# carrying babies out of the hospital



## Ms Ladybug (Dec 29, 2004)

Did anyone else HAVE to use a carseat when they left the hospital having giving birth? Both times, we had to have the baby strapped into the car seat, and sitting on my lap in the wheelchair as we left. It would have been nice to have them in a sling, but hospital policy said no way.
Anyone else??


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## towsonmama (May 19, 2006)

I had to use a carseat for mine too. I thought it was pretty ridiculous that I had to sit in a wheelchair.


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## lilylove (Apr 10, 2003)

They told me a had to put him in the carseat on the way down to leave. When I told them I planned to wear him they told me it was unsafe








They didn't really push it though, and I did wear him down in a pouch.


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## wasswifey (Aug 13, 2006)

I dont really understand your question. I think you mean--they made you bring the carseat inside and hold it on your lap with you in the wheelchair to the car? (weird) I just had the carseat in the car and held him (in the wheelchair) til I got to the car. Why did they say no sling?

Before I gave birth I thought it was pretty crazy to have to be in the wheelchair too! but after, I didnt even want to move out of the bed.


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## VOBetz (Mar 10, 2007)

I carried my son. I'll carry my daughter.

With my son, we had so much stuff, that we didn't bring the infant carseat into the hospital. We put him in the car when we got there.

I'm not sure if we will be using the infant seat with this one or our convertible. But either way, it will remain in the car.

What if you weren't using an infant seat (like using a convertible)? How could they possibly make you put your baby in that inside the hosp?


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

I think the idea is supposed to be that they make sure you have a car seat. But, many hospitals leave it to the nurses, and some of their ideas are just odd.

When dd was born, I brought the car seat into the lobby and the nurse got all pissy that she'd be too cold in April (going 3 feet from the lobby to the pre-heated car?!?!) and swaddled her in about 4 blankets. I said "we have to strap her into the carseat in the car anyway. What are you doing?" and she actually said "you can just hold her in the carseat, why would you need the straps!?!?!?!" If I ended up with in the hospital this time (I'm planning a home birth, so not likely!), we live literally 2 blocks from the hospital, and I don't see the point in a taxi or car getting home. Finding a parking space would take 3 times longer than walking home!


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## LoveBaby (Jul 22, 2004)

egads...I hope they don't make me use a car seat! I'm planning very carefully which carrier I want to take to carry her out in serious babywearing style!









not to mention being an advocate to other families and mama's at the hospital, KWIM?!


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## CanBoo (Nov 17, 2006)

Similar here. I did not try to carry, but we had a convertible in the car, no infant seat. They did not want to leave with the baby in our arms. They apparently had to see the baby strapped in the seat while leaving the maternity unit on 2nd floor.







: So DH had to get the seat out of the car, bring it to the room, we put baby in, walked out like that... Got her out, seat went in the car... then baby went in. The thing is that they have no idea if your seat is properly installed, just that the baby is in it.
Next time, I would just borrow someone's infant seat, get the baby out of the maternity unit like that, they will never know that she is going in a different seat.
My husband did rub it in and asked the nurse what would happen if someone was to take public transit to get the baby home, so no car seat. She was quite puzzled about it...


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## lilgsmommy (Jun 21, 2004)

My oldest was on my lap in his bucket. With the twins, they pushed them out to our car in thier bassinet thingy.


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## Ms Ladybug (Dec 29, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LoveBaby* 
egads...I hope they don't make me use a car seat! I'm planning very carefully which carrier I want to take to carry her out in serious babywearing style!









not to mention being an advocate to other families and mama's at the hospital, KWIM?!

It was actually your post on another thread that made me start this question.

Kinda like..."Hey! I didn't get to do that!"


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## ATruck (Mar 6, 2006)

They asked us to bring the carseat in, and I told them that we didn't have an infant seat. The nurses are required by law to make sure the baby is going home in a carseat, so she had to come downstairs and wait for my husband to bring the car around. We have had a convertible seat from the beginning, so we couldn't bring the carrier in.

So we could have carried her in a sling... but she was coming out of her 6 day NICU stay, and we had never had her in one before.


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## elladee (Oct 24, 2005)

Now we weren't actually allowed to carry the baby out of the hospital in the bucket seat. A nurse followed us out to the car to watch that we properly strapped DD in.

I was actually kind of irritated about that because it was January in Buffalo and not real warm out. I wanted to strap her in and tuck blankets around her before we went out, but they said no way.

