Posted by
mayafox
20 yrs ago
Just got back from the UK where I was told for the first time that babies should not stay in a carseat capsule for more than 2-and-a-half hours a day. Is this common knowledge? If so, how do moms break up their days out? By bringing a stroller out at the same time as a capsule?
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I think if the baby is less than 6 months, that is the general advice given about carseats. I use a travel system so if we are out for a long time, when we sit down for a meal or something, I remove the carseat and put my baby in the pram to give his back a rest.
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mrsl
20 yrs ago
We did the same, used car seat in car (and afterwards while baby slept), but transferred to carrycot for longer walks (used travel system too) or bouncer chair if we were in someone's house etc.
Car journeys were a pain though. If we were visting someone who was more than a 2.5 hour drive away, we actually broke the journey by staying in a hotel en route. Tried to make it a fun part of the trip, but in reality it was an expensive pain. This is not likely to be a major problem in HK though (would really struggle to drive for 4 hours in day).
I have, however, since spoken to a car safety expert in the UK, who told me of a a female truck driver who was taken to court for child abuse because she took her young baby with er to work (obviously in a car seat and for long drives). They could not produce any scientific evidence to say that the child was actually being harmed by this.
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Wow - you really did that mrsl???
We used to live more than 3 hours from our family in Sydney and often we used to do it all in one go...they kids are growed up now and none with back problems....
I think this 'rule' comes about when people just leave their babes in the capsule because it is convenient - everyday - all day, inside the house and in the stroller that has a capsule thing to attach it to.
Commonsense says to me that if you do a trip over 2.5 hours once a month or even a week it will not do irreparable damage to babies backs. Just don't use the capsule for sleeping etc when they are not in the car.
Use a real stroller that doesn't have a capsule thing, and bed to put baby in.
In the old days before these stroller systems, you had the capsule for the car and a pram for out of the car - the two did not meet up. And the capsules were so heavy to carry around with a baby in it you just didn't do it.
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mrsl
20 yrs ago
Yes, we really did. We booked hotels with nice restaurants etc. in which we could have a decent meal and a glass of wine before calling it a day. Sure, commonsense would indicate that 2.5 hours once a week might not damage the child's back, but the drive from the south of England to Scotland could not have been done in anything like that time. Is it really so difficult to believe that we followed the advice that we were given (after all it is a very short period of time)?
There was a benefit (apart from the good food & wine) - we had a great excuse not to make regular trips to inlaws!!!
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Hm... I had originally thought that I could use the capsule-on-wheels as a pram before the baby is old enough to sit up but if this is not good for the baby, it looks like I will have to either get a carrycot attachment or a stroller that reclines fully, that also accommodates the capsule. Back to the catalogues!
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HKC
20 yrs ago
I was told in the UK that 3 hours was the limit in a carseat before 6 months as they should soend most of their time on their backs but its hard to enforce on a long trip and I must admit my LO always looked really comfy in hers and doesn't seem to have damaged her back. I always used the stoller part if I wasn't going out in the car or took her out of the carseat and into the stroller if she wasn't alseep at the destination. We got our travel system from Mothercare, it was a carseat with fully reclinable stroller section, it was in the UK but I am sure you could get one here.
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Does anybody have any idea what is the lightest-weight travel system on the market?
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Mine is a mothercare atlan system...total weight is about 11.2kg. not sure if it's the lightest in the market but it was the lightest one i could find! i am generally happy with it as i got it for a good price, nice colour, spacious pushchair and carseat, big basket.
pros of travel system: includes carseat for safety and since it's rear facing, it's nice/comforting to see your baby when it's newborn as you push the pram. the pushchair is usually more sturdy and spacious to take the weight of the carseat.
cons: carseat is insulated to cushion crash impact so the bub might feel very warm. and while the pushchair is sturdy and spacious, not all versions can stand on its own when closed and you usually need 2 hands to close it (which is difficult if you're alone or the taxi driver is not helping).
my 2 cents worth....happy shopping!
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