Car seat queries?

Lauz_41 · Apr 6, 2010 4:37AM

Hi girls g/c from due in june to ask a question - hope you dont mind?

Hi ladies,

i just wondered what car seats you all chose and why and also how you find using them and if you would recommend them?

we have a new car so will have isofix and i had thought on a maxi cosi cabriofix but i think if i do this i have to buy a new isofix base when i need the next stage up car seat - i think unless i get a maxi cosi pebble? Does anyone know if this is true or not?

Anyway, yesterday we couldnt get a demo as no bases in so we looked at other ones and now think we prefer britax one (its cheaper than maxi cosi which isnt important but its cause the place that we got our furniture in yesterday have it on special so would just order it as it looks like a 2-4 week wait to come in) but again we cant get a demonstration on this....it also looks like i would need a new base when we went into the bigger seats as they have a pivot link which is meant to reduce the impact in a collision (looking at crash tests this looks like a really good thing) but doesnt seem to be available on the baby ones?

Did you get a demonstrationbefore chosing one and if not how did you chose? It doesnt have to be compatible with the pram chasis as i personally hate to see babies in car seats being pushed around like that so wouldnt be doing it anyway...have an emmaljunga edge combi pram ordered but shop told us apparantly emmaljunga have a problem with their isofix bases and he doesnt think this will be solved until about Septemeber time! Dunno if this is true but i dont see why he would lie as by not telling us he could havre got more money from us....

Hope im making some sense - i want to get this ordered incase there is a 4-6 week as my friend having her little boy just over 36 weeks the other day suddenly made me realise in how little time my little one could be here (though i fully expect to go about 2 weeks over lol)

Thanks,

Laura x
(30+2)

trying4babyM · Apr 5, 2010 3:25PM

We had the Maxi Cosi Cabrio infant carriers with Isofix bases. We chose the seats as they clipped on the pushchair and I found the isofix bases a really easy and convenient feature. I'd definitely recommend the seats and the bases. I also have a couple of friends who started off with the car seat that matched their travel system and have purchased Maxi Cosi seats as they are lighter to carry with the baby in.

I do understand that babies should only be in car seats for a limited time and, like you, I never used to take the girls on long walks/journeys clipped into their seats but, when your baby arrives and they've finally gone to sleep in the car, you'll be loathed to take them out of their car seat and wake them up just to nip into Tesco for 15 mins or to pop to the Post Office

You are right, the "old" Easyfix base is only compatible with the Cabrio but the new Familyfix base is compatible with the Pebble and then the Pearl, which is the next stage car seat.

Unfortunately, for us, our bases are now defunct so, instead of buying new bases, we've gone for the Maxi Cosi Priorifix as our next stage car seat. It has the isofix built into the seat but it can also be seatbelted into another car if needed. It's really comfy and has a great recline position.

Personally, if you are not bothered about clipping the car seat onto the buggy then I'd get an independant opinion about the best seat for your car (Halfords or Mothercare will tell you). We have just bought seats for hubby's car and the best seat for his car is a Recaro. Not a make that I'd ever had gone for otherwise, but the seats are really comfy, covers are easily removeable, and, most importantly, they are the best fit for the make of car and shape of the back seat.

HTH

annebop · Apr 5, 2010 4:36PM

I use the maxi cosi seat with isofix base and I love it. I didn't get a demonstration but did get a good explanation of how they worked. I choose by looking at all the varying options online and reading reviews, checking weights, safety reports, etc. The maxi cosy came out on top for me because it is quick and easy to use (with the base) and was the most lightweight, which I'm now very thankful for taking into account.

I've heard the same about Emmaljunga btw. Good look in choosing xx

pumpkino · Apr 5, 2010 4:59PM

I second (third?) the maxi cosi - light weight and easy to use, scores highly in all the safety tests

mrs_ed · Apr 5, 2010 5:16PM

I have a maxi cosi as well. We looked at it first as it was top of the Which best buys table. It turned out that was only if it was isofix and we don't have isofix in our car, but we decided we really liked the seat anyway. We didn't have a demonstration as such but we looked at them in the flesh (so to speak) in mothercare and halfords and looked at reviews online. We ended up buying the seat from kiddicare and the base from halfords as they were the cheapest places. I like our car seat as it's light to carry lo in, it's really easy to clip the seat on and off the base, the removal wedge and head hugger were really useful to begin with until she got bigger and then we could remove them.

I also like that it clips to the wheels of our pushchair. I agree about not leaving a baby in a car seat for extended periods of time, but it would be a complete pain to be taking her in and out of the car seat all the time. For the first 3 months after lo arrived the baby clinic was being held at a different location (usual clinic was taken over as a swine flu centre) and the parking was awful. It was really useful to to be able to park and wheel her in without waking her up and without carrying her - we always had to wait a while once we were in so she could finish her nap.

Also, I think I heard something about family fix bases being recalled, that's maxi cois but I'm not sure which seat it goes with - might be something to look into.

I'd also recommend going on to the which website and reading some of the reviews on there. Hope you find one you like,

mrs_ed

Oh and in terms of next stage... I had a look on the which website (I should get commission!) and the makes which scored highly for 12 months+ were very different from those that scored highly for newborn, so unless money is a major factor in your choice, having a base that can fit two seats may not be worth it. I'm not sure which one we're going to have next, although I'm leaning towards Britax.

wannababy · Apr 6, 2010 4:37AM

i have a jane matrix cup. its a lie flat seat which then turns into a rear facing lasting upto 18months. the reason we got this one was because we wanted lizzie rear facing for as long as possible as its meant to be safer and this seat fits both our cars.
we have found iteasy to insall and not too heavy, so much that we can carry lizzie in it asleep and take her in it into restratants for lunch and im not restricted on how long she can travel in it because she is laid flat.(i think guildlinds are no longer than2-3 hours in the seated position seats.
just wanted to say im not against the seated seats my dd1 had one but as we had chance to get this one we went with it x

Car seat queries?

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