The Grandson, the car seat and the Hospital Policy - UPDATE

[NannyTee]

So after driving ourselves mad - fuelled by the back up and advice on this site by you guys - I ring up the PALS office and speak to a really nice lady who says she will talk to the Ward Sister and clarify things for us - moments later she rings me back, tells me its sorted and someone will go and speak to my daughter - Ward Sister apologises for the 'missunderstanding' and says that obviously they don't need you to go out and buy a car seat - but recommends a mini cab co that provides baby seats. Progress!!! Sunday morning daughter is told she can go - we ring the mini cab, NO BABY SEATS!!!!!! But they tell me that they are excempt by law - and if daughter is happy to hold baby they are covered to take her!!! Daughter still nervous about leaving and thinks she'll be stopped by the nurses - but - they just let her go, didn't even ask about car seat or how they're getting home, didn't even see her out the ward!!!!!!! All this worry for nothing!!! And we have gorgeous grandson Ronnie home!!! I'm a Happy Nanny!!!!

GKS - if the baby is strapped tightly to you then the risks of crushing are increased, if it is not strapped tightly then the risks are similar to just holding it. None of it is good.

Charleymouse - It seemed really strange that she was allowed to take him out in the pram but not take him home in the pram - his abdomen was completely healed by the time he left - as it was all back in and sewn up when he was 3 days old - he's doing really well - we're all so thrilled with him!!!

Thats brill NannyTee, he sounds like a proper little trooper.

It is not safe to hold a child on your lap as in a crash the baby could be crushed and the child would be torn from your arms - you would not be able to hold onto them, no matter how hard you try. It is also dangerous to put a seat belt around more than one person as you could crush each other.

lisianthus I presume that attaching the baby to you by sling whilst you wear a seatbelt would have the same crushing affect although I'm not certain on this so anyone please correct me if I am wrong?

Oh FFS - we coulndn't get one over the weekend - what a load of shite.

I am really sad that the safety of your grandson during his first car journey was so totally inconvienient for you! JOhn Lewis, Mothercare, Halfords, I could go on and on, are all open at weekends and they all sell car seats!

You are very very lucky that nothing happened to him.

Re baby in seatbelt - if both mum and baby are strapped into seatbelt mum will crush baby. If Mum is strapped in with baby in sling the baby will be forced forward at a faster rate and further than mum meaning that as he flies back he will suffer injuries as he inpacts against mum, if he has not already been crushed by the force of her flying forward.

A buggy/carricot strapped into a car wont come close to protecting baby in an accident.

Not read the original thread but totally that obatining a car seat for the journey home wasn't a priority.

cannot believe anyone would take a baby in any car without a car seat

Madamecastafiore maybe they hadnt the money to buy one over the weekend?

IMO when I spoke to PALs I would have insisted they tell the Ward Sister that she can walk home with the baby in the pram. I mean why on earth wouldn't she be able to?

fluffypoms as far as I can see the baby had been in hospital for 5 weeks and generally speaking a baby's arrival is not that much of a suprise so a few months at least to save for the only bit of kit you really need with a baby.

TBM They didn't know until they said he could come home that for some reason he wouldn't be allowed home in the pram.

Ok maybe I am confused (even though I have now read original thread!) but I thought the baby came home in a taxi....if you are travelling in a taxi you need a carseat not a pram....

Of course if the mum just wanted to walk home with the baby then that is another matter and I apologise

Yes she had originally planned on walking home with the pram.

Jeeeez - I can't beleive how angry people are - the main point of my mail today was to thank people for the help they offered on Thursday/Friday - now people are jumping to all sorts of conclusions - firstly,nobody in the family has a car, secondly it was only on the Thursday we were told that MAYBE he could be coming out on the Friday but that we would need a car seat - after trying in Mothercare, John Lewis, Argos and stores that were within travelling for me to be able to buy one in stock (as delivery wasn't an option by then - I work incidently) I came on this site for advice and then spoke to the PALS team who then advised that the ward sister knew of a cab firm that they use that have car seats for babies - The main priority was getting my grandson home after 6 weeks in hospital - and as my daughter had been allowed to take him out in the pram prior to this we assumed that she would be allowed to take him home in the pram - the missunderstanding was with the hospital staff

Isn´t the new idea that car seats should be more like carry cots for newborns?

I´m sure most babies used to go home in a carrycot-if they went home by car.

No those carry cots that can be strapped into the car are very dangerous. They should only be used if a disability means it is better for the child than a normal rear facing car seat.

I would have thought the main proprity woild be getting him home ALIVE! And so not taking any chances with his welfare?

There was no one else at all was there who could arrange for a car seat?

Still mystified as to way he couldn´t be taken home by being pushed in pram.

Oh please get over yourself MadameCastafiore!!!!!! Obviously we didn't plan on killing him after all he'd been through being born with his condition - and we didn't think that taking a baby out in his pram would be a life threatening event either!!!!
We tried to borrow, we tried to buy and because none of us have a car actually our priority wasn't a car seat - I guess that you will be very surprised that I have sucessfully managed to bring up 3 daughters, and while I was driving they had car seats and boosters etc - and as I stated earlier, we will be getting him a car seat just in case we ever need to travel by car with him