Baby Car Seat Advice
Discussion
Before I begin.....sorry if this post is in the wrong thread (mods please move if necessary)
ok....to those with the knowledge....Im looking for a baby car seat (newborn) - so far i have come to the conclusion it is VERY stressful looking for a baby car seat.
Would someone be kind enough to guide me
What i know so far:
1. Isofix available
2. given choice of tether or leg - I think leg would be better.
3. Those 360 seats seems like it will prevent back pain
What im unsure on:
1. Ive seen some which are groups 0-3 (or 4- cant remember) but unsure what i need - in ideal world would nice not to buy different seats
2. tether or leg - even though I think leg would be better, that decision is based on zero knowledge
3. theres these travel system things ( which they charge an arm, leg and kidney for) any real benefit to them?
Thanks to all in advance....just trying to get to grips with everything
ok....to those with the knowledge....Im looking for a baby car seat (newborn) - so far i have come to the conclusion it is VERY stressful looking for a baby car seat.
Would someone be kind enough to guide me
What i know so far:
1. Isofix available
2. given choice of tether or leg - I think leg would be better.
3. Those 360 seats seems like it will prevent back pain
What im unsure on:
1. Ive seen some which are groups 0-3 (or 4- cant remember) but unsure what i need - in ideal world would nice not to buy different seats
2. tether or leg - even though I think leg would be better, that decision is based on zero knowledge
3. theres these travel system things ( which they charge an arm, leg and kidney for) any real benefit to them?
Thanks to all in advance....just trying to get to grips with everything
There is a surprising amount of choice!
I ended up with 2 seats from newborn to my now 1 year old. We got the Mamas and Papas Ocarro travel set, that comes with the pushchair etc and then a Cybex carrier and 360 base. This was good initially as you can go from pushchair to car without taking them out of the seat and the 360 thing helps as you just drop it in and spin round and you're done. We only really used the carrier for maybe a month or 2 but it was helpful initially to keep them asleep, not sure if it is the case everywhere but you had to have one to take the baby out of the hospital and it was checked by the staff before we could go.
Only negative of the travel set which I guess you'll have with any is that when they are at the newborn stage and you have the frame and then the carry cot it is massive, filled pretty much my entire boot on it's own!
Once they outgrew the carrier or we went for longer journeys I have a Joie iSpin 360, this is decent as it goes from newborn up to I think 4 years old, just a set of cushions you take out as they grow basically, it is pretty massive is the only downside.
I have a 3 series touring and it fits fine in there and my wife can sit infront no problem, my dad has a Cupra Formentor and the seat has to be really far forward for it to fit, granted I am 6ft 2 but I struggled to sit infront when it was fitted!
What I would recommend is going to somewhere like Mamas and Papas or Smyths Toys, both let me fit the seats in the car to see how they fit! There is also an awful lot of barely used baby stuff on facebook, I initially got a full Recaro set mostly as it was Recaro for a few hundred quid which I then gave to inlaws so they had a set of stuff to use.
I ended up with 2 seats from newborn to my now 1 year old. We got the Mamas and Papas Ocarro travel set, that comes with the pushchair etc and then a Cybex carrier and 360 base. This was good initially as you can go from pushchair to car without taking them out of the seat and the 360 thing helps as you just drop it in and spin round and you're done. We only really used the carrier for maybe a month or 2 but it was helpful initially to keep them asleep, not sure if it is the case everywhere but you had to have one to take the baby out of the hospital and it was checked by the staff before we could go.
Only negative of the travel set which I guess you'll have with any is that when they are at the newborn stage and you have the frame and then the carry cot it is massive, filled pretty much my entire boot on it's own!
Once they outgrew the carrier or we went for longer journeys I have a Joie iSpin 360, this is decent as it goes from newborn up to I think 4 years old, just a set of cushions you take out as they grow basically, it is pretty massive is the only downside.
I have a 3 series touring and it fits fine in there and my wife can sit infront no problem, my dad has a Cupra Formentor and the seat has to be really far forward for it to fit, granted I am 6ft 2 but I struggled to sit infront when it was fitted!
What I would recommend is going to somewhere like Mamas and Papas or Smyths Toys, both let me fit the seats in the car to see how they fit! There is also an awful lot of barely used baby stuff on facebook, I initially got a full Recaro set mostly as it was Recaro for a few hundred quid which I then gave to inlaws so they had a set of stuff to use.
