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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

carseats and leaving the hospital

33 replies

coops1989 · 15/01/2023 15:57

Hi,
i have been advised to get one of the fixed car seats by my sister, specifically the joie spin 360.
This may be a reallllllly stupid question but...
last time i hd a baby was 12 years ago and you had to put your baby in the carseat to leave the ward..
is this still the case?
as if you have a fixed carseat how does this work?
do they come down with you? or just let you leave carrying your baby? as you were strictly not allowed to carry your baby anywhere when i was in before, not even around your bed space you had to move the cot thing around..

OP posts:

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dementedpixie · 15/01/2023 15:59

You could take the pram into the hospital to wheel the baby out

CastleTower · 15/01/2023 15:59

They might come out and look at the carseat to check it's there?

They certainly have to let you leave the ward without a car seat - we live a few minutes walk from the hospital, we couldn't possibly drive home!

keepareaclean · 15/01/2023 16:01

You put the baby in the pram?

Ihatethenewlook · 15/01/2023 16:03

People on here say all the time that you’re not allowed to leave without a car seat. That’s completely bat shit to me, I’ve not needed one with any of the 3 I had. I didn’t have a car and I wasnt buying one just to walk out of the hospital with. I didn’t take any of mine out in a pram either, 2 got carried out in my arms, and 1 in a sling

Notsuchacleverclogs · 15/01/2023 16:08

The Joie Spin 360 is actually not very good for tiny babies because it doesn't recline very far for them. Great from a bit older though! If you join the Car Seat Safety UK facebook group, there is some brilliant advice, but could you not go for an infant carrier with seatbelt for when they are very tiny and then move them into your Joie? Then that also solves your leaving hospital problem.

Whentwobecomesthree · 15/01/2023 16:49

Agree with the above post. It's a pain in the butt having a fixed car seat when they are little as you can't just lift the car seat out when they are asleep. You have to lift the baby out. Definitely get the joie 360 later. It's great. But a capsule is much easier for when they are little

Twizbe · 15/01/2023 16:55

Fixed car seat here.

We walked out of hospital carrying the baby both times. No one checked our car seat.

I'm London based though and it's not unusual for people to go home on the bus, train or by walking.

Raspberry290 · 15/01/2023 16:58

Hey OP, a joie 360 isn’t great for a newborn. It’ll be a nightmare having to always lift your newborn in and out, especially when they’re soundly sleeping. Great for when they’re older though

IntergalacticP · 15/01/2023 17:01

We have this car seat, dh brought the pram up and we took ds to the car in that. Nobody tried to check the car seat and don't suppose they would have said much if I had just carried him out.

Twizbe · 15/01/2023 17:02

It's fine having a fixed car seat with a newborn. I've done it twice and it was never an issue with getting them in or out.

Tbf being London based I tended to walk everywhere rather than drive.

LittleLottle · 15/01/2023 17:03

Newborns don't fit the 360 well at all (despite the marketing). I'd get an inexpensive infant carrier to use for the first few months. If you want a fixed seat that lasts and is from birth the avionaut sky is well recommended and will last a very long time!

FH27 · 15/01/2023 20:04

We had the Joie 360 car seat when my daughter was a newborn. The hospital weren't keen for us to carry her out so she we wheeled the cot to the back door which you can park next to and put her in the car from there. It was slightly annoying at times not having a car seat you can take out the car but it's not advised that newborns spend time in the car seat other than for travelling anyway.

Mommabear20 · 15/01/2023 20:10

I've walked out to the car with each of my babies in my arms (have 3 DC) no one has ever checked car seat

1984Winston · 15/01/2023 20:19

With both of my babies I absolutely wasn't allowed to leave without the baby being in the car seat and i had my last baby in 2020 (the first time we didn't even have a car!) So it's absolutely a thing with certain hospitals

Hatscats · 15/01/2023 20:23

I also wouldn’t put a newborn in the Joie 360 - straps will be way too high!

I’d get an infant carrier like the maxi cosi cabriofix isize then move into a fixed one about 6 months when they can sit up. We’ve got a joie spin, axkid minikid, and a maxi cosi Pearl pro - I wouldn’t buy a Joie 360 again, they are so bulky, high up and I don’t like how wobbly the isofix is. If you wait until 6 months when they are sitting up then you’ve got lots more choice of next stage seat - would high recommend the minikid!

Rosesandteacups · 15/01/2023 20:27

Agree with others that there shouldn’t be an issue with you leaving without a car seat but the safest car seats for newborns are the infant carriers and despite marketing there is a compromise with any of the multi stage seats advertised and it’s always safety.

rsfgp · 15/01/2023 20:29

When I left hospital with DC4 there was literally no one around. No more women left in the bays and the staff had already said their goodbyes to us and gone for lunch.
Looks like it varies by hospital so you might be best to ask your midwife. Car seats aren't a compulsory baby item though.

Parker231 · 15/01/2023 20:30

1984Winston · 15/01/2023 20:19

A hospital can’t physically prevent you from leaving. When DT’s were born we didn’t have a car (central London). We walked out - no one asked how we were getting home.

1984Winston · 15/01/2023 20:36

Well a nurse physically blocked me from leaving with my second DD, she was very forceful about it! I suppose if I had really kicked up a fuss they would have had to let me leave but we did have a car seat it was just in the car so it wasn't worth the fuss. Both times I was told I couldn't leave unless they saw the baby in the car seat which I understand in a way but surely not everyone needs a car seat, neither me or my husband drove when we had my first DD

keepareaclean · 15/01/2023 20:37

1984Winston · 15/01/2023 20:19

Once you have been discharged you can leave as you wish. Car seats are not part of the discharge requirements.

1984Winston · 15/01/2023 20:38

And the nurse had to let you out the door, they were security protected so we couldn't just walk out (we tried 🤣)

keepareaclean · 15/01/2023 20:38

Well a nurse physically blocked me from leaving with my second DD, she was very forceful about it!

She had no legal right to stop you.

TrashPanda · 15/01/2023 20:40

They can't stop you leaving with baby not in a car seat. 2 & 3 I carried them out, once with a sling and once without. Infant carriers are the safest for newborns, due to positioning. This doesn’t mean that baby should be left in that seat when not in the car, they should still be removed, so that being a positive of the carriers is flawed.

LoveBluey · 15/01/2023 20:49

I love the 360 and have used with both my DDs but I used a maxi cosi seat first before moving them in to the 360 at around 8 or 9 months. It was much more convenient to lift the whole car seat out especially if they were sleeping.

MasterCherry · 15/01/2023 20:53

They can't prevent you from leaving. We also were not allowed to carry the baby in the hospital, so we took the cot down in the lift and abandoned it at the door.

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