Capsule/Car seat - a must-buy?

So, this is just an idea we're tossing about at the moment... Last night DH and I discussed baby things, particularly car seats/capsules. We're thinking about not getting one.

We don't drive much (over the last 9 weeks our car has done 231kms, most of which was to visit my sister 100km away) and we live within walking distance of most things we need (we also ride bikes a lot, but obviously this is out for quite a few months) We're trying to think of any unforeseen reasons that we would *NEED* to transport baby in the car rather than pram/sling/bike/bus.

Has anyone done this? Do you have any ideas? What possibilities aren't we seeing?

Mmmm what if you do want to go and visit your sister?? Can you get there by bus etc easily? What about Dr's/Child Health Nurse appointments etc? How will you get home from hospital? If you are able to do most things already without a car more power to you! I wish I could do 231kms in 9 weeks! Far out, we do that in less than a week and with the cost of petrol I wish we didn't.
Maybe you could check out places like Hire for Baby that are close to you so that if you did need one in a hurry you have their phone number handy and can get there to pick one up. Good luck.

I think that if you have a car then you should get a capsule, even if you don't use it much. Legally a baby must be in a capsule or car seat, so not getting one is virtually rendering your car useless. IMO even if you don't drive much there will most often come a time when you will need to use it, e.g. emergency, so if you don't have a car seat, you won't be able to. Also, most taxis don't have baby seats so if you need to use one you have to book one specially or provide your own seat.

Having said that, they are expensive, so maybe you could hire one (we hired a capsule for $90 for 6 months) or you could perhaps borrow one, or get a second hand one off ebay or something. Hope this helps. :)

you should get, for those just in case moments

In Melbourne, you hire capsules from the council. Can't remember how much it was but probably not very much - for the first six months. You could do that and see how you go. If you find you don't use it much then perhaps go without.

In any case, it's not something you have to decide on now - as I always say, "the shops are still open AFTER you've had the baby."

I don't drive so am used to PTing everywhere BUT you might find you use the car more with a baby. Less time-consuming if you just want to "pop" out rather than walk, catch the bus etc. particularly if you've been short on sleep.

I would definately get one, I found before Cooper the older ones were at school and I very rarely used the car would get bus everywhere as iot was close but it is soo much easier to do shopping ect with the car, visiting freinds and family and also playgroup ect, I too would hire or buy one second hand.

If we get one, I'll be buying one new, as we don't really know that many people up here that I could get one from. That said, I work in childcare, so there are plenty of families around me that I could trust with one.
We did toss up specially booking taxis with capsules, and this would be a really good option for us, because - trust me - we don't drive.
For visiting my sister, we have thought about hiring one. Actually, we have thought more seriously about hiring a car to visit her, and doing away with our car altogether.

BeautifulMadness: I'm really interested in what sort of "just in case" moments you mean? Just so I can really thinka bout my options and come up with the best choice.

I would be getting one but not spending a forturn. You can get a decent rear/forward facing car seat from Big W for About $170. At least then you have it for those time you may need it.

eta - Just in cases... Baby is sick needs to go to Dr, its raining outside making that walk, ride, bus wait a bit of pain & not good for a sick baby to be out it.
YOUR sick & need to get to Dr, really want to walk?
doing your shopping, its going to be much harder to do your shopping then lug it home on the bus while you have a bubba.

Ummmmm I don't know, I can't not drive as I don't live near anything.. I use to walk/bus a fair bit before we moved here & I miss that. But I know it was difficult to catch the bus with kids.

If you don't drive at all, then I guess there is no rush to go out & buy one, but these days the expense to get a car seat isn't that big so I would get one anyway.

you can hire one from the ambulance Service in Qld from memory I think is about 6mnths for $60.

The only 'just in case' moment that I can really think of is if you needed to take bub to Doc/hospital in a hurry. I say that because I frequently care for my nieces and I don't like driving with them in the car ... it's a silly mindset that I have. I will often get SIL to leave carseats though 'just in case' I had to make an 'emergency' trip.

I love the getting around with the girls without the car. We do the groceries, we run errands, we get all those everyday life things done. We are very well located to PT & the girls LOVE catching the tram or train. If you think getting rid of the car is possible for you I applaud you. Maybe don't make the final decision before bub is born, see how you go initially and if you're managing well more power to you!! So long as you have a 'back up plan' for an emergency I think you'll be fine :D

If you do buy one, a carseat is one thing that I would be careful about getting second hand. You do need to be sure that it hasn't been damaged in an accident. I would hope that people wouldn't on sell a damaged car seat, but it's hard to know who to trust these days.