Edited by HayesDC2 on Monday 5th June 09:40
I'm a bit out of touch (my 8 year old has finally ditched his booster seat 
) but we went with travel systems for our kids as it was less faff to move the seat onto the buggy than the baby and we also didn't bother with ISOFIX and just went with the seat belt ones. I forget exact timelines, but we only did the rear-facing seat for the first year and then moved them into a forward facing one that gradually dismantles as they grow so it lasts them until they don't need one.
Check that any seat you are interested in fits your car and is easy to get in and out - some we tried were overly complex!
Best of luck!
Chris
) but we went with travel systems for our kids as it was less faff to move the seat onto the buggy than the baby and we also didn't bother with ISOFIX and just went with the seat belt ones. I forget exact timelines, but we only did the rear-facing seat for the first year and then moved them into a forward facing one that gradually dismantles as they grow so it lasts them until they don't need one.Check that any seat you are interested in fits your car and is easy to get in and out - some we tried were overly complex!
Best of luck!
Chris
We’ve had two for our 1 year old so far.
Had the egg2 travel system as it came with everything we needed. As said very helpful to get them too and from the car in the seat especially when they’re asleep, you can then just chuck the car seat on the buggy rather than try and move them to the bassinet/chair (when bigger)
Soon swapped that out for the Joie iSpin 360 when she started getting heavier as carrying her in the car seat was awkward. Now have two of these (one in each car)
Would recommend the same approach if possible, the spin feature is a godsend, but wouldn’t have been the best option as a newborn.
Had the egg2 travel system as it came with everything we needed. As said very helpful to get them too and from the car in the seat especially when they’re asleep, you can then just chuck the car seat on the buggy rather than try and move them to the bassinet/chair (when bigger)
Soon swapped that out for the Joie iSpin 360 when she started getting heavier as carrying her in the car seat was awkward. Now have two of these (one in each car)
Would recommend the same approach if possible, the spin feature is a godsend, but wouldn’t have been the best option as a newborn.
mattfuey said:
We’ve had two for our 1 year old so far.
Had the egg2 travel system as it came with everything we needed. As said very helpful to get them too and from the car in the seat especially when they’re asleep, you can then just chuck the car seat on the buggy rather than try and move them to the bassinet/chair (when bigger)
Soon swapped that out for the Joie iSpin 360 when she started getting heavier as carrying her in the car seat was awkward. Now have two of these (one in each car)
Would recommend the same approach if possible, the spin feature is a godsend, but wouldn’t have been the best option as a newborn.
We have a similar experience, we have travel systems to start with and now have a Joie iSpin in each car which is great. If you can, I would recommend a Doona car seat until they are too big. https://doona.shop/Had the egg2 travel system as it came with everything we needed. As said very helpful to get them too and from the car in the seat especially when they’re asleep, you can then just chuck the car seat on the buggy rather than try and move them to the bassinet/chair (when bigger)
Soon swapped that out for the Joie iSpin 360 when she started getting heavier as carrying her in the car seat was awkward. Now have two of these (one in each car)
Would recommend the same approach if possible, the spin feature is a godsend, but wouldn’t have been the best option as a newborn.
Takes seconds to deploy or fold the legs and it was great and kept the boot empty from push chair bases! We bought a complete system on Facebook second hand and sold it a year later for nearly the same value.
I'd highly recommend a Doona.
it has an isofix base and the car seat is detachable with a simple button click.
The car seat then turns in to a puschair so you arent constantly transferring the baby from seat to pram.
Cant explain how valuable time saving wise and not disturbing baby if theyre asleep this is.
They can stay in it until theyre 18-24 months old (depending how tall they get).
Havent watched the video, but heres a visual representation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT8cBwfQL7k
it has an isofix base and the car seat is detachable with a simple button click.
The car seat then turns in to a puschair so you arent constantly transferring the baby from seat to pram.
Cant explain how valuable time saving wise and not disturbing baby if theyre asleep this is.
They can stay in it until theyre 18-24 months old (depending how tall they get).
Havent watched the video, but heres a visual representation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT8cBwfQL7k
Here is my 2 cents
Travel systems are definitely worth the money, being able to take them from the car and straight onto the wheels / bring them inside in their seat is invaluable when they are sleeping. Also means you can do the fiddly child into seat installation somewhere dry when it is lashing down rain.
the spinning seats are only an advantage if you have a 5dr, they don't help in a 3dr.
