Car seats and taxis

[123FirstBabyDumbo]

AIBU to not have realized taking taxis/ ubers with an infant is not possible?! Please tell me there are other idiots like me around.

First baby due soon, was planning some visits abroad (I'm not originally from the UK) and breaks, all to cities where public transport is shit but the driving is horrific. No way can I drive there with my tame UK driving experience.

I can't take a car seat AND a stroller if I want to go for a walk or to a shopping mall or a museum. So what do people do?? Are there any portable carseats for infants? my online research is not giving me any obvious solutions other than the doona.

I know the doona clips in but 1) I've already bought a pram and 2) I thought the doona is not safe for more than 30 mins because of asphyxiation?

Re the driving - there's no way in hell I'd get into a car without a car seat in these destinations. Car seats are technically not mandatory but that would be so unsafe.

Get a black cab and stand the pushchair up in it and put the brakes on like you would on a bus

@Ilovecakey did you read the op?? At all?!

have a look at the tinyseats2 op, I’m not sure what age it’s from but it would be a really good option for you.

Yes of course there is. Almost all first stage infant car seats of well known brands are compatible with prams, most with universal adapters.

For travel for example ideal combination is the babyzen yoyo with car seat. You can leave main seat on when using car seat. So you use car seat on days out when using taxi. And have the option of main seat when just wandering around. You can use a sling also. Between short naps in car seat, sling use, and taking baby out to feed/ change/ stretch legs they aren’t in car seat for hours and hours at a time. It’s up to 2 hrs btw, but ideally less so longer for week away is fine, long daily for months not

You can often pre book taxis with car seats so worth checking the location you are visiting to see if they do have them.

as you know a child seat is not required in a cab/taxi - but plenty of small baby seats around that are then incorporated into a good buggy - our children have one for their babies

@AmiShitsaline my birth country is not quite there yet unfortunately in terms of awareness about safety etc. All my friends home take babies on their laps. Which I won't do obviously.

You can get a doona which is a car seat that turns into a pram?

obviously not - so read my post

Depending on your baby's age ans finances there are also nachfolger car seats

https://www.nachfolger.com/en/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqWzBhAqEiwAQmtgT16sQXOT9Dw_2IGfJLBTKIcLbsQd0nXZnET0bVlP3SSbqjB5K3v1wRoCv2cQAvD_BwE

then google that type of seat/buggy/puchchair

I'd use a baby seat that goes on a stroller and just take the baby out of it for a break every now and again.

Which pram do you have?

@Caspianberg Thank you! the shop told me no more than 30 minutes in the doona as baby will be under 12 weeks. Maybe that's overkill on their part.

I wouldn’t get a doona. Then you only have the car seat, and it can only be used max around 1 year. The babyzen yoyo can be used travelling for 4+ years. Add any compatible seat is lighter also ie maxi cosi

Getting a small pram plus car seat means you just remove car seat on days you don’t need and have actual pram.

If your going with young baby you can get babyzen yoyo with newborn nest so it still folds into hand luggage size. Plus car seat.

the 30mins/ 2hr thing is just because when car seats exist that fit on prams, SOME people were leaving babies day in day out for hours every day in car seat which isn’t good for breathing or spine. Normal people use car seat as appropriate, swap to sling, pram, take baby out in arms to feed or lay on floor etc throughout the day

Good answer @Caspianberg , I was wondering which pram OP has as it may be compatible with a car seat such as maxi cost with adaptors

@AmiShitsaline - yes if op has another pram already then a car seat on that would also work fine.
I just assumed if the are from overseas and visiting family soon after baby born, then it’s probably going to be a frequent thing over the next few years to see family, hence travel size pram suggestion

If you go somewhere like John Lewis, an assistant can also show you the options

@AmiShitsaline @Caspianberg thank you so much! I was so overwhelmed with information on this! I have a Bugaboo Fox 2 (second hand, so not the latest generation).

