Part of this big adventure we are on includes having a baby abroad – specifically, in London, England. While I was unsure about how we would fare at first with no car, no family close and in a pandemic, I will admit, things are turning out quite well.
This is what is it is like raising a baby in a big city with no car.
It feels like every day my husband and I are getting more suave at city life with a new baby. As a quick introduction if you’re new here, my husband and I are two Canadian’s who have been abroad since 2016 and we have just welcomed our first bundle of joy – a little girl – into the world in London, England. She made her grand entrance during the ultimate peak of the pandemic in the UK, with approximately 68,000 new cases per day – but that is a story for another time.
London is the ultimate big city living and we have found ourselves raising our baby in big city life, with no car, no family close by and no clue…! But we are learning.
I am amazed at how quickly you just get a clue about everything – including navigating city life with a baby.
Getting Home from the Hospital With No Car
The whole no car thing seemed totally fine until I started wondering how on earth were we going to get our baby home from the hospital. I thought we would walk, I really did. I told everyone my husband would push the pram home and I’d maybe take an Uber if I wasn’t feeling up to walking.
Everyone told me I was a bit nuts, but I chose not to listen right away. Once I had packed my bags for the hospital, I realized there was no way I was walking home. Once I gave birth, I then realized why everyone thought I was a bit nuts. I was new, how did I know you wouldn’t want to walk 2 miles home postpartum…!
I also learned that most hospitals require you to leave with your baby in a car seat for safety, which makes a lot of sense.
So then it became very clear, we needed a car seat, even though we did not have a car as we needed to safely get our bundle home from the hospital – and to every appointment following that.
Finding the Right Car Seat with No Car
Our criteria for a car seat then became very specific:
- We needed a car seat that safely buckled into any car with a seatbelt, so we could easily take an Uber or Taxi whenever we needed to go anywhere.
- The car seat had to be compatible with a stroller.
- That stroller had to be small enough to maneuver through London (or any big city).
- And the same stroller had to be compact enough so I could take it in an Uber myself and easily travel on a plane with it.
Sounds pretty specific, doesn’t it? I wasn’t sure we’d find exactly what we needed, but we did.
The thing I love about Europeans is that they live so simply as well – very few have cars, they do loads of plane travel and they continue on with adventuring when they welcome kids.
So while this criteria sounds specific, I found a car seat & stroller set that ticked off each of these boxes.
Babyzen YoYo+ Travel System
The Babyzen YoYo+ 2 Travel System ticks off literally every single need I had.
This has made city life with a baby as easy as possible!
What we have:
- Babyzen YoYo+2 Stroller
- Babyzen 0-6 month pack
- BeSafe iZi Car Seat – buckles safely in with just a seat belt, no base required!
- Car Seat Adapters
I believe the BeSafe iZi Car Seat is currently only available in the UK and Europe due to each country having such specific safety laws for car seats. Every car seat needs a stamp of approval from each country it is sold in to ensure it is up to safety standards.
The Maxi Cosi Mico Max 30 car seat is a great option in the US and Canada, as the car seat is compatible with the Babyzen YoYo+ with the correct adapters and can be used baseless, making city life with a baby entirely possible.
How we are Nailing City Life
We are essentially nailing city life with a baby by just doing it. While we definitely did not have a clue at first and getting out of the house took us a good 40 minutes in those first weeks, we are now able to just leave on the fly. If we want to go somewhere, we will just go. No preplanning, no overthinking it.
The one item I really did not think was a necessity with having no car has turned out to be our best baby item. Having the car seat + compact stroller system has allowed us to zip around and explore London in a heartbeat.
We primarily travel by Uber but also navigate the city by train, bus and on the super rare occasion, by boat.
I really did not think we would use a car seat for much other than getting home from the hospital, but I was drastically wrong. Drastically! We use weekly, sometimes even daily.
My other most favourite essential for city life with a baby is a baby carrier. In our case, we use the Baby Bjorn and love it. It is a great, sturdy carrier to bring on our adventures with us so we ensure our little one isn’t spending hours on her head in a car seat or the pram.
Top Tips for City Life with a Baby
- Invest in a car seat that is compatible with an easy-to-handle stroller, so you can hop in and out of cars, Taxies and Ubers as easily as possible.
- Don’t be scared!! This was a big one for me. I was terrified to take my baby into the big city of London – especially alone. But I found myself zipping past the Queen and into Trafalgar Square when she was just 3 weeks old in order to apply for a passport.
- Make a list of necessities you always need to take with you when leaving the house.
- Use the stroller as a change mat, saving space in your bag by not needing to take a portable change mat.
- Feed while you are out.
- Be okay with everything taking a little bit longer now that you have a baby.
- Check your local transit websites for step-free access to train platforms or buses or make sure there are elevators that can bring you up and down floors.
- Appreciate how hard it is to navigate a city when you’re not just using your own two feet – you will quickly notice how signage often blocks sidewalks, how doors don’t have automatic door openers and how ramps are a complete necessity. You will become an advocate for those who cannot navigate cities as easily.
- Ask for help! If you need a door held open, a few steps to get up, someone will be willing to help you.
City life with a baby is a great time. It is quite freeing actually to not have a car – we just pop the car seat in and out of an Uber when we need to or hop on the train.
High five to city parents and city life with a baby!
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