We went for the Nuna pippa + next or something like that.
Isofix base (car seat rotates 90 degrees either way depending on side of car installed)
Car seat that fits her up to at least a year
common set of wheels for Car seat, bassinette & stroller
And came with the car seat, basinette and stroller for about £1100 I think.
We didn't get a huge amount of value out of the basinette but other children might be different.
Travel systems are definitely worth the money, being able to take them from the car and straight onto the wheels / bring them inside in their seat is invaluable when they are sleeping. Also means you can do the fiddly child into seat installation somewhere dry when it is lashing down rain.
the spinning seats are only an advantage if you have a 5dr, they don't help in a 3dr.
We went for the Nuna pippa + next or something like that.
Isofix base (car seat rotates 90 degrees either way depending on side of car installed)
Car seat that fits her up to at least a year
common set of wheels for Car seat, bassinette & stroller
And came with the car seat, basinette and stroller for about £1100 I think.
We didn't get a huge amount of value out of the basinette but other children might be different.
Went for a cybex system, the isofix base can be used for the next stage seat up and is a spin base.
Also the second seat does spin and extended rear facing (much safer)
Bought x2 bases (one for each car)
X1 Seat
Then bought the bigger seat when needed and kept the bases
All the seats test good I'm the ADAC tests (higher than min standard)
Just using the same kit for our second child now.
Also the second seat does spin and extended rear facing (much safer)
Bought x2 bases (one for each car)
X1 Seat
Then bought the bigger seat when needed and kept the bases
All the seats test good I'm the ADAC tests (higher than min standard)
Just using the same kit for our second child now.
Afternoon JKS1234.
Finally a topic i am qualified to post about! My little girl is just about to turn 14 months and below it what we had.
First up we had something like this - https://www.babyplanetonline.co.uk/silver-cross-pi...
Silver cross travel system. granted a generous grand parent bought it for use, but being able to remove the whole car seat, and being able to put it straight in the pram was really helpful. Plus if they are asleep when you get home you have a chance of getting them inside still asleep. We also had the isofix base which helped putting seat in and taking it out as well as making it seem more secure.
A sidenote though, there is a triangle shaped cushion in the bottom of the car seat. if you have a big baby you will need to remove this sooner rather than later. I swear it was never mentioned in the instructions!
Do rate the Silver cross pram too. It's a big unit however (fills most of the boot of a Seat Leon), but bigger wheel are better for uneven ground or going across a field at a car show.
Once the baby gets heavier, you get tired of carrying the car seat and the baby. This is when we changed the car seat to this - https://www.cosatto.com/collections/all-in-all/pro...
its a rotating thingy-ma-gig (can you guess that the wife did most of the research here!). Rotating to put them in, take them out is a god send, and this can face forward or backward.
Finally, we also got one of these for using in other peoples' cars such as grandparents and for taking on holiday (folds up so you can take it as hand baggage if you want - but we checked it anyway) - https://www.babyplanetonline.co.uk/maxi-cosi-nomad...
Finally, the wife also insisted we needed a smaller pram. There are various ones that do the same thing but we got the below. Great that it folds up so compact, you can take it as hand baggage on a flight which is great as baby can stay in the pram right up to the doors of the plane - https://ergobaby.co.uk/strollers/metro-stroller?gc...
Good luck!!
Peter
Finally a topic i am qualified to post about! My little girl is just about to turn 14 months and below it what we had.
First up we had something like this - https://www.babyplanetonline.co.uk/silver-cross-pi...
Silver cross travel system. granted a generous grand parent bought it for use, but being able to remove the whole car seat, and being able to put it straight in the pram was really helpful. Plus if they are asleep when you get home you have a chance of getting them inside still asleep. We also had the isofix base which helped putting seat in and taking it out as well as making it seem more secure.
A sidenote though, there is a triangle shaped cushion in the bottom of the car seat. if you have a big baby you will need to remove this sooner rather than later. I swear it was never mentioned in the instructions!
Do rate the Silver cross pram too. It's a big unit however (fills most of the boot of a Seat Leon), but bigger wheel are better for uneven ground or going across a field at a car show.
