Taxi's, hospitals and car seats!

[Ellie977]

So I bought a car seat agggges ago, probably in my 20th week of pregnancy because it came as part of a travel system that was on offer. I'm happy with the car seat, it's one of those that lie flat which is great because I expect we will be doing longish journeys to visit family and whatnot. It also came with an ISOFIX base which is also great.

However, I've been trying to sort of my house a little for the baby and thought I'd put the car seat in the car to get it out of the way. I installed the ISOFIX base, easy peasy, and got the car seat on (will need to practice this a bit). Then I thought, oh I'll try and fit it using just the seat belt as we will be getting a taxi back from the hospital. I looked in the instruction manual and to my horror, there were no instructions on how to do this. Basically I have bought a car seat that will only work with the ISOFIX base.

Now, normally this wouldn't be a problem as I can't imagine having to get a taxi or use anyone else's car apart from getting back from the hospital. My partner can't drive and I don't invasion the hospital will let me drive home and if they did I would somehow have to get home to pick up my car to then drive back to the hospital to pick up my baby. So that's not likely to happen. Unfortunately, all my family and friends don't drive or live really far away. With COVID I have told my parent's that there is no point making the 250mile journey as they wouldn't be allowed in the hospital.

I know my partner will have to bring the car seat to the hospital anyway and in theory, could bring the ISOFIX base, it's pretty heavy but it is a possibility.

I guess I have a few questions/looking for some experiences. Has anyone gone through something like this?
Can/do taxi companies provide car seats?
I don't know why but I feel like I've read somewhere that hospitals do a car seat safety check to see if the baby can handle the journey home. Is that the case and if so would I have to provide the car seat?
Is it worth spending £30-£40 on a car seat we would just use once?
Would the hospital let us walk home with a pram? We live about 3 miles away from the hospital.
How long does it take to get discharged from the hospital? If my partner got a taxi and installed the ISOFIX base how long would that taxi have to wait around for us to actually leave?
Sorry if these sound like silly questions, they don't really show all this bit on One Born Every Minute.

I'm seeing my midwife next week so I suppose I could ask her but I wondered if anybody here could share some insight.

Can you borrow a seat from a friend? You are not going to want to walk 3 miles home with a pram after giving birth or if you have a c section plus it could be any time that you leave, one of mine was gone 11 at night.

I'd either buy or borrow a car seat that can go in a taxi.

I've never heard of a hospital checking your car seat or looking at your car or even asking how you're getting home. Well, they certainly didn't with me.

You won't be able to walk 3 miles home though even if you've had a straight forward birth.

You could also check if there are any local taxi companies that can provide a taxi with the correct car seat installed. Not really sure I'd want to use what could be a grotty car seat for my new born though.

Are you sure the car seat doesn't attach with a seatbelt? Maybe google search it or see if there is an instructional video on YouTube for your make?

Are you in London? Could you push the pram straight into a black cab and put the brake on? I did this a few times with DD, although never on the way home from the hospital.

Otherwise, a seat that can install with a seatbelt is practically for taxis and when you visit family and might want to transfer it between cars. I had one in addition to our lie flat seat and it got used more than I initially thought it would.

You get black cabs outside of London

Worst case scenario is you getting a taxi home and your partner pushing your baby in the pram.

What make is the car seat? Are there online instructions for fitting without isofix?

If you end up with an emergency section, you won't be driving for a while so if you want to go anywhere in a car you'll need a seat that can easily transfer.

See if a trusted friend has one you could borrow. You aren't supposed to buy them off ebay but if you know the history and the seat hasn't been in a crash its OK.

Go on your local social media page add ask if you can borrow one for the one journey. You should get lots of offers of help.

I can relate. I had the Nuna Pipa LX. Only found out it couldn't be used without the base shortly before I was going to be picked up by a friend.

How quick was it to install the ISOFIX base? If it was only a few seconds, I wouldn't overly worry. Taxis seem to be reasonably new cars these days, so the ISOFIX access points should be readily accessible. Check with the taxi company when booking and say you need one with ISOFIX points.

Might be easiest to order the taxi just as you're discharged from the ward. There are sitting/waiting areas for you to wait so you and baby stay warm, and DP can wait outside (with any extra luggage bar the changing bag) for the taxi. When it comes, he can call you to make your way down while he puts the base in and loads the luggage.

Echo what another posted said about a black cab that you can push the whole pram onto. Or ask the local cab office if they have a larger cabs that you can do this.

Can’t you get anyone else to drive you home from the hospital in your car? (Insured obviously)

We were in the same situation as you when I gave birth last week. My husband took baby home in a pushchair and I took a taxi home. You absolutely will NOT be up for walking home yourself! I fed her just before we left the hospital and she was good as gold and snoozed the whole walk home.

If you can't borrow a seat from a friend, buy a Joie juva carseat, they are about £35 but perfectly safe and fit really well with a seatbelt.

And what seat is it?

Yes a few of them can't be installed without the base which is a bit of a pain. Mostly Nuna ones and the Joie i-Level.

I'd ask around and see if you can maybe borrow one from somebody you trust for that journey. Otherwise if you think you'll use taxis a lot it might be worth getting a second seat just for travel use - Joie Tilt perhaps? It's not an infant carry seat but will last until 18kg which is about 3-4 years depending on the size of your child. It's a lighter weight one so can be taken on holiday etc (recommend keeping box - folded flat - for transportation on planes if you do this).

Or given that your seat is unable to be installed without the base, would you want a second seat for grandparents to have installed in their car? You could get this and use it as the taxi seat, and then give it to GPs when they visit. Especially if they live quite far away from you this can be a good option. I'd probably look at a 0-4 years one again although you could go for Joie Stages rather than Tilt if you wouldn't need to carry it around with you.

Another option might be to get an infant carry seat second hand. I wouldn't usually recommend to get a car seat second hand at all, but if you'll literally use it once, try and make sure it's a relatively modern one/single owner, but the main problems with second hand seats are not so much people having accidents but selling it anyway (most people are honest enough not to do this), it's more that seats floating around several owners tend to lose instruction manuals, loose parts like strap covers, or come apart to be cleaned and get put back together incorrectly, suffer wear and tear to the straps, polystyrene, etc, all of which can negatively affect the performance of the seat.

If all else fails it wouldn't take THAT long for your partner to install the base into the taxi. If it's a relatively new car then it will have isofix. If the leg folds under the base it's not too cumbersome to transport in a suitcase.

If you are planning to travel by plane at any point during the first 12-18 months of baby's life, it would be helpful to have an infant seat you can take with you to use at the other end - in which case you could buy a Joie Juva as PP suggested.

Otherwise, see if a friend would drive your car, borrow an infant seat from a friend, get a black cab with baby in pushchair, or get DH to walk home with baby in pushchair and take a taxi yourself.

Most cars take isofix. Could you enquire with a local taxi firm. I assume they would let you fix the base in their car for the journey home. The only faff would be bringing the base to the hospital with you.