Trying to understand what Group 1 seat i need to get next

[jdrussell78]

Hi,

Dad here, my first post on Mumsnet. We currently have a group 0 pebble plus 2 car seat with ISOfix base. This fits with the adaptor to our bugaboo chameleon 2.

What I am trying to understand is what happens next? What car seat do we need, I am assuming it is a group 1 seat. But does this then fit on top of the existing bugaboo chameleon setup, or does this car seat remain in the car?

Thanks in advance, hope you are all well.

[KatoPotato]

What age and weight is your DC?

Once ready to move up, you would get the Pearl plus? Which is a rearfacing infant seat. This will no longer attach to a travel system and will stay in te car, using te same iso fix base?

[jdrussell78]

She is 5 months old and weighs 6.35kg.

Ok, so just to clarify your reply, the pearl would stay in the car and has it;s own base? The current base would come out?

Thanks for the reply.

[SchnitzelvonKrummsverylowtum]

My understanding is that the pearl goes onto the same base that the pebble uses.

[AliceMum09]

Do you have this base? If so the next step would be the 2 Way Pearl seat, to be used rear facing until the height limit of 105cm or the weight limit of 18.5kgs, whichever happens first.

But you should check what centile line your daughter is following on the growth charts in her red book for both height/length and weight. If she's predicted to be taller than 105cm or 18kgs on her 4th birthday then the 2 Way Pearl wouldn't be the best choice (because then you'd have to buy a further harnessed seat, or move her to a high backed booster using the adult seatbelt before it is safe). For taller and heavier children a seatbelt-fitted rear facing seat that goes up to 25kgs is a better choice.

You have a while to think about it anyway, but this explains why you need to keep your daughter rear facing when you buy the next seat.

[jdrussell78]

So we have a flatter car base. It doesn't have that bit at the back so I don't think the pearl is going to fit.

[KatoPotato]

Do you have this base?

www.johnlewis.com/maxi-cosi-family-fix-base-group-0-1-car-seat-base/p231301622?sku=231301622&s_kwcid=2dx92700016891600889&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=CLLqvOrUxtECFWwq0wodXo0KUg&gclsrc=aw.ds

If so, then the pearl (not 2way)

www.johnlewis.com/maxi-cosi-pearl-group-1-car-seat-black-raven/p2393663?navAction=jump

will fit

[katand2kits]

Group one car seats cannot be used on pushchairs. They stay in the car.

For most kids, the pebble should last at least 12 months, some up to 18 months, so don't hurry to move her out of it. Max out the height/weight limit.

The 2way pearl will fit if you have the 2 way base. If you have only have the familyfix base, only the forward facing pearl will fit. As posters above have said, rear facing is so much safer, especially below age 2. You could buy a new base, or you could just forget about the maxi cosi set up and go for a different brand - a lot of group one seats are all in one things and don't have a separate base.

You have a long time until you need to buy a new car seat - the pebble goes up to 13kg unless she reaches the maximum height first. I would see what her height and weight are at her birthday, and then take it from there. You could have a look on the In Car Safety Centre's website for inspiration about different brands and in order to research what might be compatible with your car.

[welshweasel]

You've got quite a while until your DD is out of her pebble so do some research. Most babies will fit in their infant carrier past their first birthday but check exactly what seat you have and the guidelines for that seat. The pebble plus is up to 75cm but I suspect that's not what you have. Then you need to decide whether or not you want to keep your child rear facing for as long as you can. It's the safest thing for your child and personally I don't understand why you wouldn't but that decision will make a difference to what seat you should buy. Whatever you get it will stay in the car, not fix to a travel system. I'm impressed you're still carrying your daughter in a car seat at 5 months to be honest! We had a pebble plus and moved on to a 2 way pearl. DS is 50th centile so should be able to rear face him in this til 4. In our other car we now have a joie every stage, which should do rear facing til 4 and then becomes a high back booster til they no longer need a seat. We got this seat as it fits using a seatbelt so we can move it into friends cars and take it on holiday. The maxi cosi is isofix only.

Decide if you want to rear face or not and whether you need/want isofix. Then we can hopefully recommend some seats!

[jdrussell78]

Thanks for all of this. Katopotato, yes that's the same base that we have. So the pearl will fit.

I'm thinking of getting a rear/forward facing group 1 seat. Like the assifix from Maxi Cosi. That looks good.

It's the height thing, our DD is 5 months and 61cm.

[welshweasel]

The axissfit plus only rear faces to approx 2. Please have a look at extended rear facing seats. Rear facing children are 80% less likely to be killed or seriously injured in an accident than forward facing.

[AliceMum09]

The assisfix can only be used rear facing to 87cm, I wouldn't be happy to forward face my child aged 2 when all the research shows that under 4 rear facing is far safer - my daughter will be 5 at the beginning of April and is rear facing in a Britax Multi Tech II.

BeSafe are a very good Scandinavian child seat company with a long history of making rear facing seat. Most of their seats pass the Swedish Plus test, the strictest test there is for child seats because it measures neck loads and the force put on a child's neck in a collision.

If you do some research over the next few months and decide that your daughter will be staying rear facing then I would step away from Maxi Cosi as they are pretty rubbish at rear facing seats and educating parents as to the benefits of them!

I like this website from manufacturer Joie - it's a nice explanation of why rear facing is safer, and they are one of the only big brands to be actively promoting rear facing (I don't include Britax either since all they seem to promote is their Dualfix seat for rear facing and it won't last most children until they are 4. They have so many other rear facing seats, which have passed the Plus test, yet they never advertise them!) //www.lookbacklonger.com

[jdrussell78]

Ok thanks for the advice.

[minijoeyjojo]

You could have a look at some of the new 360 seats out there. I moved my girl over to one before she'd outgrown her first car seat because it's so much easier to use being able to turn it round. She was about 1 when we moved her over. We got the recaro zero.1 which is suitable from birth to 4ish years.

Saying that 61cm isn't tall for a 5 month old - according to the growth charts it's 25th percentile so you should have plenty of room left in the maxicosi. Personally I'd keep with that for longer and maximise the benefit of being able to take the car out and use in the pram. It wasn't until around 9ish months that my DD would wake every time I got the car seat out so it became less useful. If you find that she looks tall height wise then it might be that you aren't putting her in quite the right spot. I know with my car seat you had to slide them forward so they were right up close to the crotch buckle. It made her look like she was slouching, but that was how they recommended it. That gives a lot more head room too spit might just be that.

[minijoeyjojo]

*so it not spit

[jdrussell78]

thanks minijoeyjojo, yes so it sounds like as you and others have suggested to keep her in the pebble until we have to change over and maximise the best of the rear facing seat. Then go from there. Just so many confusing options ha ha

[NapQueen]

Definetly keep her in the infant seat. She can stay in there til either she is too heavy for it or her head protrudes over the back of the seat. Check you have removed any "infant inserts" in the seat too. Don't worry about her legs, she will fold or curl them if they start to touch the actual seat.

Once she's outgrown that, in height or weight, try and get a car seat which rear faces as long as possible. We have the Britax Two Way elite which rear or forward faces from 9m and has a harness which works to 25kg. This is the average weight of a 6yo. Of course she may be too tall for the seat by this point but even with a taller child this is around 5yo.