Car seat when you don't have a car

[FlumptyDumpty]

First baby due in 2 weeks, so really should have sorted this before.

We don't have a car, but will occasionally need to take the baby in black taxis, minicabs and family cars. Need a car seat compatible with the Bugaboo Cameleon, so was planning to get the Maxi-Cosi Pebble Plus, to use with seatbelt rather than a base.

Maxi-Cosi site has tests results available for virtually every make and model of car except the one my parents have - 2011 4 door Ford Focus. Was planning to ask them to take us home from hospital, but now not sure the car seat will fit with the seat belts, which apparently can be short in Focuses.

So... Does anybody know if the Pebble Plus can fit in a black taxi? Are the seat belts long enough?

Better yet (long shot) does anybody know if the seat belts in a 2011 4 door Ford Focus are long enough to go round the seat?! Or indeed the Pebble or Cabriofix?

Thanks :-)

Would you be able to pop along to your local mother care, John Lewis etc? They will try the seat out in your parents car. X

That would be the best thing, but they live 2 hours away and are currently dealing with my very sick 91 year old grandmother. As a last resort I will ask them to do this for me, but would really rather not land them with another job at the moment, hence I thought I'd see what collective MN knowledge there is first.

Since you are not using the base, I assume that the car seat will be compatible, providing the set belts are long enough. If the seat belts are too short, then the issue lies with the car rather than with the type of seat as you'll have this issue with any type of 0+ car seat using a belt. (I would think anyway!)

I used pebble at my friend's Ford Focus and seatbelts were long enough (just about). I can't remember car registration year though.

Our maxi cosi pebble fitted into the inlaws ford focus with a seat belt but theirs is a 2010 plate. But we've managed to fit it in a city rover as well which has ridiculously short seat belts (that was a struggle but we just about managed).

But different years and models may have different length belts so it's going to be difficult to know for certain without testing it.

My sister had the original pebble and a ford focus (not sure of the year though) and it fitted. You do have to pull it hard the last couple of centimetres, so it was tight, but it went.

OP - You don't need to use a car seat in taxi's. I don't know if you would regularly be using your parents' car, but if not it might be easier to just forego the car seat entirely.

Government policy here

My DS car seat didn't fit in the back of my mum's Qashqai due to short seat belts. If she needed to take him anywhere we'd just put it in the front as the belts were longer and turn off the airbag.

Thanks for all your replies. I'm really nervous about taking PFB in a taxi without a car seat, so really don't want to do that.

Has anybody used a maxi-cosi in a black cab? I would think the seat belts in them would be long, but would like to know.

Why do you need a car seat compatible with a buggy if you don't have a car?

Flumpty just put the car seat on your bugaboo and stand it in the taxi? You'd need a London style one which can take wheelchairs. You don't even need the car seat, the carrycot on the pram frame is fine in a taxi so long as the brake is on

But they shouldn't be in the car seat more than a couple of hours? That's the bit I don't get. Or was I the only one who tried to follow that? Not like me to be the cautious one.

I couldn't get a pebble in my focus. Other car seats worked though.

Libraries not everywhere I need to go is accessible by bus or foot. I will need to take taxis reasonably regularly, plus also there will be journeys in my parents' car.

Babs thanks, do you know how safe it is in the event of a crash? I can see the baby being flung around in the bugaboo carrycot if there was a crash. Plus don't think DH will manage a bugaboo plus bag, plus baby to come out of hospital. I'm having a section so will be pretty useless in terms of carrying stuff. Would be easier of my parents could take us home if it weren't for the awkward car!

Libraries not everywhere I need to go is accessible by bus or foot. I will need to take taxis reasonably regularly, plus also there will be journeys in my parents' car.

Yes, I understand why you want a car seat. My question was about the importance of getting one where you can clip the car seat onto the buggy.

If you need to take taxis regularly (to places where you will then need to be mobile and not just leave the car seat inside a house or whatever) I can see why you might have to make the compromise and use the car seat on the base. Just bear in mind that, whatever the manufacturers suggest and despite what you see on most high streets, babies really should be in car seats as little as possible, and not for more than a couple of hours at a time.

Well, except that, if you take a taxi for a day out using the car seat, slot the carseat into the chassis and then use that as a pram for the rest of the day, a tiny baby could easily be spending the majority of the day in a car seat. When they are really wee it's about airways as well as spinal development, so one really long spell is also bad, even if it doesn't happen often.

Hmm we only had the cocoon in the bugaboo bee, i didn't realise the carry cot didn't have straps in it. Perhaps not as safe then but technically legal.

Plus don't think DH will manage a bugaboo plus bag, plus baby to come out of hospital. I'm having a section so will be pretty useless in terms of carrying stuff.

Just as an aside, you are not (despite what some units will tell you) obliged to have a car seat to leave hospital. If it is better to leave it in the car, then do so.

Thanks for all your replies

I'm not planning to keep the baby in the car seat for too long. Paranoid about the airway thing you mentioned, Libraries! It's mainly for one activity I do once a week where I can take the baby and then get her out of the pram and sit down. Should mean half an hour max in the seat with a Respisense monitor on (told you I was paranoid!).

I suppose I'm looking for the holy grail - if I spend the best part of £200 on a car seat I want to make sure I can use it!

Fair enough. I would be a bit cautious of going down the route of constant monitoring though. You are with her. Using those full time can actually send your anxiety through the roof if you are prone.

I don't drive so had this issue too. My pram came with a car seat has been fine in every taxi except maybe 2 where it was really hard to get seat belt to reach around. When I take my lo out normally walk to town so 40 mins in car seat then I take lo out and change bum give a drink etc for 10 mins then back in car seat I lift them out every 40 mins for around 10 mins to relive pressure etc lo is almost 9 months and no issues. Babies are precious but as long as you have common sense you will be fine no need for constant monitoring

If your parents would be using the car seat with baby on a reasonably regular basis then why not spend the extra and get the base for maxi cosi to use in their car?

Since you are talking about bugaboo and the respisense monitor then it sounds like money is not much of an object for this baby so just spend the extra £80 for a base?

I assume you would need it anyway for when you move to next size car seat and want a reboarder/rear facing, all I size seats only work with a base anyway.

That seems easiest option to me

We don't drive but got a car seat that's compatible with our phil and teds. We often bus it to town and get a green cab (like the London Black cabs) home. The phil and teds just wheels in and fits fine in the space where the rear facing seats fold up.