Sorry - more lie flat car seat advice please!

[Cydonia]

Since my other post I've done a bit more research on the carrycot style car seats and am just getting more confused! Thought I'd narrowed it down to either a Britax B-smart with the Babysafe Sleeper or a Jane pushchair (not sure which one yet) with the Matrix Light car seat. But.....then I thought of the costs involved in both of these car seats and the fact that the baby will only be using them for about 6 months and wondered if its the best option after all??
So my main question is....do you only really need a lie flat car seat for long journeys? As all of the group 0 seats say they are suitable from birth? I'm thinking if I drive somewhere, then take baby out and attach car seat to pushchair, then go for a walk for an hour or so is that too long in the car seat? And is it just the first 6 months they need to lie flat? Because if I bought a carrycot instead then surely that wouldn't get much use either? Or is that something I've just got to accept!! I don't mind spending money on a quality product but I don't want to waste it on something that won't last! Any suggestions?

[TruthSweet]

Car seats are for cars not for toting baby around - if you need to take baby out and they are asleep (say popping a shop for 10 mins) then fine but if you are going for a walk they need to be in the pram/pushchair and laying flat or in a good wrap/ring sling.

Personally I wouldn't buy a lie flat car seat as I am not convinced they are as safe as rfing seats but if you are planning lots of long journeys in the first 6m or so then they may have a benefit over a rfing seat - although babies need feeding frequently so they may not want to be in a car seat/car carry cot for hours and hours anyway.

Rfing seats shouldn't be used for more then 30mins in the newborn period due to the risks of oxygen desaturation (baby not being able to get enough oxygen into their blood due to the position of their body and the effect that has on the ability to breathe) and positional asphyxia (hence no overnight sleeping in a car seat) and not longer than 2 hours once past newborn because of the risk of damage to the spine/flat head syndrome. Lie flat seats do bypass these risks (aside from flat head syndrome) but are they as safe?

[Cydonia]

Thanks, I think I've realised now that I don't actually need a lie flat seat. Its unlikely I'll be doing a lot of long journeys in the first six months, think I just like the look of these car seats cos they look all nice and snug. There's also every chance it wouldn't fit in my car and they are heavier. Will probably be better off with a pushchair that goes flat and maybe a carrycot too? I think my problem is my partner and I haven't got time off together for about 3 weeks so I'm itching to go looking at pushchairs but not able to go! Hence spending too much time researching/obsessing online!

[igggi]

I think we've all been there Cydonia!

[herecomesthsun]

We got an ex-display BabySafe Sleeper for £89 and are using it with a second hand Bsmart (£50). This is currently our pram, carseat and will be our push chair, not too expensive all in I think! We are hoping to do quite a bit of driving to see family over summer and meanwhile our newborn looks jolly comfy. We will move to the rfacing seat we already have when she outgrows this one. Works for us.

[CharlieMouseWillDoIt]

I LOVED my BabySafe Sleeper combined with B-Mobile (but it also fits onto the B-Smart). As someone else said upthread we used it as our carseat and pram for the first 5/6 months or so. The BabySafe sleeper is very safe according to Which (think it was one of their best buys).

[CharlieMouseWillDoIt]

Another reason we went for the Babysafe was that with a traditional group 0, the front passenger seat had to be so far forward, my shins were touching the dashboard and my knees up to chin! Although the Babysafe takes up 2 of the backseats, it seems to be better in a small car (we had a corsa).

[MamaMaiasaura]

What truth said

[herecomesthsun]

No, if you have the baby lying flat, it is fine for them to remain in the "car seat"for a longer period.