How to safely transport a newborn baby in downtown Chicago without your own car?
 

Are there special transportation/taxi services in Chicago that might cater to parents with babies or small children?

My friends are thrilled and excited to be adopting a newborn baby in Chicago, which is out of state for them. They do not want to drive their own car in downtown Chicago from the hotel (where they will be staying for a few days) to the Daley Center and back with the baby because of the hassle with driving and parking in a busy downtown area.

If they cannot find a reasonably priced hotel within short walking distance of the Daley Center they will need transportation back and forth. My friends cannot imagine trying to set up a car seat safely in a taxi (remember, this will be in their first days with a newborn and they are first time parents) and I wonder if there are good, safe alternatives for them to consider.

Any ideas, recommendations or experiences with this sort of situation?

I suggest they buy a car seat (small type for a newborn) and learn how to use it before they travel, even learn ing how to buckle it in different types of cars. It is helpful to carry a small towel or something to put under the car seat if it is not fitting correctly. The totable seats are nice to have anyway. Maybe check out the car seat that also becomes a stroller, but I have never used one, so I don't know how heavy or difficult they are to use. I say go with getting the seat now, and learning all about it first!

Get involved with people/support group/hospital class at home with "newborns" as focus, get the seat before leaving and pretend/practice at home. Call a cab or visit the cab company to check them out. Cars are cars in Chicago also. Last I knew laws concerning children in cars, still do apply to cars (cabs) It would be a FOOLISH person who walks into this any other way than prepared for no surprises. Prepare and practice.

actually, taxis in chicago are exempt from child-seat laws, so one can legally travel in taxis without putting their children in a child-seat. It might not be the best idea, but it isn't illegal.

They do need to get experienced with their baby bucket (AKA infant carseat) before them come. They should buy it or get it for a shower and practice putting it in their car without the base (safer that way and takes less time too, the base is only for convenience in their main car). They should also get a snap-n-go which is a frame-only carseat holder that converts an infant seat into a stroller. The carseats that turn into strollers are only for infants that can hold their own heads up.

Definitely tell them to practice with a carseat ahead of time!!! My daughter was born a year and a half ago. We were so excited to bring her home from the hospital. We got her down to the car... and realized we didn't know how to operate the carseat! We were so flustered b/c there was a line of cars behind us.

Local police also may be helpful with the proper placement and adjustment of car seats. This is a service in my area

Others may correct me if I am wrong, but our experience with the carseat for our grandson was that it was time consuming and difficult to install it in our vehicle. We almost never remove it because it clamps onto a hook built into the seat - in fact it will only go into my husband's car, since my own car (a 2001 convertible) doesn't have the hook in the seat. I can't imagine trying to install the seat into a cab on numerous trips. I think the best and cheapest option would be to just go ahead and use their own car. I drive to Chicago for weekend trips all the time - it's not hard to drive in the city. A stroller with a detachable car seat insert would be a good option if they were to do this. They could take their time to securely attach the base at home and use the stroller to get the baby back and forth while in the city.

Well, I for one struggled with the newer models when helping with the OWJs. Car seats (I love "baby buckets"!) have changed a bit in the past couple of decades! :-)

Well. there's no convenient place to park at the Daley Center besides the underground garage, and I don't think that is open to the public. A car or limo service would be overkill if they are staying downtown. There are many hotels within walking distance of the Daley Center - the Burnham, Silversmith, Renaissance, Club Quarters, Hotel 71, Hard Rock, Hyatt on Wacker, etc. Wouldn't this be the easiest? Imagine leaving the hotel with an empty stroller and returning with a full one! Congratulations to the happy new parents!

^

So many terrific thoughts and opinions already shared - thanks so much to all!

Obviously the best solution is a walking distance hotel. Thanks Patg for the list. They are already looking into most of them and the Monaco, Allegro, Burnham too, but some of those hotels seem more suitable for making a baby at than bringing a newborn to, a crying baby might seriously kill the romance for the couple next door :)!. The baby's due date is during a big downtown event and many of those hotels are showing sold out or have very high rates. Of course, babies can come at any time, so the reservations will be very last minute and could be before or after.

They may be able to get a good rate at our corporate hotel, but that is not in walking distance. Using their own car seat in a cab is possible, but then they have the baby, the baby stuff, the stroller AND the car seat to drag around the Daley Center while they have their appointments to begin the adoption process.

Driving and parking their own car seems like less than the best solution, but could be doable if they COULD find a public lot fairly close.

A limo/sedan hire sounds like the best idea so far! I suppose there just aren't any niche services out there that cater to parents traveling short distances downtown with small children like I was hoping.

I agree with Maggi and starrs that car seats are so hard to install, doing it in cabs seems well nigh impossible. For one thing, who has ever actually seen the seatbelt in the backseat of a cab? Too much hassle.

IMO, they shouldn't worry about the ambience of the hotels in question--they should choose the most convenient location they can afford, and then drive their own car.

Good luck to them and their new arrival!

Actually, the infant car seats aren't that tricky to install with a belt, assuming that the car has a locking seat belt. If it doesn't, you would have to mess with a locking clip and that ain't happening in a cab! :) Hey, and they wouldn't have the carseat AND the stroller, because the carseat becomes part of the stroller for 99% of the models out there.

Well, folks may THINK they are easy to install, but depending on the study 80 to 90% are installed incorrectly. Here's one excerpt -

Amazingly, research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that as many as 82 percent of all car seats are improperly installed and used. Eight-two percent. It's a significant factor in why automobile accidents are the number-one killer of children under 14.

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpconta...1/pageNumber=1

Check your local hospital or police department to see if they are doing car seat checks in your area.

Why not make a few hotel reservations that can be cancelled, number of nights reduced?

If it were me, I'd buy a proper car seat and drive my own car. With a car, choice of hotels would not be so limited and lower rate would offset parking expense.

If they are working with adoption pros or other intermediaries who are local to Chicago, I'd suggest that they explain their situation and ask for a ride back to the hotel.

Or, call a downtown limo service and expain the situation. Chicago is a friendly place and you will likely get someone who will go out of their way for you.

Good luck,

Kevin

Better yet, try Kids Care Transport at 773.525.1874. They are at 810 W. Grace and probably specialize in driving kids around town. They'd have fun transporting a baby I imagine.

Kevin

Now now, first time parents overthink everything, it's part of the deal!

I'd drive, no matter how inconvenient. It is much easier to be in your own car, with your own carseat, with a new small baby than to be relying on someone else.