ETA: We now live about a 5 minute walk from the hospital, so for the next one, I'm actually pretty tempted to suck it up and walk home with the baby in a sling just to see what they say.


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## Ellp (Nov 18, 2004)

With Dd, the nurse strapped her into the bucket seat before we could leave. However, I just walked out of the ward, and I had a C-section! I did fine, but had to walk slowly. All our gear and stuff went in the wheelchair, which I think I pushed...


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## junipermuse (Nov 1, 2006)

At the hospital I was at they wouldn't let you carry the baby out in the carseat. The mom had to carry the baby while riding in the wheel chair. They suggested you bring the seat in to adjust the straps and then to have dad take the seat back out to the car. It didn't matter for us since we didn't use that style seat. We have a Britax decathalon. I can't imagine trying to carry a baby out of the hospital in that thing.


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

We did not have to use a car seat or a wheel chair.

What about people who don't use buckets?


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## althara (Jan 21, 2007)

We were never told by the hospital what to do. We just brought the car seat in when we were leaving the hospital. No one even checked to see if she was strapped in properly.

Thankfully, I didn't have to sit in a wheelchair; I would have protested very vocally.














I didn't sit in one post birth when moving to the postpartum room. I walked the whole way and the nurses were looking at me like I was crazy. But my stitches hurt so bad I didn't want to sit down.


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## Naomismom (Feb 20, 2007)

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that different states have different laws about this. With dd, I had to sit in a wheelchair and hold her. No carseat checking or anything. They let me know that after we pull away in the car, they were no longer liable. Easy enough...


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## Jenlaana (Oct 28, 2005)

I hope I don't end up in the hospital. ugh

That being said, I will do what I want, when I want, and they can kiss my butt if they don't like it.







I'm making a ring sling for my new babe and intend to carry her around in it, her will permitting of course, from the moment I can stand and hold her, on.


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## treqi (Dec 31, 2006)

I had to sit in a wheelchair and hold her in the carseat i thought it was weird but was to rushed to argue(i wanted out of that hospital)


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## sunnmama (Jul 3, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ATruck* 
They asked us to bring the carseat in, and I told them that we didn't have an infant seat. The nurses are required by law to make sure the baby is going home in a carseat, so she had to come downstairs and wait for my husband to bring the car around. We have had a convertible seat from the beginning, so we couldn't bring the carrier in.
.

same here


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## Aeress (Jan 25, 2005)

I felt so awkward in the wheel chair with the bucket..I thought I was going to drop her. They "had" to wheel me out and see the car seat. Kinda silly since they don't check if it is installed correctly.

We are having a homebirth this time and I plan to use the sling as soon as possible.


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## s_kristina (Aug 9, 2004)

With dd in Louisiana I was in a wheel chair carrying dd in her bucket seat. With ds they wanted me in the wheel chair carrying ds although we could have pushed him out in the basinet thing. I needed the wheel chair as I was very weak from blood loss. The IBCLC pushed us out to the truck and was recommending a sling to put ds in so people wouldn't be getting in his face. I let her know I had one packed in the diaper bag and a collection at home


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## beansricerevolt (Jun 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *wasswifey* 
I just had the carseat in the car and held him (in the wheelchair) til I got to the car.

Same here.

A nurse did fallow us to make sure we had a car seat. She was very perplexed as to why we didn't have one of those bucket seats. She even said that we needed to go get a bucket seat for ds. I told her that this was for infants up to toddlers and even pointed out the sticker on the seat. She then proceeded to tell me that he was to small







: What!? is the car manufacturer lying!? Not to mention DS was a little over 10 lbs. and the seat said it was ok for 7lbs on up.







:


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## bdavis337 (Jan 7, 2005)

Bah. Where my oldest was born, they insisted I ride out in a wheelchair while my husband carry baby in his arms. Then they claimed to be required to buckle the baby into his seat. Only......the never unswaddled him. So I pulled over as soon as we left the hospital parking lot, freed his legs and re-buckled him in. If we'd been in an accident with him buckled like that, he'd have slid right out. I was ticked. Last hospital only insisted on seeing the seat, which we were able to leave in the car and just pull up to the exit door.


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## VOBetz (Mar 10, 2007)

Oh I get it now. IIRC, there was a nurse that walked out to the car with us, to make sure that the baby was in a carseat on the way home.


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## maxsmum (Nov 29, 2006)

walked out, babe in arms no problem and so glad no one tried to tell me otherwise!


