Car seat confusion! Please help

[cluelessftm7]

I just can’t get my head round car seats and the bases and what fits what. I’m getting flustered searching online and getting nowhere as I’m really confused by it all. Therefore I hope you can help answer my questions. We have 2 cars, DP has a golf gtd estate and I currently have a Ford KA however in the process of looking for a new one (likely a Renault Clio). DP works away during the week and takes his car and I use mine but we always use his car at the weekends and this will continue as it’s the better car and he likes driving where as I prefer to be a passenger.

So do we get 2 bases and 2 car seats (which will just be unreasonably expensive) or are we likely to find a base and seat that fits both and I will use them during the week and then we will swap them over to his car at the weekend, will this be too much hassle? What do most people do who have and use 2 cars?

At first I assumed an isofix base was just 1 base that fit majority of car seats but I’m shocked to find that most bases only have 1 or 2 compatible car seats, so that means when the baby goes up to the next stage (which will soon come around) it will be a massive expensive each time, especially if we need to get 2!

Am I missing something here? I’m only 14 weeks but getting myself all flustered and with how complicated it seems to be. Advice would be greatly appreciated. I don’t really have anyone to ask who has experience of this so I’m interested to hear what others do.

We got 1 seat and 2 bases for the first seat when we were taking the car seat in and out of the car, but then didn’t bother with isofix when they went up to the next size seat and just got 2 car seats.

Isofix is no safer than no isofix, it’s just quicker and limits the chance of getting it wrong if you’re repeatedly taking it in and out. If the seat is in snd properly fitted by the seatbelt and you’re leaving it in the car then you’re grand.

Also, (and I know you’re only 14 weeks with baby number 1 so might not be thinking of this!) but we never got to the point when the first stage isofix / bucket seat was out of use - we moved DS1 up to the next stage when DS2 was born and DS2 up when DS3 was born so long term plans were irrelevant!

Maxi Cosi do bases that can be used with the baby car seats and also the next size up

(Really should stop pressing post )

So we basically used the first stage car seat and isofix for 6 years continually and then cut the straps so it couldn’t be reused and binned it. I did sell the isofix bases on.

So, I would buy what suits you now and worry what you will do when your baby is 18 months old in 2 years time!

First, make sure you get the right size car seat for the right age/height or weight.
If you are transferring car seats between cars, then get one that is not too heavy.
eg. My DIL has a wonderful car seat that is fully adjustable, lie back, etc, toddler up to age about 4. However, it was very heavy to transfer to my car, and also there was not a great deal of space for the seat, in their rather large car.
As an occassional user, I have now bought a more lightweight car seat, for the right age. I am only doing shortish occassional trips, and can easily remove the car seat, when not wanted.
Hopefully, my experience will give you some guidance on what to get, based on how you expect to use it.

If it helps the joie stages can be used from birth, is quick to install even if you get the belted version and is relatively cheap at 110 ish. It's not heavy to move between cars

I have one and although it's not my fave seat ever it is very versatile for a good price

Thanks all for the replies they're very helpful. So by time they require a bigger car seat am I right in thinking they won't really need transporting around in the car seat and the car seats could just stay in the cars full time with the seatbelts and no base? That sounds like a more cost effective way if it's just as safe, I don't know why but I just assumed that the having the base made it much safer.

Most second stage car seats don't use a base. If they are isofix then the isofix points are normally attached to the seat itself.

We had a car seat and 2 bases for the infant car seat so dh and I had a base in each car

It depends really on how much you’ve got to spend and whether you want the convenience of putting the baby seat into a travel system. With DD1 we used the baby seat on the travel system quite a lot but with DD2 we just got her out of the infant seat and put her in the pushchair. Hadn’t really made much difference.

If you can afford to get two good baby-4year old seats then I’d do that, by the time you’ve factored in bases and seats for the different stages of car seats you may as well buy a good one that lasts. The joie spin safe has a really good safety rating and costs about £250, but does last until age 4 and does extended rear facing until then. If you can’t afford one in each car then I’d just buy the one and move it between cars (make sure it’s compatible with both though). It is quite bulky to move but not too heavy. We had a cybex sirona s which is similar in size and it’s a bit bulky and heavy to move between cars when it goes in a grandparents car but it’s done in about 3 minutes, so isn’t that inconvenient.

Yes, when you go into the second stage car seat you don’t carry the seat around with you like you do with the baby one

As a PP said, maxi cosi do a base that fits several of their car seats at different stages. It’s called family fix. If I was you I’d probably get 2 base and then just click the car seat into which ever car you’re using

So by time they require a bigger car seat am I right in thinking they won't really need transporting around in the car seat and the car seats could just stay in the cars full time with the seatbelts and no base?

It’s not recommended to leave a newborn in a car seat for longer than 30 minutes anyway OP, so unless you’re just popping to a close shop then you end up needing to take them out anyway.

DD1 outgrew her baby car seat (Group 0+) at 16months and we ended up buying a rear facing seat that cost about £180 (the isofix base is permanently attached to those) So this time we ended up just buying a seat that would last until she was 4. Was more cost effective that way.

We had one base as the maxi Cosi cabriofix can go in the car with a seat belt as well.

Also, and you won’t know until baby arrives, if baby is bigger then they will get to the 18kg limit on most second stage seats before they are 4. This means the next seat is a high backed booster which under 4s aren’t safe to use as their skeleton isn’t developed enough and can’t trust them to sit properly. I got caught out when he reached 18kg at 3.5 and had to rethink the maxi cosi 2 way Pearl I had bought before he was born.
And rear facing is safest for as long as possible there’s lots of useful posts on the car seat section with some really knowledgeable posters.

You are about eighteen months off needing more than a single belt in infant carrier. Personally in your position I’d buy a maxi cosi cabriofix or similar infant seat (buy one compatible with whatever pram you want if that’s important to you) use the seat belt to fix it in both cars and decide about the next stage car seat when I knew which cars I had, how big my child was etc.

I had a Joie baby seat with a base that went in my highly unfashionable and not baby friendly Chevrolet matiz so just clicked baby on and off. The base attached with the seatbelt, then when we used DPs car we just put the car seat in using the seat belt. Now I have a new car and we have Joie every stage which just stays in my car and I carry DD out to the car etc. That attaches with seatbelt so if we wanted to use DPs car we'd just transfer and use seatbelt again. Would recommend Joie, not too expensive and lots of choice, they also have a very helpful website which shows what seats are compatible with which cars.