To be having a car seat crisis?!?

[NotAnAmazonAlexa]

Hello fellow wise mumsnetters...

I am currently driving my self mad trying to find a car seat for 1 year old DD. Our car doesn't have ISOFIX, but also has apparently unusually short seat belts. I've tried a few car seats at Halfords but they can't get the belt round extended rear facing car seats, the Joie every stage is apparently compatable but I'm not holding my breath it's going to fit if I'm honest.

My other concern is trying to get a wiggly baby in an erf car seat with the seat belt going across, it looks like a logistical nightmare tbh. Does anyone succeed with this ?

Ideally I don't want to have to have ISOFIX retrofitted, neither my parents or in-laws have it in their cars so it would be a problem if DD ever wanted to go with them and there wasn't a car seat suitable for their car.

Does anyone here forward face younger than recommended and have good car seat suggestions ?
I like the look of the cosatto moova and zoomi, the woman in Mothercare was a bit useless in offering any real advice though. And then it turned out that they had neither in stock anyway to try.

I realise it's not an AIBU, however DD is now pretty much on the brink of out growing her car seat and I'm tearing my hair out trawling the internet for car seats...

Why not look into the Axkid Move? It's seatbelt-fitted without the seatbelt in the way, ERF, close to universally fittable, and not too expensive. It will allow your DD to rearface comfortably until she hits 25kg.

In the meantime the infant carrier is not actually outgrown until the top of the baby's head rises above the top of the seat when baby is pulled fully down to the crotch buckle, or when baby exceeds 13kg (usually).

axkid.com/uk/product/axkid-move/

I don't know where you live but I highly recommend www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk - if you can't get to a branch they sometimes give advice over the phone/email.

Yes, it can be a bit annoying having the seatbelt across the ERF car seat but you quickly get used to it and figure out the best way to get the child in. It's worth it - so much safer.

I just got a mothercare basic forward facing that fits in my none isofix car, might be in the sale?

The Britax 2way Elite is excellent. Short belts fine as the belt loops under the bum/feet area rather than going round the back.

It rear faces to 25kg and has a tall shell so last a LONG time.

My two both went into the Brit as dualfix once they were out the buggy car seat. Swivel to the side to put them in, straps all on car seat so no faffing with belts then turn them rear facing when they're in. Can go ff too - nice if you stop off somewhere and are sitting in the car or a safari park or things. I loved it.

My other concern is trying to get a wiggly baby in an erf car seat with the seat belt going across, it looks like a logistical nightmare tbh. Does anyone succeed with this ?

You just do as there are periods when they are still for a few seconds when you just get them in the seat.

@patchworkelephant123 if you can take that seat back please do. It performed awfully in crash tests only just passing the very basics. It’s also far safer to rear face until age 4.

I would not recommend an own-brand Mothercare or Halfords seat; they are cheap and poorly tested Chinese-made generics that companies buy and put their own skins on. They barely meet the legal minimum testing, which is not particularly strict, and have been known to tear apart completely in collisions. You want to buy from a reputable brand which safety-tests above and beyond the legal minimum.

The Britax Two Way Elite is a fab seat. Rear facing to 25kg and a shirt belt route if you need it. The seatbelt is then not in the way when it's fitted.

Easy and light to move between cars (if you do it regularly then buy a second set of tether straps). No leg, so not affected by underfloor storage boxes.

Relatively cheap, as rear facing seats go. Fits tall/wide children really well - my scrawny 9 year old is still within the limits of the seat!

Agree with recs for Two Way Elite. It's an excellent alternative to the Axkid Move which uses a support leg, but it needs to brace on the seat in front, which is the principal difference between the two. They are the seats I would look at.

Ooh I quite like the Britax one, that looks like it could work!

I don't want a 'own brand' one at all, though we are on a budget of around £200ish ideally.

I like the look of a new cosatto one that was coming out which swivels and claims to be away belt fitted at all stages, it's slightly over budget but customer services was quite unhelpful answering any queries and I don't want to be spending over budget on some thing I have to pre order that turns out to be completely unsuitable so DD is 13 months not, and is ever so slightly below the top of her baby carrier, she's pretty tall, hence the mad panic that I really need to be getting a new car seat ASAP!

We don't have Isofix and an unusually short belt (2005 Ford Focus).
We got the Joie Everystage and have been really pleased with it. I'd definitely recommend it. We went to a brilliant independent retailer and they said that this seat fits in cars with the shortest belts.

I came on to suggest the Axkid Move too. Our last car had short seat belts (could just about fit round the Joie Every Stage with a lot of jiggling) but the seat belt across the seat drove me mad. The Axkid is great, doesn't take up a huge amount of space in the car width ways, seat belt attaches it to car from foot end of car seat only so it doesn't get in the way of getting baby in and out and is plus tested. It's a great seat and will be getting a second for DS2

Please go rf, it really is easy enough to get them in and out. My youngest is 3.5 and still rf in his joie seat.

I wouldn't go with a Cosatto, their seats are minimum tested. Their selling point is the patterns. The brands to look for are Britax, Maxi-Cosi, Joie, Cybex, Nuna, Klippan, Axkid, BeSafe, Diono. Joie is usually a good budget option but the relevant seat here would be the Stages and as you observed it is bulky and the belt can be a bit in the way.

If your DD is very tall then a spin seat won't last, tbh and a 25kg seat is advisable anyway. If you join "A-Z of Rear Facing" or "Car Seat Advice UK" on FB you will get excellent advice.

Get a seatbelt extender?

Oh, the only useful thing I took away from the woman at Mothercare was the cosatto were quite decent where safety was concerned, though I did wonder if I was mainly paying for a pretty pattern

Its such a minefield

I was told away belt extenders weren't to be used with car seats?

Second the britax two way elite. Buy extra tether straps and leave them in any other cars you'll use then very quick to move.

Is the car a focus by any chance?
If so, you can fit a Britax two way elite (but a one year old may not fit the seat as the lowest shoulder strap height is quite high).
The AxKid Minikid also fit in our focus.

And do NOT use a belt extender with a child car seat.

Please don’t buy cossatto seats. It’s generic branding that’s only tested to UK standards. So 30mph. Awful things.

Joie are fantastic prices and tested to the European standard.

I'm sure the Joie stages/every stage have a short seat belt fitting method as well as the 'normal' way. I think you pass it through the seat where needed and then click it in. I'll see if I can find a link.

Found it 😁
erfmission.com/joie-stages-too-short-seatbelt-syndrome-fixed-guide/