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## g&a (Dec 15, 2004)

We were even told not to walk around the ward carrying the baby - she was supposed to be in the rolling basinette. What a dumb rule. Were they afraid I would drop her? I suppose I shouldn't carry her at home either, lest I fall down the stairs or something. Maybe we should handle our kids with gloves, or better yet, seal them in sterile bubbles until they're 18.

FWIW I was never offered a wheelchair (c-section - would have liked one) and had to walk to the other end of the parking lot. That was dumb.

g.


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## kaspar (Nov 9, 2005)

we had to bring the bucket upstairs and strap him in there, and then i carried the bucket on my lap in the wheelchair.

i can't help wondering - for those who didn't need/want a Wheelchair - how long were you in the hospital? we left 2 hrs after the lo was born, and i can't imagine having the energy to walk out!! not to mention the swelling 8|


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

I was up walking a half hour after birth.


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## katheek77 (Mar 13, 2007)

I was walking around about two hours after birth, much to the hospital employees' dismay.

They didn't like that I took off the monitors and walked around during labor, either. Bad Patient!!!

The (very pregnant) nurse wheeled me out, against my protests (hell, I walked INTO L&D, surely I could walk OUT of it), with me holding Katie. She just asked if we had a carseat.

Sure did...in the back of a jeep wrangler...put baby in through the "trunk". Hubby didn't think very far ahead on that one.


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## bdavis337 (Jan 7, 2005)

We weren't supposed to carry baby around during our stay either, they cited some kind of safety reg that stated that when in motion (like from one room to another or whatever) the baby had to be in the bassinet. I think it's probably a precuation they take to avoid ANY instance of impropriety - we've all heard the stories about babies being taken from maternity wards by the wrong people, and it's not as easy to do that if the baby is in plain view in the bassinet. Also, just after delivery, Mom can be a bit shaky, so it's probably also a safety procaution (what if mom passes out, or gets dizzy, while walking across the room holding Baby?).

However, after discharge they shouldn't be able to do a darn thing about how you carry your baby out!


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## RockStarMom (Sep 11, 2005)

I was pushed in a wheelchair and carried my daughter in my arms.


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## merpk (Dec 19, 2001)

My first one had to be in a carseat, but then again, I didn't know how to use the sling yet, so ...









The others were in the sling ... but driven home, so we had a carseat in grandpa's car for them.







Both came home in under 20-degree temperature days.

My last one was in the spring and in the sling and we walked home from the hospital anyway.









I've heard of hospitals doing that, though, making you do the carseat thing while still in the hospital. Ridiculous.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

I think it's very irresponsible of the hospitals to request that people remove their carseats. Just think if someone had gone and gotten their seat installed by professional technicians.

If they really care that the baby is going home in a car seat, they should go out to the car with the family and check that the seat is installed. And they should check that it's rearfacing.


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## FreeThinkinMama (Aug 3, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ms Ladybug* 
Did anyone else HAVE to use a carseat when they left the hospital having giving birth? Both times, we had to have the baby strapped into the car seat, and sitting on my lap in the wheelchair as we left. It would have been nice to have them in a sling, but hospital policy said no way.
Anyone else??

They did that with my first, hospital policy this and hospital policy that. With my second baby I knew better, hospital policy is not the law. While you do have to show that you are strapping the baby in the carseat in the car when you leave, you dont have to do it in the hospital, you can do it in the parking lot. Both times we had a nurse bring me out in a wheelchair and watch us put the baby in the car. The second time I insisted on holding my baby (I didn't think about bringing the sling, I just knew my baby was going to cry in that carseat and I wasn't having it this time). We brought up the carseat to show them we did indeed have one but my dh carried it down to the car, we put the baby in it once we got to the car. Once in the car, ds was perfectly content in the carseat. But if the motor isn't running he hates the carseat, to this day.

Anyways just remember you're the parent, not them.


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## TxMominCT (Nov 23, 2006)

They actually let me WALK out of the hospital, and I had a c-section!!! I don't know if I had to keep the baby in the carseat to get take her out, but they did make us bring it in and show them that we knew how to use it. I didn't mind though, with all of the other things going on it was nice just to click the bucket in. It is a silly rule if they won't let you carry your baby out! I know they are worried you might not have a carseat, and/or know how to use it so it's good they check, but you should be able to take the baby out however you want! (I'm SO glad they didn't make me go out in a wheel chair, although I probably did need it







)


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## TxMominCT (Nov 23, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *g&a* 
We were even told not to walk around the ward carrying the baby - she was supposed to be in the rolling basinette. What a dumb rule. Were they afraid I would drop her? I suppose I shouldn't carry her at home either, lest I fall down the stairs or something. Maybe we should handle our kids with gloves, or better yet, seal them in sterile bubbles until they're 18.

