Is it bad to keep a newborn in a carseat instead of lieback pushchair?

[pinkdolly]

I think I have found the pushchair I want for dc4 (due april). The only problem is that the seat doesn't lie completly flat, so the baby would need to stay in the carseat till it's about 6 months old.

I dont drive so I do walk alot, could I be causing potential damage to the newborn's spine by doing this?

What would you do?

i wouldnt buy it.

what is it?

babies should only be in car seats for 2hours at a time.

They're not supposed to be in a carseat more than 32 hours are they?

Liback far better but tbh ours doesnt eithre, and i've mainly used a sling. DS4 was born Apriil and it was bloody cold, much prefered having him snuggled in close.

sorry

sicky baby!

2 hours

I'd find an alternative, tbh. Car seats are fine for 1-2 hours, but more than that and there is the potential for spine/skull problems. Also, by 6 mths, the baby will be pretty squashed in teh car seat. Fine for safety on a journey, bu tnot for naps and strolls, imo.

They recommend that newborns don't stay in their car seat for more than an hour, as it is meant to be bad for the spine.

which pushchair is it?

How flat does it lie then if not completely? even a slight raise would be preferable to a car seat imo. What system is it?

what pushchair is it?

Definatly done use it for a newborn. Get a 2nd hand pram off e-bay, espeically if you use it a lot. You can always get what you want from about six months.

It is not worth the risk IMO.

I have been doing a bit of research into the so-called "two hour rule" and unless I have made a large error, the idea that more than 2 hours in a car seat will cause any problems is based on myth and rumour and has very little basis in fact.

There has been an increase in babies with cosmetic flattening at the rear of the head but it is agreed that this is mostly down to babies lying flat in their cots because of the "back to sleep" cot death campaign.

Clearly the the benefits of sleeping on the back (not dying) far outweigh any risk of developing a flat-spot. The car seat thing appears to be a bit of a red-herring which has been misinterpreted and then repeated as fact over and over again until it pervaded the entire psyche of the global parenthood!

I am not saying that its a great idea to stick them in a car seat 24/7 but the "two hour rule" certainly hasn't come from any official source. the closest official source simply warns against spending too much time in one place.

I agree - it's not good for lo's spine to be in the car seat for longer than 2 hour stints, especially as it would be on a regular basis. I'd look for something else. Which one do you like? I'm sure the ladies on here could come up with some suitable alternatives.

You won't want your baby in a car seat all through the summer. My ds gets so hot and sweaty in his - they're really snug and designed for safety over comfort. The sight of your little baby murmering and stretcing out in his sleep on a cool white clean sheet in the pram is lovely - so peaceful. Don't squish the poor baba in a carseat.

I would always go for a carrycot. Much more comfy, versatile and you can regulate the baby's temperature much more easily, they also have better freedom of movement, IME.

it's winter now and ds 5wks gets sooo hot and sweaty in his carseat and looks so much happier in his buggy

is it the quinny zapp you're buying? if it is i wouldn't recommend it,i had with dd and she was fine in the carseat but the pushchair is reallylight and unstable with the carseat on and tips if you hang the lightest of bags on it

I think the issue is that car seats can cause breathing problems, not sure about the spine.

I do think they should have a flat back early on, plus its lovely pushing them in a pram.
What about a pushcahir thet you can click a carseat or a carrycot onto.

ops forgot these links

here

and here

"I have been doing a bit of research into the so-called "two hour rule" and unless I have made a large error, the idea that more than 2 hours in a car seat will cause any problems is based on myth and rumour and has very little basis in fact."

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I can tell you that it is not myth. I know of a Netmum ( sorry!!) - her child died after being left to sleep in a carseat for a good few hours and was directly attributed to it due to not being able to breath properly.

Sorry - I was specifically talking about prevention (or not) of the flat spot syndrome. The breathing issue has only been linked evidentially to prem and low birth weight babies, but the "2 hour rule" thing has always been quoted (to me at least) as being about flat spots.

Breathing thing is interesting though. I feel a trawl of the literature coming on.....

UPDATE - apologies I only looked at one of your links specific to LBW and prems but a BMJ article cites a case where only 1 of 9 deaths were attributable to LBW. Lack of support of the baby's head in a position in which respiration is not impeded seems to be a defining factor though.

surely common sense tells you that a baby should lie flat when possible, and have enough room to kick and wiggle, rather than be stuck sort of hunched over?
left to their own devices in a flat lying pushchair babies will be quite wriggly,even after 6 months i would still be inclined to have a pushchair that lay flat for sleeping. how would you like to be scrunched up?
sorry if that seems harsh

There is arisk of spine problems and I also have heard that it can cause cot death, due to the airways being squashed. My kids also got very hot in their carseats. My Ds2 was premature and I always moved him out of his carseat and put him down in the crib, and I had a pramette from ebay so he could lay down. I now have a different buggy with a bucket seat and we still have him reclined slightly and he is 1 now.

There is arisk of spine problems and I also have heard that it can cause cot death, due to the airways being squashed. My kids also got very hot in their carseats. My Ds2 was premature and I always moved him out of his carseat and put him down in the crib, and I had a pramette from ebay so he could lay down. I now have a different buggy with a bucket seat and we still have him reclined slightly and he is 1 now.

Just playing devil's advocate - common sense could also tell you that they have just spent nine very happy months all scrunched up that this is their preferred state - as evidenced by the success of calming babies by tight swaddling and the comfort and security afforded even to adults by adopting the foetal position.

(I am just playing DA though - i don't meant that seriously) and I wouldn't suggets for a second that anyone leaves a child in a car seat for hours on end for the sake of it.

Its just that this two hour rule seemed completely arbitrary and I can't stand anything more than "people" (in my case a well meaning sales assistant at John Lewis) telling me what I can and can't do when there isn't any evidence to back up what they are saying. My complaint about the rule is purely on the principle that it came from nowhere (NB please note my exclusion above as to the breathing issue however, I was only talking about there being no actual evidence that it caused flat-spots)

for heavens sake!

I'd get one that lays flat. The Loola is great cos it faces you and it has a car seat too which just clips on to the stroller frame so if they're asleep in the car you don't have to wake them but equally you can lay them flat in the pushchair for walks and longer trips.

RI common sense would also tell you that they don't breathe before birth surely?