Premature baby how long can be at car seat ?

Minnie67

New member
My girl twins should travel with car very soon at distance of cca 6 hour drive.One baby is 2.60 kg and another is 2.30 kg.
I m worried because is their first ride and I dont know how long is suitable for them to seat .Does someone have simmilar experience?
I bought Italian Neonato car seats for 0+ - 13 kg.
The seat seems so deep for them!:confused:
 
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ShumNum

Senior Community Member
The general recommendation is that a preemie/infant be removed from their car seat MINIMALLY every 3 hours for at LEAST 30 minutes.

I would highly suggest that someone ride in the back seat with them if possible because sometimes preemies can have 'issues' when they are in a car seat. For example, their heart rate can drop, their oxygen level in their blood can drop, etc. If that happens while you are driving, you need to pull over immediately, stop the car, and quickly remove the child from the seat.

I would suggest, if possible, that you actually put your babies in their car seats for a couple of hours to 'test' that the babies can tolerate being in the seats. If they are at hospital, it would be best to do this 'test' while the babies are attached to a heart monitor...otherwise you will need to sit there and watch them to make sure they don't have any issues.

It will be very important that you make sure the car seat is installed at the correct angle...the seat should have some sort of angle indicator on it. The seat should not be too upright, but it's also not safe for it to be over-reclined.

I'm not familiar with the car seat you mentioned. It's a European seat so I assume you are overseas, correct?

Does that help at all?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
From what I can find, the car seats you have do not have a minimum weight limit. However, it is important that they fit in the seat itself (the straps can be properly tightened according to instructions) and that they can tolerate being at that angle for 6 hours before you take them on a 6 hour trip.

If they cannot tolerate that angle (ideally this should be tested with medical supervision before you leave the hospital) you may need seats for them that lie flat. If you don't have room for two carrycots in your back seat, you may want to look into the Red Castle Sport Infant Seat, which is the only seat I know of that allows a baby to lie flat in a rear-facing position, taking up only one spot in the car rather than two. This would also allow someone to sit between them and attend to their needs.
 

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
From the little I could find of the car seat it appears to be an infant only seat - also known as a bucket seat, or perhaps an infant capsule in your area. (IP is in Ukraine, not sure if that's where you're from?)

How old are your girls now? Are they just being released from hospital? Is the hospital doing what we refer to here as a carseat test/study where they keep monitors hooked to the babies while they sit in their carseats for a period of time to make sure they're able to tolerate a semi-upright position?

As others have mentioned, you'll need to plan to make frequent stops and have them out of their seats. The actual depth of the seat isn't a problem - it's actually a good thing to have the shell deep because it increases side impact protection. What you'll need to look for is if the harness can be adjusted snugly around the babies. Check the instructions to the seat to see how the harness straps are supposed to be positioned in relation to the shoulders as well. I'm not familiar with this brand and I know that European seats have different rules than North American seats. :thumbsup:

It will be important that the seat is installed at the correct angle, and hopefully there is an adult available to sit in the back with the twins to be keep a consistent eye on them.

Good luck with the trip and congratulations on your twins. :)
 

Minnie67

New member
Dear girls, many , many thanks for all your answers and effort to help me.At the hospital they did not explain me nothing about car seats.My twin girls are 3 weeks old now and we are planing our trip for mid of August.
Car seat is Neonato Boggie N263- group 0+ if that can help .
Today we have been at short one hour ride with car and I put one towel at the hole of car seat so spine can be flat - and car seat we put normaly at seat because there is no angle indicator at seat. Is that o.k?
I seat back with them and watched is there any issues with behaviour - but they were sleep all the time:).

Thanks again for all good wishes !
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
In general, you should not put anything under the babies unless it came with the car seat. You can put a rolled blanket on either side to help hold up the head, but it shouldn't go under them. You should not change the angle that they lie in the car seat in.

The car seats, if they did not come with a level indicator, should be used at a 45 degree angle from vertical for a newborn. Here's a page on how to do the "paper test" to get a 45 degree angle: http://www.carseatsite.com/reclineangle.htm (just scroll down to "method 2.")

So, once the towel is out and the babies' seats are installed at a 45 degree angle, then you should sit with them and make sure they don't have any problems breathing. :)
 

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