleep.

There are things you CAN notice as a teacher - the families that smoke being the big one as you smell it on reading books and book bags... but nope you can't fucking well spot gratuitious Maxi Cosi abuse from years earlier - that is, if in fact it's a proper teacher and not one of these fantasy "I need to add weight to my parent shaming post on MN so I'm going to throw in a random set of friends who are a teacher, a social worker and a circus trapeze artist" like it usually is.

5000KallaxHoles · 04/08/2018 19:58

We also incidentally didn't get any car seat check done before my premature DD1 left the hospital. The only car seat check we got (for my 33 weeker, discharged at the point she would have been 35 weeks - so still fairly teeny) was "Ok - got yer car seat? Off ya go then - bye."

The collective ability of MN to talk out of its arse and swear that cos it happened to them it must be absolute gospel is hilarious sometimes.

PrimalLass · 04/08/2018 20:05

PrimalLass My health visitor made a point ofchecking we didn’t own a bouncer or walker.

Its the current thing. It will change again at some point. Glad my babies are big.

woodhill · 04/08/2018 20:34

The bouncer was brilliant and the dc enjoyed it

Guest6565 · 04/08/2018 20:53

The collective ability of MN to talk out of its arse and swear that cos it happened to them it must be absolute gospel is hilarious sometimes

As I was the one who mentioned it, I wasn’t talking out my arse, my daughter had been there for 12 weeks so perhaps it was different. I ain’t saying it’s gospel (where the fuck?) but it gave me reasons for my decision, what’s so hard about that? Maybe it would give others second thoughts too?

Not sure what’s so hilarious about considering what I feel is safe for my baby but meh.

BertieBotts · 04/08/2018 20:55

It's almost as though different hospitals might have different policies... Grin

I agree about the teacher point though, and since even doctors can't usually pinpoint exact causes of an individual's problems, I think it's highly unlikely that a teacher can!

Jackieyoulooknice · 04/08/2018 20:56

I work on a nnu and we do not do carseat checks...

PrimalLass · 04/08/2018 21:04

I remember feeling sorry for some new parents who were still getting baby and buggy out of their car in the time it took me to park, get baby, have him weighed and get back out.

I'm sure they were happy with their choice and weren't looking for smug-sling-mum sympathy. But you don't really mean you felt sorry for them.

nannykatherine · 05/08/2018 00:44

babies shouldn’t be in car seats for longer than 20 mins
babies shouldn’t sleep in car seats
babies need to be flat
they need to grow
babies can’t hokd they head up therefore airways block
babies get flat heads
people have babies as accessories and s car seat is part of the accessory

nannykatherine · 05/08/2018 00:47

lucky you primal lass that you didn’t have twins and had no choice than get your pram out of car fir babies and juggle them thro doors while smug single baby mum smirked while you struggle

PrimalLass · 05/08/2018 00:54

nannykatherine I was quoting that post not agreeing with it. The bold bit is not mine.

PrimalLass · 05/08/2018 00:58

But BTW my first baby was nearly 11lb at birth and had head control. He absolutely hated lying flat, had a crazily sensitive moro reflex and would scream unless he was bound up tightly, which is also now not 'allowed'.

So I didn't follow your lie flat advice either as it wasn't right for him.

SoyDora · 05/08/2018 08:30

people have babies as accessories and s car seat is part of the accessory

WTF? Grin.
Yeah I know loads of people who think ‘oh I know how I can complement this tiny little accessory of mine... a big, bulky, ugly car seat’.

You’re talking shit. People use the car seat when it’s convenient for them to do so. It is perfectly possible to do that and to still follow the guidance on safe car seat use. HTH.

hobnobsaremyfavourite · 05/08/2018 08:36

This thread makes me
a Grateful that I had my kids before I discovered mumsnet
B sorry for people that don’t have this luxury
C astounded again at how some people think only they’re way of doing things can possibly exist/be correct
Jeeze people pity people for carrying their child in a car seat Confused do they not have lives to lead

PasstheStarmix · 05/08/2018 09:34

‘Jeeze people pity people for carrying their child in a car seat confused do they not have lives to lead’

This ^

PrimalLass · 05/08/2018 13:56

Exactly. It was bad enough when mine were small but the 'rules' are now mad.

woodhill · 05/08/2018 17:35

Ditto

Mine are in their 20s now. I'm sure it helped get the wind up being more upright

This is a bit like the weaning debate.

Shock horror mine had baby rice at 3-4 months then purees at 4 months.

Mine also liked the bouncing cradle

Realitea · 05/08/2018 22:26

I remember the midwife at the hospital telling me off for walking while holding my baby in my arms. She said what if I tripped? I used the car seat ever since! (Unless I was at home)

BertieBotts · 06/08/2018 09:13

There aren't that many rules. Lots of opinions, mind. Which were always there. Didn't people's relatives spout weirdly opinionated/out of date advice back before the internet? It's just we get to do it to each other now Grin

BuntyII · 06/08/2018 09:19

This thread is hilarious! When the weather gets colder OP I doubt you'll want to lift your baby out of his nice warm car seat into the rain and cold for no reason. They're happy and safe sleeping in their car seats. Sometimes they even stay asleep for twenty minutes after you bring them in the house, during which time you can actually eat a hot meal Grin

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