Once the baby gets heavier, you get tired of carrying the car seat and the baby. This is when we changed the car seat to this - https://www.cosatto.com/collections/all-in-all/pro...
its a rotating thingy-ma-gig (can you guess that the wife did most of the research here!). Rotating to put them in, take them out is a god send, and this can face forward or backward.
Finally, we also got one of these for using in other peoples' cars such as grandparents and for taking on holiday (folds up so you can take it as hand baggage if you want - but we checked it anyway) - https://www.babyplanetonline.co.uk/maxi-cosi-nomad...
Finally, the wife also insisted we needed a smaller pram. There are various ones that do the same thing but we got the below. Great that it folds up so compact, you can take it as hand baggage on a flight which is great as baby can stay in the pram right up to the doors of the plane - https://ergobaby.co.uk/strollers/metro-stroller?gc...
Good luck!!
Peter
My little one is 14 months and like a true petrol head I went for the recaro travel system
Consisted of a frame, cot, normal pushchair and a salia elite car seat.
We do a lot of travelling with the little one so a good car seat was number one priority for us. Who better than recaro to make a child seat. It also passed some scandi safety testing that a lot of others don’t.
It’s expensive but I don’t scrimp on safety.
Consisted of a frame, cot, normal pushchair and a salia elite car seat.
We do a lot of travelling with the little one so a good car seat was number one priority for us. Who better than recaro to make a child seat. It also passed some scandi safety testing that a lot of others don’t.
It’s expensive but I don’t scrimp on safety.
MK1RS Bruce said:
Here is my 2 cents
Travel systems are definitely worth the money, being able to take them from the car and straight onto the wheels / bring them inside in their seat is invaluable when they are sleeping. Also means you can do the fiddly child into seat installation somewhere dry when it is lashing down rain.
the spinning seats are only an advantage if you have a 5dr, they don't help in a 3dr.
We went for the Nuna pippa + next or something like that.
Isofix base (car seat rotates 90 degrees either way depending on side of car installed)
Car seat that fits her up to at least a year
common set of wheels for Car seat, bassinette & stroller
And came with the car seat, basinette and stroller for about £1100 I think.
We didn't get a huge amount of value out of the basinette but other children might be different.
I've never quite understood this comment - surely if your child is still rearward facing you can load in from the front and spin 180 degrees? I've never had to load into a 3 door before, granted. Travel systems are definitely worth the money, being able to take them from the car and straight onto the wheels / bring them inside in their seat is invaluable when they are sleeping. Also means you can do the fiddly child into seat installation somewhere dry when it is lashing down rain.
the spinning seats are only an advantage if you have a 5dr, they don't help in a 3dr.
We went for the Nuna pippa + next or something like that.
Isofix base (car seat rotates 90 degrees either way depending on side of car installed)
Car seat that fits her up to at least a year
common set of wheels for Car seat, bassinette & stroller
And came with the car seat, basinette and stroller for about £1100 I think.
We didn't get a huge amount of value out of the basinette but other children might be different.
OP we have a Maxi Cosi Pearl 360 and it suits us perfectly (5 door).
A travel system is definitely worth it at first. We had a Joie one from Mothercare which wasn’t too expensive compared to some friends who spent thousands.
You should get an isofix base which plugs into your isofix points and has a folding leg which sits on the floor. This stays in the car and you just clip the baby carrier on and off. We rarely used the travel cot and tended to just use the baby carrier (car seat) on the travel system chassis which was easy.
When they’ve outgrown the baby carrier you can get a standard car seat. Go for the ones with isofix bolts as they’re very secure.
We never had the spinning seats but they do look handy. Worth considering.
You should get an isofix base which plugs into your isofix points and has a folding leg which sits on the floor. This stays in the car and you just clip the baby carrier on and off. We rarely used the travel cot and tended to just use the baby carrier (car seat) on the travel system chassis which was easy.
When they’ve outgrown the baby carrier you can get a standard car seat. Go for the ones with isofix bolts as they’re very secure.
We never had the spinning seats but they do look handy. Worth considering.
Thinking back now, we had an Oyster travel system with Maxi Cosi Pebble seat and isofix base with leg. That was a nice, small seat. Travel system fell to bits though so we migrated to an Out n About with car seat adapters.
Then we got an Out n About Double when we had two and eventually migrated back to the single when the 3rd came along and the other two were big enough to walk (meaning on my shoulders!).
The real challenge is getting three seats across!