FWIW I was never offered a wheelchair (c-section - would have liked one) and had to walk to the other end of the parking lot. That was dumb.

g.

This describes much of my experience too.


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## angelcat (Feb 23, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *hip_mama* 
Same here.

A nurse did fallow us to make sure we had a car seat. She was very perplexed as to why we didn't have one of those bucket seats. She even said that we needed to go get a bucket seat for ds. I told her that this was for infants up to toddlers and even pointed out the sticker on the seat. She then proceeded to tell me that he was to small







: What!? is the car manufacturer lying!? Not to mention DS was a little over 10 lbs. and the seat said it was ok for 7lbs on up.







:

Actually, even if baby is within the wieght requitements, he could be too small. The lowest harness slots in any convertibles I've seen would be too low for some babies. It's not even the overall legth of baby, it's how they are proportioned. I would guess at 10 lbs your baby was fine, though! Even some infant seats have the lowest slots to high for a very small baby or preemie.

Anyhow, at the local hospital here, you have to show that you have a seat, and strap baby in it. I wasn't allowed to carry her in it, as I'd had a c-section, so I couldn't carry her in it for 6 weeks. No wheelchair, and ti would have been nice, I could barely stand up.

Anyhow, once out of the maternity ward, or maybe before once they've checked out the carseat, I imagine you could take baby out & put her in a sling if it's that important.

Not sure what my hospital does if you're taking a bus home or using a convertible.


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## Aliviasmom (Jul 24, 2006)

Yeah, I had to use a friggin car seat!







I NEEDED to carry her in my arms (I was in a wheelchair). But they wouldn't "let" me!









I was fine using a wheelchair though, since I had a c-section and it was long ways to walk. I needed the energy.


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## marlee (Aug 29, 2005)

Quote:

We were even told not to walk around the ward carrying the baby - she was supposed to be in the rolling basinette
I also had dd in a car seat on my lap in the wheelchair.

The thing is I couldn't walk with dd any how. But dh could I suppose.


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## _betsy_ (Jun 29, 2004)

We had to roll DD around the around in the bassinett thingy too - liability issue so we couldn't sue if we slipped and dropped her.

We brought the bucket up because we thought we had to, but the nurse was like, "We just ask if you have a carseat and take your word for it."


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## nikihodges (Jul 29, 2006)

in georgia nurses are required to check the car seat before the baby leaves the hosp. we check that the baby is in right and that the seat is buckled in correctly....some mommies bring the seat in-which is easier for the nurses-some with the convertable type we just check once the baby is put in , in the car...im not sure about someone using public transport though


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## jcchirib (May 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *g&a* 
We were even told not to walk around the ward carrying the baby - she was supposed to be in the rolling basinette. What a dumb rule. Were they afraid I would drop her?
g.


oh, it's even weirder than that...i've read on other websites and on a couple of nursing forums the "real" reason for this: risk management and infant abduction. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recommends that hospitals require that all infants be pushed around in bassinets, and never be carried in arms in the halls. matter of fact, a woman carrying an infant in the hall is considered "suspicious behavior" to be investigated.

i found out the hard way with my dd1, and i got rather brusk with the questioning nurse, but my dh wanted to keep the peace, so i returned to the room for the darned box.

boy, and those medicos keep insisting on the safety of hospitals! yet another reason for having dd2 at home...


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## Melaniee (Apr 15, 2002)

We had to bring our car seat in and put Ds in it to show them we knew how to use it (or for them to show us how to use it) then we took him out so I could hold him while I was wheeled out.

We actually chose to put Dd in hers since it was about 1 am and chilly when we left the birthing center. We wanted to get in as quickly as possible with our 3 hour old baby.


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## gaidinsgirl (Aug 15, 2006)

Our baby was transported to a NICU an hour away and I still had to ride in a wheelchair with him in his carrier on my lap. I hadn't even been a patient at that hospital.


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## Waterfallraleigh (Apr 15, 2007)

We just brought the carseat up and got her all settled in and covered since it was cold. However, the 2nd night in the hospital Emily was fussy so we put her in the sling (my husband was wearing her) and hte nurse came in and asked if she could breathe.


