Tell me what car seat(s) I need...

[dinksandbinks]

...because I have no flipping idea!

We have 2 cars - a teeny tiny not-even-sure-if-a-pram-will-fit car for commuting (which will include nursery run after mat leave ends) and a motorway cruiser for our very frequent trips to family across the country.

For short trips - shops, local appts etc. - I can see the benefit of having a car seat that fits in a pram. But I want ERF, and ideally it would have a swivel seat as I have long term back problems and think swivel would make life a lot easier.

I really like the look of the Britax Dualfix. Two problems 1) it won't fit in the small car if there's a passenger in the front (car is so small you have to have the seat all the way back not to have your knees under your chin!) 2) it can't be used with a pram.

So if we got the Britax, we'd need a separate car seat for the tiny car. But would I end up just using the tiny car even for motorway journeys, simply because I could get a car seat that fits on a pram? My DH prefers the tiny car, so when he goes back to work he might end up taking that one and I'd end up with the big car for short journeys and spend a fortune on fuel...

ARGH

I guess my questions are:

• How useful is it to have a car seat that connects to a pram? How long is this practical? Would it drive you mad if you couldn't do it?
• Swivel-seat owners - is it worth compromising on the pram-attachment thing?
• Is it bonkers to have one car seat for each car?
• AM I OVERTHINKING THIS?? (I'm guessing yes)

Any advice gratefully received!!

Personally I would get an infant carrier and then wait to see which ERF would be best as your baby grows.

Infant carriers are the safest seats for newborns and young babies. Any seat that has to go from birth to 18kg has to make some compromises. The Joie Gemm is inexpensive but tests well.

Then I would wait to see what will best suit your baby. If he or she is likely to be above average in height or weight, an 18kg seat won't last until they're 4 so you have to buy another seat anyway before they're safe enough for a high back booster. My DS is 98th centile for weight and height so he would outgrown an 18kg seat at 2.5yrs! So once you know what growth pattern your child is likely to follow, you can choose an 18kg or 25kg seat at that point.

I loved the convenience of being able to clip the car seat onto the pram for short errands etc. It's a nice to have but very worthwhile IMO.

With regards to swivel, you can turn an infant car seat to get a baby out without lifting the whole seat every time if that helps. Then if once you know 18kg/25kg, you can either get an 18kg swivel or your child will almost be old enough to climb in themselves and 25kg seats tend to be a lot easier to get them in and out of because they have lower sides.

Hope you got through that. It's a minefield! There's an excellent Facebook group 'car seat advice for mummies and daddies' that I would recommend joining.

We had the maxi cosi baby seat for all 3 of ours until around 9 months and then they went into the britax dual fix (kept rear facing for another year or so). I love the britax but I couldn't have lived without having a seat I could carry the baby out of the car in or put on a pram. Plus you can use the same seat in each car. We used to have an isofix in the car we used more often and just seatbelt if it ever went in the second car for short journeys but I know lots of people who had an isofix in both and just used one car seat.

I personally buy a baby seat first and then research seats later when they're older.

Could the person who does the nursery run use the bigger car?

Getting one that fits into a pram is honestly a GOD SEND.

Mine LO is starting to grow out of his now (silver cross - fits on pioneer pram) and I'm dreading it. Just ordered a big massive one that will sit in the car.

It's SO easy for quick trips to just lug the car seat out and fix it into the pram, rather than taking him/her in and out of a big car seat, fixing pram together and moving baby

Get a little infant seat for newborn. This will usually last them until 1yo. No need for swivel as you get them into it in the house and either carry it out to the car or click onto the pram wheels and wheel it out. Get an Isofix base installed in both cars and click the seat on and go.

The Armadillo Flip XT has a very small fold, woth carryhandle, as a suitable pushchair for a small car.

I'd definitely go for a newborn carrier with a base in each car (bases aren't necessary but they are convenient!). We've barely used the actual oral attachment but I clip the car seat on to the pram base all the time, so I personally wouldn't sacrifice that. As others have said, no need for swivel at this stage as you can just take the car seat out to put baby in. The carrier will last up to about a year and then at that stage I'd probably get separate seats for each car, but by then you'll have a much better idea what you want/will use anyway.

Although the 0-4 years say suitable from newborn, it’s really difficult to get the recline good enough for their head to be safe. I recently tried my 4month old in one and had to return as her head fell forward even when fully reclined.
I swapped it for a newborn one and she looks so much cosier, comfortable and safer. I have the Joei igemm which I would recommend! Also you will NOT want to be waking a newborn to move them from car seat into pram or house

Oh wow, so many replies!!! I didn't get any email notifications - thank you SOO much everyone!!

It seems fairly obvious that we should just get a newborn one!! That makes life a lot easier (and cheaper!!).