Then we got an Out n About Double when we had two and eventually migrated back to the single when the 3rd came along and the other two were big enough to walk (meaning on my shoulders!).
The real challenge is getting three seats across!
For the best safety and fit the best thing you can do is get a decent infant carrier. Generally these go up to circa 13kgs and/or up to 87cm. This can get you to as long as 2 years or less than a year possibly if you have a particularly big baby. After that the safest seats are Swedish Plus tested seats. These are all read facing and generally more upright and typically last to 25kg for the best value models. There are some seats that go up to 36kgs. Isofix is more convenient but no safer than a belted seat.
The current crop of 360 seats may seem like a good idea but are not always the best bet. For starters they all max out at 18kg child weight which at the 50th centile is age 4. Many have a 105cm height limit. The seats themself are much heavier than other types of seat and because of the base and mechanism the seating position is much higher set. This can result in bashing your child's head but also you having to lift the child much higher in the first place negating all the theoretical back saving. These seats also tend to have an infant carrier like lay back position. This impinges on space for front passengers and generally the spin seats cost more, last lma shorter time, are heavier and take up more space than a 25kg seat. From 15 months my son did not want to lie back in the seat so went straight from infant carrier to 25kg seat.
To add to the rear facing point, when you get to the limit of your baby/infant seat and can legally go front facing you don't HAVE to go front facing. I was really surprised how many of our friends didn't know this and thought you had to front face when you outgrow the baby seat.
Rear facing is significantly safer than front facing. Doesn't need much more space (if any), and is often more comfortable for the child than having their legs dangling.
Rear facing is significantly safer than front facing. Doesn't need much more space (if any), and is often more comfortable for the child than having their legs dangling.
It's a bit of a minefield.
What I discovered early on is that not all seats fit all cars. I was reasonably well versed before buying but was quite surprised by a couple of outlets who trial fitted a couple of seats into my then distinctly average Volvo and proclaimed they were fine - which is very much wasn't in agreement with.
I've ended up sticking with Maxi Cosi, they just seemed to be a good blend of value, good fitment and not absolutely enormous. Both mine started in a Pebble infant carrier with the Family fix base, then went to the Pearl facing backwards and currently my 3yr old is still in it facing forwards and my 5 year old is in their big glorified booster seat, the name I forget.
You also don't need to spend a fortune - I bought the
seats new but the base was second hand. I also picked up an "as new" Mothercare travel system for £40 from the local charity shop but binned the car seat and bought £12 adaptors to slot the Maxi Cosi infant carrier on. That system lasted us 4yrs in various guises before I bought one of those scene spec off road / running buggies for £30 from Marketplace.
My theory was that whilst yes, you can spend four figures... in my case it would all be getting thrown into boots, knocked about, dragged over the beach and as a new parent, the less material stuff you have to be worried about, the better!
What I discovered early on is that not all seats fit all cars. I was reasonably well versed before buying but was quite surprised by a couple of outlets who trial fitted a couple of seats into my then distinctly average Volvo and proclaimed they were fine - which is very much wasn't in agreement with.
I've ended up sticking with Maxi Cosi, they just seemed to be a good blend of value, good fitment and not absolutely enormous. Both mine started in a Pebble infant carrier with the Family fix base, then went to the Pearl facing backwards and currently my 3yr old is still in it facing forwards and my 5 year old is in their big glorified booster seat, the name I forget.
You also don't need to spend a fortune - I bought the
seats new but the base was second hand. I also picked up an "as new" Mothercare travel system for £40 from the local charity shop but binned the car seat and bought £12 adaptors to slot the Maxi Cosi infant carrier on. That system lasted us 4yrs in various guises before I bought one of those scene spec off road / running buggies for £30 from Marketplace.
My theory was that whilst yes, you can spend four figures... in my case it would all be getting thrown into boots, knocked about, dragged over the beach and as a new parent, the less material stuff you have to be worried about, the better!
Thanks to all for replies.
Initially this was the purchase I came very close to making:
https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/baby/car-seats...
Only thing was it was tether not leg, now there is a similar one (similar price too) with the leg.
Obviously only thing with this is, it is permanent so cannot remove ....
Initially this was the purchase I came very close to making:
https://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/baby/car-seats...
Only thing was it was tether not leg, now there is a similar one (similar price too) with the leg.
Obviously only thing with this is, it is permanent so cannot remove ....
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