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## lightforest (Nov 11, 2005)

So has anyone out there taken public transportation home from the hospital/birthing center? I'm really curious to know how staff would react to that.


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## TypingMJ (Nov 10, 2005)

I could barely walk for a few days after my son was born, so I was grateful for the wheelchair on the way out. I carried him in my arms, though we did bring a sling. He cried when we tried to put him into the sling so I just held him.

When I pre-registered they told me they'd need to see the carseat before they let us go home, but nobody looked at it. The guy who wheeled me down to the parking lot didn't even wait for my husband to bring the car around before going back inside, so we just left.







For all I know that wheelchair is still sitting at the curb.


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## Individuation (Jul 24, 2006)

What do they do with people who aren't taking a car home from the hospital?


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

they asked me if i had a carseat and where it was. i said it was in the van. they said okay.
then before we left, i was asked again by soimeone else. they had a random young gy push me downstairs, though i was fine to walk...
he said "bye" and walked off. my brother was pushing me and my son around (he was 6) in this giant wheelcahir thinggy with all our stuff stuck on it, that was fun...







he kept trying to run us into the glass stuff in the gift shop1 :sigh:

noone looked or cared. im praying to be at the birth center this time, so im sure from the inside to the outside they woudlnt care, LOL!!


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## BrooklynDoula (Oct 23, 2002)

Here you can leave with the baby in a carrier but many people have no cars, so this is not that uncommon. I left with the baby in arms and put him in a carseat in or car (and they checked).


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## pianojazzgirl (Apr 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CanBoo* 
Next time, I would just borrow someone's infant seat, get the baby out of the maternity unit like that, they will never know that she is going in a different seat.

That's what we did!


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## lava (May 5, 2007)

They're not (well, theoretically--there are bad eggs in every box of course <G>) trying to harass you or get down on babywearing, they're playing CYA!
The wheelchair is for their protection--if you fall and get hurt (or baby does if you're carrying him/her) it's their legal responsibility (just as an example, my friend's ailing grandmother was briefly left unattended against doctor's and family's orders and fell off of an MRI table, had to have a hip replacement--the hospital paid for all the surgical and hospitalization related costs, plus they pay $1000/month for the next 30 years--that was an out of court settlement. Yeah, you feel great, and you don't think you're going to fall--but what if you do? Try to look at their POV <G>.
And same thing with the carseat--they're supposed (not by law per se but again, CYA--if you got in a wreck on the way home and were holding baby in your lap and baby was injured, they could be sued for letting you leave without educating you on carseat use) to make sure you've got the critter buckled in when you leave...
-lava


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

I know why some hospitals do it. It doesn't mean I agree or that I would comply. If the hospital where I transferred with my first doesn't do it, then it clearly isn't an across the board thing, so not that important.

If I want to walk, I will walk.


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## cece (Jan 24, 2006)

My experience was similar to others here. I was not allowed to walk around in the hallways using a carrier, the bassinet dealy only. So, we mainly stayed in our room







.
I do have a funny story, though. I was in the room, alone with Eva who was snuggled down in a hotsling and we were rocking on the glider, me half asleep. A nurse walked in and freaked out b/c she didn't see the baby!








I have to say that before I had her I would've thought that the bassinet thing in the hallways was dumb, but given that I had a c-section and was crazy weak afterward, I can see why. Maybe it was just me, but I had vertigo randomly and could barely walk. We too had to bring the car seat in, although it makes me wonder what they'd do if all you had was a convertible car seat, that would be a pain!


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## meghandmama (Apr 26, 2005)

oh don't get me started on this topic....grrrrr. yet another reason to homebirth or go to a birth center.

when megh was born and we left the hospital in central oregon, they told me i had to bring in a car seat for her and they put her in it and when the nurse slid the straps to tighten it her hand slipped and wound up scratching my precious newborns face w/ her ring...i was PISSED and hurt so bad about that. it made me so mad. i couldn't carry my own baby out of there. i should have just taken my baby right on out of the car seat and held her, nursed her...cuz it scared her and hurt her! i was ready to go off on that lady.

i'm at such a different point now that i would not be so passive again. that is just ridiculous. there is no reason why we can't CARRY our own babies out of the hospital and then put them into a carseat once we reach the vehicle w/ nurse in tow to witness. like are they going to come and observe everytime we get into our cars from our homes too? its just to cover their own asses and it pisses me off. i need to find out more about the 'true' policy and our legal right cuz its annoying isn't it!


