Carrycots - are they necessary?

[bethski]

I have a Quinny Formula, bought when my ds was 9 months old. I am due again in December and am trying to find out whether a newborn can go in the Formula, or whether it is from 3 months up. Also, if it is not suitable for a newborn, should I be getting the dreami carrycot or can I just wheel the baby around in the car seat (attached to chassis)? Questions, questions, questions...

I'm afraid I don't know if the Quinny formula is suitable from birth, but I wouldn't keep any baby in a car seat any longer than necessary as it's not good for their spine. However the carrycots can cost £100 can't they? Could get a cheap lie-flat buggy/pushchair to until 3 months and then to be used as a spare, don't think I'd be able to justify (to myself) £100 for 3 months use!

We have a quinny buzz and had the same dilemma

The pushchair isn't suitable until 6 months according to the label. We use the carseat on the chassis - it's so convenient, we just make sure she's taken out of it regularly

We were undecided about the dreami carrycot so bought one on e-bay but hardly used it (she was a long baby - too big for it very quickly). It seems the lady who owned it before me didn't use it either....

have a look on e-bay. They retail for £130 in mothercare, we got one for £32!!

babies shouldn't be in car seats for more than 2 hours at a time. it restricts their breathing & it's not good for their spine.

I had a mamas & papas carrycot (ok, not the same, but similar idea). I found it great as DD slept in it during the day, well, all the time really. So we really got our use out it. We used it for at least 6 mths in all. Still as good as new.

Excellent idea to check out e-bay, the fabric usually comes off so you can wash it in the machine, so then you can sell it on again !

hi
i would get a carry cot. hate to see tiny babies squashed over in their car seats, they always look so uncomfortable. i found this on a baby shop website. hth

May we first state it is VITAL that babies are always put in a correctly fitting car seat or car carrycot and the information below MUST NOT in any way deter you from using a babies safety restraint. We would also mention that in specific types of accidents (in particular head on crashes) a car carrycot is not so safe as a rear-facing seat. However, in some other types of accident a car carrycot (sometimes also known as a "lie flat" car seat) may well out perform a rear-facing seat.
There are two concerns regarding upright / chair shaped infant car seats (known as group 0 or 0+ infant carriers).
The first concern originated from the UK and is based on professional opinion not proven fact. The concerns are those from some State Chartered Physiotherapists who believe that there has been a increase in back problems in children around twelve to sixteen years of age in recent times. Some Physiotherapists believe the likely cause is that babies were placed in car seats before the spine had developed sufficiently. They base this conclusion on the fact that prior to this time babies often travelled in carry cots strapped into the rear seat of the car. We understand that these concerns have been raised twice in the UK Physiotherapists monthly journal "Frontline" and at least one medical research report published seems to support the view.
The second concern originates from the USA, Japan and New Zealand. The problem relates to the fact that a newborn baby's lungs are not always very efficient and when sat in a car seat (which is very restricting) the lungs efficiency decreases still more. Additionally a newborn can not hold their head so in turn the amount of air, which reaches the lungs, is also decreased. When baby is winded during a feed, parents often support babies head to an upward position to allow wind to come up. So perhaps it is common sense that airflow decreases when the head is not supported. In America it is recommended that new-born babies are observed in hospital whilst sat in their car seat prior to release but it is also noted that sometimes it is not possible to ascertain which babies are at risk even when this procedure takes place. The published medical research reports (we know of nine) all conclude that infant car seats do effect babies breathing sometimes causing apnoea (which has links to cot death) or bradycardia, here are a few abstracts from the reports.
"Respiratory instability of term and near term healthy new born infants in car seats" by University of Minnesota School of Medicine states "Because lowering oxygen saturation values was seen uniformly in all new born infants car seats should be used only for travel and travel should be minimised during the first months of life"
'Effects of child seats on the cardiorespiratory function of newborns' by Department of Paediatrics, Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan. states: "Moderate desaturation was observed in four of 15 infants in the chair shaped car seat, whereas not observed in the bed shape car seat"
'Oxygen desaturation of selected term infants in car seats' by Department of Pediatrics, Metro West Medical Centre, Framingham. (MA) USA states that :"infants should routinely be transported in a supine position car seat in the early months of life".
The titles of some of the other medical research reports we have seen perhaps clearly demonstrates why flat car seats appear better than upright / chair shaped ones.
The titles include
'Rear facing restraints for small child passengers - a medical alert'
'Some healthy new borns suffer Apnea or Bradycardia when placed in a car seat'
'Airway of babies in car seats'
Medical knowledge in the UK on this subject seems to vary depending on where you live. Some UK hospitals are changing to 'lay flat' car seats for internal use and recommend that babies should travel flat in the early weeks of life. Health professionals in most areas do recommend that babies should not sit in a car seat for more than ninety minutes, but the Japanese medical research report seems to suggest that in certain circumstances that is far too long! Family circumstances (such as not having enough room in a car for a lie flat system or that it may not fit safely in your car) may mean you will have no option but to use a rear facing chair shaped seat. Should that be the case we would recommend that you use a seat with low degree of incline and keep journeys to a minimum especially if your baby was born pre term or of a low birth weight. Finally, it would appear babies do out grow this potential risk at about 15 weeks so its not a problem for too long.

I thought the Formula was ok from birth as it lies almost flat. Even so I'd go for the carrycot as it would be more snug for a winter baby and he/she could face you, especially if you are going to be using it for trips out other than a quick shop.

Thanks everyone - have been looking on ebay at carrycots so will probably buy one just to be safe.