Baby Capsules in the United States

Sorry, new to this so am trying again having now registered.

I am in the Australian Navy and am being posted to Washington DC for 2 years from December. We have a four week old son who will be 10 weeks old when we arrive.

My questions are:

1) Can I use Australian Standard baby capsules and seats in the United States or must I use US standard capsules?

2) Do taxis carry baby capsules as I need to get our son from the aircraft when we arrive in Washington to our accomodation? Does anyone have any other suggestions about how to best/ safely get a child from an airport to accomodation in the states?

Thanks,
Jason

Hi Jason. I'll see if I can help.

1. You should be able to use your baby capsule here (we call them infant seats here). Visitors aren't required to purchase US seats, though I'm not sure what the time limit is to be considered a "visitor." Your baby will most likely outgrow his capsule well before you leave, in which case you'll need to purchase a convertible seat. Here in the US, we rear-face our children until at least age 1 and 20 lbs. and longer is safer. A convertible seat will rear-face to approx. 15kg (30-35 lbs., depending on the manufacturer), then can be turned forward-facing to approx. 18 kg (40 lbs.). I suppose you can import an Australian seat, but you would need to check on the legalities of that (I know that our service people are allowed to use US seats when they are stationed overseas).

2. You should bring your baby capsule on the plane with you. If you are not allowed to use it in flight (it is the safest way for the baby to travel--don't forget about turbulence), then check it at the gate. Install and use the seat in the taxi on the way to your accommodations.

Have a good flight! I don't envy you that trip one bit .

My DH is in the US Army. Can you get a Sponsor for your new duty station? A Sponsor is someone who agrees to show you the ropes of the new duty station. They'll send you information on the hospitals, schools, family services, entertainment, etc, plus show you around when you get there. If you'll be working with the US Navy, they should be able to assign you someone, which will help a lot.

Next, we call them infant seats in the US. Your legal office would be the best place to ask. I assume Australia has a SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) with the US. As a US military family living in Germany, we can use our US child seats, and I would think you'd be able to use yours in the US if you're active duty in the Australian Navy. However, you should check with someone who KNOWS for sure before you do so. Also, an Australian seat may not fit so well in a US vehicle. The standards are different.

If it were me, I'd probably try to use an Australian infant carrier style seat (the kind with a handle) at first, then get a US convertible seat when the baby gets a little older (3-9 months old, depending on how big the baby is and how fast he/she grows). Most US convertible seats accomodate a toddler rear facing until 30 lb (13.6 kilograms) or more.

You should be able to install your seat in the taxi and use it for at least a week or two, even if the law requires you to get a US seat. Generally, visitors to the US are allowed to use their foreign seats while on vacation in the US.