TBH....I dont trust those few taxis that do have carseats in them, this is from knowing a mum that used to drive one of the few that had them, she said that they were very unhigenic not reglary cleaned ect, people would often leave with the seat wet from leaking nappies ect, one had a 2 yr old with shcool sores ect in, just some horror stories I have heard and then there can be a lenthy delay in getting on and if its an ermegency like in the middle of the night I would prefer to have a back up just in case.

Mmm rethinking- I think that hiring one or buying one JIC is probably wisest. I guess worst case scenario is that you want to go see a Dr or to the hospital(but not necessarily call an ambulance) and you can just get in the car and go.
You might get one and never need it but for peace of mind it might be worth it?

We live in Woollongabba in Brissy - the closest park to the hospital might well be right outside our house!

Thanks for your input everyone - I know it can be hard to think outside the car addiction!

Are you having bub in a hospital? How will you get home? I don't think I'd trust a taxi for my bubs first trip... (yes I'm an overprotective mother!! Lol)
I'm also one of those "better to be safe than sorry" people, so I would get one JIC. You can get great rear/forward facing ones at a reasonable price, they are usually for up to 18kgs so I'm sure you would get some use out of it over the years!
All the best with whatever you decide darl

I don't drive (I don't even have a drivers liscence). I am of two minds about what you are suggesting - but basically my opinion is that if you have a car, have a seat - JIC. If it is a JIC seat, then a cheap second hand one should do, I mean if you plan on never using it, it hasn't cost you much, but if an emergency arises then you have it. If you are getting rid of your car though, then you obviously don't need one (but I have found having a spare one handy is a good idea, if only for when others babysit, etc).

Also, hire is a good option - But not in the middle of the night, plus you usually have to drive to pick up the seat in the first place. And relying on others generousity is not the best option either. I personally would never lend my kids car seats out to a friend, and would feel arkward and put on the spot, if they ever asked.

If you have one you don't have to use it. I would rather have my own than trust a taxi or hire car one - we've caught the cabs and hired the cars with baby seats and often they were totally inappropraite to our babies' development (ie the booster seat that we had to put 3 month old Yasin into) and really low budget without good side impact protection.
If you have your own you can put it in a cab or hire care.
Also you can use it on planes instead of the plane seats which can be pretty uncomfy for longer flights.
Since I have a child who gets bad croup I've done many, many late night hospital dashes. Our MO is to dump a parent and sicky at the front door and the other parent can worry about parking afterwards. Trust me - when your baby is gasping for every breath finding a parking spot before getting your baby through the door isn't an option.
Imran is still using the one that we bought for Yasin almost 4 years ago - it only cost about $300 which works out to less than $100 a year. To me that's a cheap price to pay to make sure that my child has an appropriate seat to sit in every time he travels by car.
I'm perfectly happy to save money by buying/using second hand clothes, books, toys and furniture but I would never scrimp on their car seats, helmets and other safety equipment.

Why don't you just see how you go without one first? Then if you think you need one, then buy one then. It doesn't take long to go to the shops, buy a carseat and install it. Just do your investigating now (ie. investigate which carseat you may want if you decide to get one) so then you only have to go to the shops and buy it.

I admire you to be able to do so many things without a car. And for what it is worth, it can be done without a car. Our mothers and grandmothers etc did it. We (yes including myself) have just become lazy!

Good Luck :)

Thanks girls... I think I'll go for it. Money's not the issue, it's just the resources and the waste that gets poured into creating things that hardly get used - i have enormous guilt over this! But I have a sister and brother who are yet to reproduce, maybe I could pass it on to them and that might assuage my guilt somewhat?!?!
I used to have a reversible one from my nanny days, and was pretty happy with it (currently the in-laws are using it in Melbourne) so I've been looking at a few of those.

But there's a whole other thread in that....

i would be inclined to have a seat, even if its never used.

i love using PT when i can, i only drive when i need to do the weekly grocery shop. ut i would worry about the JIC moments too much. an example for me would be back in march when i had a miscarriage, i woke @ 4am and dp drove me straight to the hospital.. we had to do 4 more trips to the hosp over that weekend, and without a car seat, i would have had to either call an ambulance(and go on my own i guess) or not go at all!

i say better to have one and not use it, then not have one, and have to figure out how your going to get somewhere in a major hurry without a seat!

