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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Leaving hospital with your baby

58 replies

NannyTee · 17/09/2009 12:27

My daughter has been told she needs a car seat for her 5 weeks old son in order for them to let him home - seems reasonable enough only neither my daughter, her partner, myself, our close family or friends own a car!!! My daughter has everything she needs for her baby except a car seat that she doesn't need!!! What is the reasoning behind this? You used to be able to just wrap up a baby and walk out with him on the day of discharge - he's not even newly born - he's been in hospital for 5 weeks!!

OP posts:
thenameiwantedwastaken · 17/09/2009 13:24

I heard that in London Addison Lee cabs can provide a cab with a car seat for the baby - www.addisonlee.com or

Booking & General Enquiries
Bookings: 0844 800 6677
Email: [email protected]

Great to hear your grandson is ready to come home!

thenameiwantedwastaken · 17/09/2009 13:25

I mean www.addisonlee.com of course

nappyaddict · 17/09/2009 13:28

Kay They did that with me. I was like I have a massive car seat from birth to 5 years. We are not lugging it up to the 2nd floor. If you want to see that we have one you will have to come down to the car.

My mum says when I was born they always used to come out to the car with you.

lisianthus · 17/09/2009 13:38

I had exactly this situation. If I had known then what I know now, I would have just taken the sling in and sat belted in, rear facing in a black cab.

However, I must alert you to what happened to me when my LO was born 2 months ago, so it doesn't happen to your daughter - the hospital (St Thomas on Westminster Bridge), told us that they wouldn't let us leave unless we had a car seat, but for those of us who didn't have cars, the local minicab company (for which the hospital provided details) could transport newborns and provide a car seat. We rang the cab company and checked, and they confirmed this was the case.

On the day, we booked a cab, telling them we needed a cab with a car seat for a newborn and the car that turned up arrived with an uninstalled seat that was totally unsuitable for a newborn - it was a seat for a much older child, and would have been unsafe. The cab driver had no idea how to install it and when he tried, we saw from the picture on the seat that he was installing it upside down. We called the cab company back and they told us that this was the only seat it had.

As we didn't have the sling with us, and I had just had a difficult labour and couldn't walk more than a few metres at a time, we wound up calling a friend of DH (who was the only person we knew with a baby and a car) and begging him to do us a huge favour and come and pick us up.

So, if the hospital recommends a cab company who can take you home, don't take their word for it, do a trial run before the big day.

But I would recommend taking a sling instead if you are too far away to just walk home with the pram, or if your daughter is in no fit state to walk.

And congratulations on your grandson!

Rossco · 17/09/2009 13:42

The hospital where I had my DS's rents car seats to those without, you could see if your hospital does the same?

comewhinewithme · 17/09/2009 13:47

We got a cheapy from Argos it was 28.00 it is now sat in the corner collecting dust .

If you were near you would be welcome to it but I am in South Yorkshire .

Congratulations to you all .

MorrisZapp · 17/09/2009 13:47

How much do carseats cost? I agree it's daft if you're planning to take her home in a pram, but wouldn't it be a good idea to have a carseat anyway?

Surely this wee baby will be receiving lifts from people, even if nobody in her family has a car? What if you had to get her somewhere urgently, you wouldn't have time to find a carseat-providing taxi firm.

Am I way off beam here, I don't have kids so I haven't experienced this, but assumed that a carseat was a basic purchase even if parents don't own a car.

comewhinewithme · 17/09/2009 13:52

This one looks ok HTH.

tethersend · 17/09/2009 14:05

comewhinewithme, I love your name

lisianthus · 17/09/2009 14:12

Morris, in our case, no-one we know (except for this friend of my DH) has a car, and we live in a tiny flat, so there is no sense spending the money to buy a car seat that is going to take up so much space and never be used, particularly as we would then have to replace it when she gets a bit bigger anyway. It would be a total waste of a lot of money.

comewhinewithme · 17/09/2009 14:14

Why thank you I like your name too. .

moosemama · 17/09/2009 14:15

Worth ringing the hospital. The lady in the next bed to me when I had ds2 didn't have a car seat and the hospital not only lent her one, they arranged for a taxi to take her home as well.

NannyTee · 17/09/2009 14:21

Comewhinewithme - I tried for this one as it was very reasonable and looked ok - it's out of stock unfortunately!!!
Apparently the reason behind the hospital's stance is swine flu on public transport - and they do have rentals of car seats for poor souls like us (?!?) but unfortunately they have been 'borrowed' and not brought back!!!!!
I've been offered one here on these pages for tomorrow and in the meantime - my other daughter has seen one for about £40 in Toys R Us so is trying to see if we can get one - I honestly wouldn't have minded so much if we were aware of this - I wouldn't put a kid in a car without a car seat - but as we don't have a car in the family - we're all central - it didn't cross my mind that we would need one - bearing in mind I only came on here to rant a bit, I have been overwhelmed with all your responses - you're all so fab!!!!!

OP posts:
diddl · 17/09/2009 14:23

NannyTee, so your daughter isn´t collecting with the pram, then?

moosemama · 17/09/2009 14:26

Oh, forgot to say congratulations on the birth of your grandson!

NannyTee · 17/09/2009 14:32

diddl - that's what she wanted to do but the hosp only told her today that she could take him home tomorrow - and then said she had to have a car seat!!
thank you moosemama!!

OP posts:
LovelyTinOfSpam · 17/09/2009 14:35

But this is ridiculous!

If you haven't got a car then you don't need a carseat. I am absolutely sure that they will understand that.

And as for swine flu on public transport - how do they expect people to get around? Loads of people bus it home with the new baby, round here anyway, and I would have thought Newham would be the same.

Congrats though!

StealthPolarBear · 17/09/2009 14:38

yes this is ridiculous - she is walking home with the baby in a pram. Surely they just don;t understand that! Can you call the hospital PALS to ask for more advice?

SouthMum · 17/09/2009 14:45

So the hospital won't let you out without a car seay yet they are ok with renting them out even though the advice is not to borrow or buy second hand seats?

Id just politely, but firmly, tell them she is walking home with baby. Very for you that you feel you need to spend alot of money on something you don't need

TheOldestCat · 17/09/2009 14:46

Congrats on the birth of your grandson, NannyTee.

I had DD in Lewisham and had to (almost) be busted out by DH, not for lack of car seat reasons though (long story). PALS were very helpful.

Anyway, since DH doesn't drive we used Blackheath Cabs to get to the hospital. They can provide car seats - might be worth giving them a call?

We've recently moved 60 miles from Lewisham or I'd be on the way to the hospital with our car seat for you!

StealthPolarBear · 17/09/2009 14:49

But then they'll end up walking home pushing the pram and lugging a great big car seat they didn't want in the first place! Stand your ground!

Wattinger · 17/09/2009 14:51

Another Londoner without a car here!

I have however found it really useful to have a cheap car seat at home for the odd time we have used a taxi or hire car to get to friends/ shops/ parties/ A&E. Especially when we are running late and it is raining (very often in Winter with a newborn!)

All our local taxi firms say they have car seats for newborns... then they bring something for a 5 year old or something noone can fit which is covered in yuk!

diddl · 17/09/2009 14:51

But has your daughter told them she intends to walk with baby in a pram?

Unless there is a medical reason, how can they stop her?

Surely everyone doesn´t go home by car?

And if they do now, they surely didn´t used to!

nappyaddict · 17/09/2009 14:52

Do they know she is walking home? Surely once you explain that all will be ok?

DaisymooSteiner · 17/09/2009 15:09

They can't actually stop her! Stand your ground, don't be pressured into buying something you neither want nor need.