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## swampwitch (Jul 24, 2006)

We tried and tried to explain to our discharge nurse that we had a convertable car seat, no bucket...she just didn't get it. So my poor dad, who had no idea how the thing worked, had to go the car, completely unstrap it and haul it in.

By that time another nurse was on and asked why we had bothered doing that, they just had to know we had one Grrr. We very irritably responded that the previous nurse _insisted_ we bring it in.

I did go out in a wheelchair but I held my baby. However, I, too, just wanted to get the frack out of there and was willing to do whatever backflip I had to do to go home.

When we left the NICU a week later a nurse had to carry my baby to the car and watch us put him in his seat. THAT was irritating b/c my husband or I were perfectly capable of carrying him. Bleh.

If there is a #2, we plan on having a homebirth.


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## mamamavis (Oct 21, 2006)

We didn't have to bring the seat in. But a nurse walked us down and my hubby pulled up and she had to verify that we had one....no mandatory wheelchair either. But the birthing center here is way ahead of the times IMO. It was built/designed at the insistence of a very loving OB (former midwife) and her team. Despite my hopes of a home water birth, my experience at the hospital was respectful and my birth was awesome!


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ms Ladybug* 
Did anyone else HAVE to use a carseat when they left the hospital having giving birth? Both times, we had to have the baby strapped into the car seat, and sitting on my lap in the wheelchair as we left. It would have been nice to have them in a sling, but hospital policy said no way.
Anyone else??

We could carry them any way we chose, but a hospital staff person had to come out with us to be sure they were properly strapped into a car seat for the drive home.


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

They insisted that I be wheeled to the hospital door, but I held my son in my lap (my oldest). We left the hospital 12 hours after his birth-- being told I couldn't hold him while walking down the hall was one reason I wanted out of there! I wasn't about to put him in that stupid plastic box!
FWIW I was walking fine <10 minutes after my first birth-- that was with an episiotomy and stitches. I was up, showered, dressed, and walking around within an hour of my UC. Of course, mastitis knocked me on my butt about a week later both times, so I don't necessarily recommend jumping up right after birth, or walking to the park or roaming the mall 2 days later (yes, I did both).


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## mamadelbosque (Feb 6, 2007)

DS rode down to the car in my arms in the wheelchair, then we showed them our carseat and put him in there....


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## bluegrassgirl (May 8, 2007)

I was allowed to put Emma in a sling to carry her out of the hospital. Then again, because I am already a wheelchair user, I was in my own wheelchair. The only thing we had to prove was that I did indeed have a car seat (I had a convertible car seat in my parents car). The only thing the nurse balked at was the seat was in the back of the van, away from me. I explained to her that the middle of the van had to be empty for my wheelchair lift and strapping stuff, but it still made me pissed off that I had to explain all of this to her. My Mom just replied to the nurse that we know what we are doing and to not bother us, and she left.

Jessie
(single mommy to Emma, 3 years and Angela, 2 years)


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## kathteach (Jun 6, 2004)

My hospital had given me materials stating that they would check to make sure you had the car seat, but they never did with us. I was wheeled out with my son in my arms.

Maybe this is cynical, but I'm wondering if the employees "profile" the new mothers. If they think you look poor or very young, maybe they check, whereas if you appear affluent/older, they don't.


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## Shell_Ell (Jun 13, 2005)

Leaving the hospital was not a big production here. We left 12 hours after he was born and we didn't plan to be there in the first place. I don't even remember having anyone check that he was in a car seat or anything. He was, but only because we wanted to figure out how to get him in it before we ventured out to the parking garage. I also wasn't wheeled out, either. I walked out myself.

To be quite honest I don't remember details but I don't remember anyone checking that we had a car seat.


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kathteach* 
My hospital had given me materials stating that they would check to make sure you had the car seat, but they never did with us. I was wheeled out with my son in my arms.

Maybe this is cynical, but I'm wondering if the employees "profile" the new mothers. *If they think you look poor or very young,* maybe they check, whereas if you appear affluent/older, they don't.

err..well, i was on medicaid and we left 4 days after i turned 18, i checked in the next night after i turned 18...
i think they gave up on me cause i was refusing and disputing everything and i brought my granddads laptop to prove my points so they wouldnt argue anymore!







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