Protecting car seats and the hospital run

[JoeBongo]

Hi,

1st post so please go easy. I am planning for the run to the hospital with my wife when the time comes in a few weeks and casually asked the NCT class about protecting my car seats should waters break etc.

I got a few looks, but at least I was honest.

My car is an old one where they don't make the seats anymore and if they were knackered in the run then I may as well scrap the car as I couldn't afford to get custom replacements made.

Assuming I wasn't the first person to ever ask this, I put a post up on the Piston Heads forum (a car driving forum) to ask what others have done. WARNING: Now before you click on there, if you are particularly senstive then don't! It's not filth or anything , but it tends to be blokeish pub humour which may appear crass to some people.www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=796669&i=999999&nmt=Pregnant%20wife,%20hospital%20r un%20and%20leather%20car%20seats

There have been quite a few replies (and please do remember this is mostly tongue in cheek except for the sensible advice) but wondered how this would be done if I asked on a parenting forum. I'd appreciate any advice or can you corroborate the sensible advice on the Piston Heads thread about using maternity pads/towels etc.

Cheers,

Joe

Thanks for the suggestions Mrs. Badger, it's a Streety choco mint thingy pram/pushchair combo jobby where the pram bit is also the car seat.

This is the scary bit - I have no idea whatsoever if it will fit in the car, I think I'd best nip out and have a go in my tea break.

I'll report back soon.

And cheers Andy3000, it's all a bit unpredictable I know. I can however predict a knackered car if I get it wrong

MamaLazarou - So you could re-use it for picnics ???

Plus it wont be a tidal-wave ! A towel with a plastic bag under neath should suffice.
( mine went in bed at night too )

Would it be terribly cruel to point out that you are actually ...errr....having a baby?

Which means that over the next few years your upholstering will be drooled over, vomited on, peed on, pooed on, smeared with the contents of breakfast sneakily concealed in cheek pouch until appropriate moment...

Believe me, your wife's waters is the least of your worries. That can be dealt with with a couple of towels and some plastic sacks.

Oooh just wait until you get chewed up rusks rubbed into the stitching of your leather seats.

A bin bag topped with a towel should be fine - and I do think it's a reasonable question, I didn't want to be leaking all over my car when I went into labour.

(P.S. we never did find out when/where my waters went - much mystery to selves and midwives).

My waters going was the first sign I was in labour with both ds1 and ds3, and happened in bed both times, if I recall correctly - and contrary to what others have said, didn't seem to do the mattress any harm - not sure why, though. I had ds3 at home, and suspect I sat on a towel on the way to hospital to have ds1.

Ds2 was also born at home, and with him, my waters didn't go until I was fully dilated. The midwife told me that the only thing holding anything back was the membrane/waters, so I pushed on the next contraction and the waters went.

Dh said his immediate thought was, SURF'S UP!!

Oh, and still sniggering at
'Now before you click on there, if you are particularly senstive then don't! It's not filth or anything , but it tends to be blokeish pub humour which may appear crass to some people.'

Bless you in your innocence, stay away from BS threads tonight though, eh?