I have a firend who never had a car or license, but she had a seat JIC.
& til you have a baby you have no idea just how many times you will use it.
Middle of the night trips to the hospital, quick trip to the shops for baby panadol for a screaming baby when on your own, visiting friends/family or vacations.
It may not be necessary, but it will be handy. Even if you do get rid of the car, you never know when you might decide to go for a day trip or something in a friends car.

snugglybean - Looks like you've already made your decision. Big W have the same capsule I have for around $110 at the moment - cheaper than renting one. It would be a good option for you if you aren't going to use it much.

For anyone reading this post do not rely on taxis being available that will either have a capsule or a bolt to put your own in. We were broken down late at night on the side of a freeway in Melbourne and no such taxi was available. The car had to be towed, it was pouring rain, we could not walk off the freeway, we had to get into a taxi. I had to hold him in the backseat of the car til we got home. Totally illegal I know, but apparently very common.

You may find you use your car a little more once bubs arrives. The first couple of weeks after the birth I could barely walk due to pain (vaginal birth) and relied on the car heavily. It took several weeks before I could walk any great distance with the pram without difficulty so without a car and capsule I would've been housebound.

If you get sick yourself and need to go to the doctor you are going to want to drive. I speak from experience. I could not have walked to my doctors last week while my entire family had the cold from hell. I was completely exhausted from looking after a bub whilst I was sick and could not have managed the walk even if the doctor had been at the end of my street.

When you decide to visit someone for a weekend or go on holiday you will need a capsule. You need a lot of stuff to go away even for a night, trying to cart it around on public transport would be a nightmare.

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For anyone reading this post do not rely on taxis being available that will either have a capsule or a bolt to put your own in. We were broken down late at night on the side of a freeway in Melbourne and no such taxi was available. The car had to be towed, it was pouring rain, we could not walk off the freeway, we had to get into a taxi. I had to hold him in the backseat of the car til we got home. Totally illegal I know, but apparently very common.

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In Victoria taxi's have an exemption, so not illegal to carry a baby in the back of one without a restraint. Not sure about other states.

I'd recommend buying over renting if you aren't going to use it much. I hired a capsule from QLD ambulance and loved it. Was much easier to get bubs in and out of the car when you just have to unhook the insert, esp when bubs was asleep.
Getting a seat for JIC moments is a really good idea, plus it can be passed around or used for children later on. Buy one that can last a very long time, ie birth to 18kgs. That way you aren't having to buy another down the track.
Good luck with it all and congrats on your green thinking. Using PT all the time is fantastic, wish I could get away with that here but live a bit far away from everywhere.

I can't believe that about taxis in Victoria! What a joke! Why should they be exempt from the law? I think I will write to some pollies about that one.
I do remember giving someone a bollocking at Sydney airport one time as they loaded their <3 mth old onto a lap in the front seat of a car. There's just no excuse to get away with that when you can hire them so cheaply. My mum in NSW will definitely be hiring or borrowing one for when I visit, and the in-laws in Melbourne have my old reversible one. I have a friend who took hers on the plane with her, and I think that's a bit silly.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your help. I'm trying very hard not to think of the cost per use - it could very well end up being $30-40 if we keep going like we are now! Eeek!

Try thinking about the life of the SEAT, not the use with this one bubs.

I have no car but i had a rear-facing capsule that came with the pram (a "travel system" from Graco) and when DD outgrew it i bought a 1+2 stage (9months to 5 years) seat to replace it. Some of the times i used it:

When i was heading for PND and a good friend offered to come and take me and DD out of the city and away from XP (who i was in the middle of splitting from and who was hastening the PND in) for a day.

When my Dad was visiting and he wanted to take me to the beach to walk in the surf like we did when i was a teen - it is one of my most precious memories, BFing her listening to the surf...

When i needed to buy food and the cheapest/best supermarkets charged a lot for delivery and the only other option was to buy small quantities at WAY poorer value because i couldn't carry the larger amounts with DD in the wrap (i buy 36 tins of tomatoes at a time!).

When i needed to get DD to her father's house (after the split) but had a stress fracture in my foot and was NOT able to push or carry her the 2 miles to get there.

