How long can an 18 week baby be in a car seat for?

[GillianLovesMarmite]

Hi,

we have a six hour car journey to make next month. My baby is currently 14 weeks, but will be about 18 weeks when we go. So far we have only done short trips of half an hour or less. We were wondering what the recommendations are for time in car seat vs breaks etc.
Any advice gratefully received!
Thanks,

Gillian.

I don't know what the official advice is, but we have a four hour journey to see DP's parents which we have done since DS was little - we found he slept most of the journey but we broke it up so he wasn't in the seat for more than a couple of hours at a time. The main thing we found was that he got really warm - the car seat tends to make him sweaty - so even when its cold outside we only dress him in light clothes if he's going to be in his car seat for any length of time.

I think the advice is to give them a break every couple of hours or so.

I wouldn't stress too much though, if the journey is a one off. I think the concerns are more directed to babies who use their seat in the car, in the pushchair, are fed there etc.

Hope the journey runs smoothly.

Thanks for the replies - it's useful to know. We tend to have a couple of good breaks anyway to eat etc and change drivers - although this time will include breastfeeding breaks! so we will ensure we take him out of it a couple of times.

Hi GillianlovesMarmite so do I (love marmite that is)

I asked similar question yesterday and got some good answers

see here