@teaandbiscuitsforme Thanks for such a comprehensive answer, so helpful! My DH and I are both over 180cm tall, so I suspect we'll have a tall kid! Very good point about needing to accommodate that possbility. I don't have a Facebook account anymore, but that group does sound good... may make a short term account just for baby crap!

@ShipShop I had no idea you could attach with just a seatbelt rather than an isofix! That's great to know, means we have a lot more options (and saves more money!)

@RippleEffects Ideally not, as it's a filthy stinking diesel and I feel so guilty taking it into the city, but I think it's less of an issue if we get a newborn car seat, as everyone suggests we do (correctly!)

@Elektro The Pioneer is one of the prams we're considering! It will fit in the rear footwell of the tiny car if we take the wheels off, but not in the boot. I dare say it would be easier getting it in the rear anyway, as I wouldn't have to lift it over the boot lip.

@NapQueen I totally didn't think of that - that the car seat actually comes out and you get the kid in and out of it indoors. I'm going to be soooo bad at this parenting malarkey lol. Thanks for the Armodillo recommendation - I'll check it out!

@Spam88 You're totally right, definitely more sensible to wait and see what we need in a year's time. We may actually cut down our cross-country travels - at the minute I'm assuming we'll keep the frequency relatively similar but maybe we'll just get everyone to come to us instead

@Semilunar22 I didn't think about head position at all - that's a really good point! I've just looked up the igemm carrier and it looks great, thanks for the recommendation!!

OK folks, thanks again - decision made!! Luckily both cars have isofix points so it should be simple to just get the one carrier. Now back to the internet to look at newborn carriers, though I am taken by the Joie already!!

I am so grateful for your wisdom - hope you all have a lovely day, despite the snow!

Hi dinks, glad you got some good answers.

I just wanted to add that I also had the i gemm which I bought to replace our first infant carrier which was in a car crash. It's a really lovely seat and my DS was happier in that then he was in our Be Safe carrier. Not sure what the differences are between that and the gemm other than the gemm hood doesn't extend as much and it's cheaper!

It's a long way off for you yet but if both you and your husband are tall, it's very likely that you would be better with a 25kg seat once your baby has outgrown the baby seat. The Axkid Minikid and Britax Two Way Elite are both very good and compact so they should be ok for your smaller car. Something to research in the future!

Thanks so much tea! I've just looked up the igemm and it's really cute!
Did you use the seat base or just the seat belt? It would be great to avoid buying two bases, but obviously safety comes first!

(Btw your username has made me really want a cup of tea and some biscuits now lol)

Ha ha, pretty much always tea (cold!) and biscuits on the go here with a 1 year old and an almost 3!

It's a complicated story but yes I did have the base for the I gemm. My daughter had a Joie toddler seat as a spare for my mum's car so I chose the I gemm because we already had the base. But I now think it's a really great seat. Probably wouldn't have got the base if I didn't already have it - second child and all that.

AFAIK isofix seats aren't safer than using the seatbelt. They just remove some of the possibility of human error when fitting the seat so therefore they're less likely to be fitted incorrectly and therefore 'safer'. However, baby car seats are really easy to fit with the seatbelt.

Also the isofix base can cause some fit issues because it's solid so if you have funny shaped car seats, sometimes some brands won't sit properly and you can get a far better fit using a seatbelt.

But the isofix bases are so convenient! Especially for clipping in and taking out a sleeping baby! If I was you, I really wouldn't get 2 bases if you do decide you want a base. See how you get on first of all and how much you use the seat in two cars and then make a call after your baby is here.

Fab, thank you so much tea! You've been incredibly helpful!

(I've had a semi-cold cup of tea today, after being stuck on a conference call... This is my first baby so have got to get used to cold tea!)

I have a joie gem which I fit with the seat belt. It is now on it's second baby and I am very happy with it. I went up to a joie stages from there, another lovely seat, although my giant 2.5 year old is very nearly 18 kg and this is the limit fit the harness so will need to get another! I too have a small car so need to get searching for my best option!

Nurse Axkid Minikid and Britax Two Way Elite are the most compact 25kg seats. We have two minikids which I love! I also have the TWE as a spare but we haven't needed to use it much so far so I'm not so experienced with it.

I'd definitely recommend looking into the Minikids though!

I use the joie gemm car seat with the seatbelt base and the joie chrome travel system.
The seatbelt base is like the isofix, but instead of using the isofix points, it is secured by looping the seatbelt through holes and securing down with a very heavy clip. It also has the leg support like the isofix. We chose the seatbelt base as one of our cars does not have isofix, and neither does my parents. It is also cheaper than the isofix.
I find my joie car seat and travel system invaluable. My DS is still in it at 10mo as he is tiny, and will probably be in it until he is over 1. It is really easy to clip onto the travel system, and it is so handy to get my DS into his car seat inside and carry him into the car, especially if it's raining, and not have to worry about waking him if he falls asleep. I also found it a really reasonable price compared to some car seats and travel systems.