When, in the midst of a storm complete with 70mph gales and 90mph gusts (20 tiles came off the roof!) DD had to be gotten BACK from her father, who had to go to work, and the buses had stopped running (high-sided and several had been blown over). DP came and got me and the seat and we went and got DD.

Now my capsule is safely awaiting its next charge, and i use her current seat ALL the time. It's installed in DP (who doesn't live with us yet)'s car and we use it to take her out at the weekends (no, we don't HAVE to, but even DD thinks 3 hours in the science centre is more fun than 90mins in the science centre and 90mins on trains and buses), to get her home from her dad, to got to the shops if need be (i try to use the delivery service if i can get enough bargains to make it "pay" for itself or a free voucher because it's better for the planet that way). Despite this she still uses PT with one or other of her parents about 4x/week and i STILL seem to have to walk about 3 miles a day on average ;) Her current seat will last another 3 years (up to 15kg with the harness and then up to age 5-7 with the car's belt fastened over instead, like a booster but with greater side-protection :) ) and the old capsule will surely do for our next kids (we only plan one or 2 more). It's likely we'll need to buy a booster for DD when #2 is big enough to need her seat, but hopefully #2 will be fine in said booster by the time #3 needs the seat ;) I'll bet if you look in your kitchen cupboards you have a lot of cookware you barely ever use which doesn't keep you up at night.

Bx

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Thanks girls... I think I'll go for it. Money's not the issue, it's just the resources and the waste that gets poured into creating things that hardly get used - i have enormous guilt over this!

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I totally get what you're saying about this :) . IMO there are oodles of other baby things that genuinely are a waste of resources and one can do just fine without (baby baths, baby moniters, change tables, rockers) but a car seat isn't one of them. Like Hoobs says if you think about the life of the seat it lasts much longer than many of the other things people buy for their baby. A birth to 18kg seat will last you until bubs is 3 or more and then still be useful for a sibling. Once you're finished you can just freecycle it and another family will get more use out of it. I see baby seats come up on my local freecycle often and they always get taken pretty fast.

My mum freecycled her CAR a couple of weeks ago! No carseat included, but it still had the bolts from my brother's carseat and my sister's booster - the old school orange ones!

We have cut out a lot of unnecessary junk from our list too. I've been a nanny and childcare worker for 8 years and have seen some of the rubbish people buy, and the hype some people get caught up in. What I've noticed is that great stuff doesn't make a great kid; great parents do.

I've known two families who've done it without cars, but I don't know whether they have carseats or not; I'm going to catch up with them in October to see what they did.

I'm pretty sure we'll end up getting one. Even if its cost per use works out at $40, which is certainly possible *gulp* even if it's used for two kids! I am definitely a giver, and I know I'll love handing it on to one of my friends when their time comes.

As an aside, you can also lend it out...? A few times friends have had fmily in the city and because it's tough to fly with a toddler-sized carseat they were going to have to hire one with the hire car (which isn't ideal for the same reasons above re: taxi seats - not appropriate, not available, not cleaned, not safe etc.) so i lent them mine. I didn't miss it for a week and it made a big difference to their stay... Just a thought :)

Bx

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I can't believe that about taxis in Victoria! What a joke! Why should they be exempt from the law? I think I will write to some pollies about that one.

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It's because taxis are legally classed as public transport... :wall: So dangerous. If you do have to catch a cab without a baby-seat, put baby into a carrier if you have one (preferably one where they are upright and inward facing). Still nowhere near ideal, but at least they won't go flying with a sudden stop or collision.

With the baby carrier make sure you fasten your belt around YOU but NOT THE BABY. If the baby is between you and the belt in a collision you will crush it to death. Fasten your belt, then slip the bubs in the carrier on.

From a safety POV if you HAVE to travel in a vehicle where there aren't enough belts then you belt the heaviest person first. The lightest person (the baby) should be the one to travel loose. I know this goes against mummy-instinct but in a crash situation you are more likely to be able to hang onto a baby, but if it is fastened in and your 70kg body hits it in the seat at the speed of the impact you will kill it. Unrestrained passengers kill many more people in collisions than the interior of the car does.

Bx

In your case I would probably get a cheap convertible - Big W have one for around $110 and Kmart often have one on sale for $120. I don't drive either but have been picked up and dropped off so we have a capsule for hubby's car and a cheap convertible just in case I need it. You can always re-sell it later and recoup some of your costs, especially if its in very good condition from not much use.