I didn't realize I could buy car seats that fit onto the pram, I thought I needed a whole new travel system which I can't quite afford.

Ah that’s great then, probably worth checking eBay for the car seat adapters to save a few quid!

I had the bugaboo lynx which I think we bought when the Fox2 was the latest fox model. The Bugaboo Turtle by Nuna infant car seat attached onto the frame.

Yes in that case you can just get adapter for bugaboo to car seat. You can email bugaboo to ask which adapter or buy online easy enough as it’s a big brand.

Maxi cosi is probably your best option for its adapter fitting most. you can fit using just seatbelt and no base when travelling.

With the bugaboo you will have to just pack everything into travel bag for flight as carrycot at that age if using as travel bed also. Car seat and adapter in another bag. Both will go for free at luggage check. Then you can mix and match whether to use carrycot or car seat on day out of car seat needed.

I appreciate these responses so much, thank you!!! Panic over 😀

https://www.bugaboo.com/gb-en/accessories/adapters/bugaboo-fox-lynx-buffalo-adapters-for-maxi-cosi-car-seats-MI000962.html

You can message bugaboo to check, but o don’t think it matters which version of the fox you have

I would get a lie-flat car seat. They're not perfect but you can safely leave the baby in them for longer. Then clip into your existing buggy.

It is advised to have babies in a car seat for no more than 30 mins at a time for the first 4 weeks. After 4 weeks the time expands to 2 hours. No need to stick to a 30 min limite for 12 weeks.

If you are out with a newborn (IME we didn't really leave the house very much for those 4 weeks) for longer than 30 mins you can just take them out of the seat, and give them a bit of a cuddle/feed/play/kick around on a blanket to give them a break. Likewise for an older baby you just take them out after 2 hours, give them a break and then you can put them back in.

There are also lie flat(ter) seats on the market like the Joie i-Level or the Cybex Cloud. They're not actually flat enough to totally ignore the guidance, but you can use your own judgement. And likewise it doesn't make sense that on the 27th day of life and the 28th day of life the baby suddenly gains an extra 90 minutes' ability to cope with being in a car seat - you can use common sense around this.

And please remember the guidance only came in years and years after travel systems were first invented and marketed. It is a real risk to be aware of, but it is a very small one. As long as you're not using a car seat as your baby's bed overnight, or keeping them in it for hours and hours at a time every day, it is unlikely to cause a problem.

The adapters as shown for your pram will take any EU MAxi Cosi/Cybex/Besafe/Avionaut/Britax (2020 models+)/Nuna and most of the Joie car seats. Double check any new seat you buy can be fitted with the car seatbelt and doesn't need a base.

Do you have a carry car seat to use at home? Or just a permanent one fixed in your car? Are you somewhere that uses the EU standard for car seats or another standard, and what about where you're planning to visit?

I think to a point you just have to accept that in some places driving is less safe.

You may be able to control things like car seats. But you can never control the state of the driving or the car.

One of the things I have found is that generally where the driving is "less structured" the speeds are generally a lot slower. This means although the probability of an accident is higher, the consequences of one is much less than say in a developed country like the UK where cars can be moving very quickly.

I used to travel a lot and someone once asked me whether I was worried about terrorism. I said taxi drivers and their crap driving and clapped out cars pose far more of a risk to the average business traveller than terrorists. I have been involved in several car crashes and know people who have been hospitalised because of them, but never known anyone involved in a terrorist incident.

There are other risks travelling to less developed countries. Such as food poisoning, building standard and appliance safety and disease. Frankly if I had a very young child I wouldn't be taking them there because a) the risks b) they are very unlikely to benefit from the trip and everything about it, from the risks to the misery of the flights and the change in climate is not something they are likely to easily settle with. For example how do people protect very young children from diseases like malaria ?

edit : I don't know much about car seats. But I know in a lot of taxis I have been in they don't even have seatbelts, let alone fixing points for car seats.