Car Seats for non-car owners?

[VJ88]

Hi folks,

We live in a city and do not own a car as we have no need for one. I'm thinking of buying a car seat for getting us home from the hospital, and then giving it to my parents for when we go to visit them. I feel totally overwhelmed by the options out there and would love to hear from folks who also don't own cars about what they did for getting baby home from hospital?

Specific thoughts/questions:
What car seat is easy to get fixed into a taxi (this is how we will get home from the hospital), as we won't be able to install the car seat in a car before baby is born?

What car seats are suitable for a reasonably long period of time? I'd like it to last for as long as possible so that my parents can hold onto it and our child can continue to use it for months/years to come.

Any specific recommendations or tips about what to search for would be hugely appreciated!

The taxi company will bring a car seat if you ask them other than that you can get a stroller that collapses to a car seat which maybe better for you as it gives you both options for out and about days you may find yourself at your parents or in a taxi

If you can borrow an infant carrier that uses the seatbelt to strap in I would opt for this initially then look for an all stages seat from 3-4 months old (they say from birth but we found it wasn't really suitable for my 6'8 newborn).

Have you already bought a pram? If not, I’d recommend a travel system as from my experience the car seats are quite easy to fit into a car with a belt without an isofix base 😌

The years we didn't have a car we always kept a age appropriate car seat for going out with friends' or grandparents' cars, or if we rented a car or for an emergency doctor visit by taxi.

Often look at last years car seats. Often much cheaper. We sold them afterwards. I didn't like to buy second hand.

With our last daughter the staff at hospital kept saying we should try and fit her in the car seat. We walk home with the pram. Took 20 minutes.

With the youngst we had a baby car seat that fitted the stroller. It was great and not heavy.
I could travel by bus and train on my own and bring the car seat with me to friends/grandparents and it was easy to bring on planes too.

I left Chelsea and Westminster hospital with baby in the pram and got a black cab home with no car seat. So you can definitely do this! But as for car seats/ get a long lasting belt fitted infant carrier, ideally one that can go on your pram frame so keeping your options open for say train to your parents then journey in their car. Toddler seats are an absolute PITA for transporting about and it doesn’t get any easier until you feel ok sticking them on a backless booster (minimum 4, probably closer to 6) so put that off as long as you can.

Never a backless booster, a high back booster until they no longer need a car seat is safest. But especially not a backless booster at 4!!

And just cos you can get in a black cab doesn’t mean you should, legal isn’t the same as safe.

OP, a long-lasting infant carrier would be best. The seats that last longer than an infant carrier tend to be much bulkier/heavier and so more difficult to carry round if you haven’t got a car.

Also, stick to bigger brands who are known for carrying additional safety testing such as maxi cosi, Britax, Cybex, Joie. They usually fit onto most travel systems with correct adapters.

Oh not trying to have a debate about car seat safety! I’m just saying pointing out that the car stages in between shit backless booster and infant carrier are such a pain when you don’t have your own car, because the seats are so big and heavy, so obviously you want to put it off as long as you can with a long lasting infant carrier. I think we agree on that!

Things like the Trunki boosterpak are 4+ officially, but I wouldn’t personally use one before 6 and then really only where there wasn’t another convenient option like in an uber to the airport. HBB all the way in my own car though!

As for the black cab, going max 20mph in the bus lane, it’s basically the same as the bus, so I’m ok to treat it as such. Wouldn’t have a baby just strapped into the pram down the m4 to Heathrow though!

I agree with everybody who says get something like a maxi cosi cabriofix. My husband and I don’t drive, but we used that car seat a lot in the first year. It was so easy to just pop in an Uber for follow-up hospital appointments and trips to A&E. It’s pretty easy to fit with a seatbelt and nice and cosy for a newborn. I would recommend watching lots of videos on how to install it before the big day.

I had my first baby in London and we didn't have a car then either. I took her home on the tube, carrying her in a baby sling. Had had a c section but it was only a five minute walk at either end and a short tube ride.

I don’t actually think (in the uk anyway) that hospitals allow you to leave without one so you definitely should invest in one even if you get a taxi or something or one that attaches to a pram is a god send. We went with a cybex one both times.

Infant car seats are best for newborns, the maxi cosi ones are very good!
Once your little one outgrows their infant carrier I’d recommend an extended rear facing car seat like an Axkid. Rear facing travel is so much safer. There’s lots of information out there if you want to research it. People will say things like ‘it’s okay because it’s only a short journey’ or ‘it’s okay because you don’t use it often’ but the reality is that a crash can happen on any car journey and a well fitting, rear facing car seat offers the best protection for your child.

Surely you are not suggesting that the OP allows her newborn baby to travel unsecured in a car simply because it is a taxi?

Yes lots of people do this in central London. Baby strapped into the pram, pram goes into the back of a black cab and you apply the break and hold the handlebar. Exactly the same as on the bus which you wouldn’t think twice about. Also traffic speeds are very slow-max 20mph. Up to you as an individual if you want to do it but it’s there as an option.

Hi OP I'm in the same position. our hospital has advised us we will be allowed to go but may be held up by security without a car seat for a while to do some ID checks.

Taxis will allow without as other readers have suggested but safety is questionable. I would bite the bullet and get a good economical but well tested one.

it may seem like a waste of money but imagine you have an emergency in the next few months (albeit not one that warrants an ambulance )and need to get Uber/taxi last minute and they don't allow you to go in without a car seat. I would get one for this alone

Thank you, everyone. After reading everything suggested and doing some more research, I think getting a car seat so we have one to hand in case of emergency is a good idea. I'm a bit worried about storage (we don't live in a huge flat) but I'm sure we can figure something out! And I guess it will give us an excuse to go and visit people out of town so we can use the car seat a bit more and get our money's worth. Opted for the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix i-Size in the end.

Well my youngest is 3 and we’re still using the cabriofix. As a bed for the cat. He loves it. So definitely a worthwhile investment for us 🤣

Haha amazing! Maybe our cat will love it too

Of course they do.
We walked home. Should they have kept us?

Ha just what my midwife told me when I moved hospitals with my second!