Stupid Question

I don't have a car. I live in Chicago and use public transit everywhere I go. When we visit home, we rent a car.

Do I still need carseats? How often do you use carseats outside of actually traveling in a car?

I'm also kind of a pseudo-hippie - I carried both my kids in slings and never in carseats. We don't travel very often at all. Can car seats be rented for the 1-2 times a year we might need them?

 

I am very similar to you. I don't drive at home. We do travel alot and have never been able to rent a carseat when renting a car.

 

YES YES YES!!

They are very important. Yes, you can rent car seats and boosters from car rental places. At least I know Budget rental has them. You need to call ahead of time.

What do you mean using a car seat outside of the car?? They are only for the car except the infant carriers which can be used as carriers also. I used them all the time because I had the snap and go stroller and they were part of the stroller.

I too carried my singletons in slings all the time but with two, that was too much weight for my back and made shopping and other tasks too hard so I prefered a stroller. I do think that's a downfall of twins. I missed the constant touch of my baby I had with my singletons since they were always on me. Just not feasible with twins.

 

My cousin has her kids in carseats ALL THE TIME - at home, visiting, etc. They slept in there, too. Drove me nuts, but...I mean, with two, I don't know what's going to work best for us just yet.

So I guess I meant, how often do you use your carseat/carrier outside of the car for just sitting, visiting, on the bus, as a stroller attachment, that kind of thing.


QUOTE(twoplustwo @ Oct 1 2008, 04:06 PM) [snapback]1007219[/snapback]
YES YES YES!!

They are very important. Yes, you can rent car seats and boosters from car rental places. At least I know Budget rental has them. You need to call ahead of time.

What do you mean using a car seat outside of the car?? They are only for the car except the infant carriers which can be used as carriers also. I used them all the time because I had the snap and go stroller and they were part of the stroller.

I too carried my singletons in slings all the time but with two, that was too much weight for my back and made shopping and other tasks too hard so I prefered a stroller. I do think that's a downfall of twins. I missed the constant touch of my baby I had with my singletons since they were always on me. Just not feasible with twins.

 

Besides in the car of course I only used mine when we were at someones house visiting & they were already asleep in them so I would just carry them in like that. It was a nice comfy place to keep them contained and for them to sleep when we were out & about.

 

I have never used my car seats outside of a car. My girls hated their infant carriers, and even in a car those only last a couple months. I guess I would say you could try it without and see how it works out for you, and if it turns out you need one then you can get one later.

 

I guess my question is how do you plan to transport them anywhere without them being in a car seat? I guess having them in a slings is an option, but two at once on a public bus? My back couldn't handle that. I'd also be concerned about slipping & falling during the winter.
You'd have to check with your hospital you'll be giving birth in also. Mine wouldn't allow us to leave the hospital without car seats for the babies, of course we were driving our van home though. I used the infant car seats a lot outside of the van, especially while shopping.

 

I'm right there with you. I live and work in Manhattan and don't own a car. We used to travel a lot, but I'm not sure how often we're going to go out of town with two infants. We rent with Hertz and they rent all sizes of car seats for $12 a day. So, it's possible for us not to buy a car seat, but I'm still undecided. I'm only a 10 block walk from the hospital, so the kids will go home in a stroller (I'll cab it if I can't walk) and the strollers we're looking at are capable of handling infants. My twin club always has people selling car seats, so I know I can get two really cheap, I'm more worried about limited storage space, those things take up a lot of space. Please let me know what you decide!

 

If you don't drive, you probably won't need a carseat. Most rental car companies will rent them but make sure you call in the days before your trip to confirm that they have them available.

Infant carseats are nice because you can carry the babies in them but slings work just as well. You will want a stroller that has seats that lay flat though because that is the only type of stroller that is acceptable for a small infant who is not riding in a carseat that is clipped to the stroller. With two babies, you will probably want to use the stroller on occasion instead of two slings or other baby carriers.

 

I totally see your point. My boys slept in the free car seats we got from the hospital (we already had carriers for the car) for the first few months. DH was deployed and it was the only way I could calm them both. My suggestion for you is to see if your hospital offers free car seats. If so, why turn them down?? If they don't then I think you should wait and see how thinks work out. I also agree with the stroller suggestion pp mentioned. I couldn't use the front part of our Graco DuoGlider until the boys were 3 months.

 

Soo many good points.

In my mind I see me with a sling and a stroller or a double stroller, but navigating a bus or the train with a doublestroller is giving me a headache just thinking about it. I would like to put off getting another car as long as possible, but with four kids, two of them infants, and such a busy life, it might be worth it.

I'm going to ruminate a while longer, I think.