What type of car seat?

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We are expecting our first baby in April, and am finding the number of choices for things overwhelming! We have decided on an Uppababy vista buggy, and now trying to think about car seats.
I like the idea of an extended use one, rear facing for as long as possible, but wondering if we would regret not getting a carrier we can take out and put in the buggy?
I walk most places, and shop on foot generally, but we will use the car for trips to family, bigger shopping trips etc. Family are 1-2.5 hours away though, so at the limit of them being in seats anyway? So even if they were asleep surely I'd need to move them anyway?

Go to the In Car Safety Centre, they are excellent and will help you get the best car seat for your needs.

Thanks, they aren't that close to us, but I will have a look.

We have a hyundai i30 with isofix if that makes any difference.

Also-is it OK to have the seat behind the drivers seat? Our driveway is small, so have to park up against a wall to fit two cars on, so would be easier to get baby out from behind me, than crawl over back seats...

Personally I'd get the infant seat for now (fine behind the driver!) and look for an ERF when your Baby outgrows that one at 13kg.

The main reason is that it's far safer to rear face until at least 4yrs old and if you want to do that, you need a seat that's going to last until your child is 4. Both of mine have been larger than average (DD is about the 80th centimetres and DS the 98th ) and this means that they would both outgrow a standard 18kg ERF seat before 4. I've bought them both 25kg seats (Axkid minikids) so that they will last until at least 4 but I would never have known this until after they were born.

We've also got the Vista (now as a tandem) - good choice!

*80th centile not cm!!

I have a vista. We bought a maxi cosi pebble for the car and an isofix base. My son just turned one and he’s still in the pebble but won’t be for much longer. When he was tiny I used the car seat on the buggy a lot more, but this Saturday was the first time I used it this way in about 8 months. If I was buying again I wouldn’t bother with a carrier one and just get an extended use one

The infant car seat can just be left in the car though if you decide not to use it on the pram. The issue with some of the birth -18kg seats is that they don't always have the best recline for newborns and if your child is likely to reach 18kg before 4, you might find you still need another harnesses seat before they can go into a high back booster.

But if your child is average size, you would only need to buy one!

I had a maxi cosi Pebble initially (lasted until DD was 16 months) although I didn't have a compatible pushchair so never used it as a travel system. I found that I was mostly walking places with her and not using the car that much so didn't need it.

I now have a Joie Steadi which will rearface until 4 and a Joie Stages for my Mum's car. I really like both these seats but think they'd have been hard to use with a newborn just in terms of manoeuvring in and out.