Newborn car seat to go with travel system

[detachablehoof]

I'm so baffled by all the different options. I was just going to get the basic Maxi Cosi as it's nice and light but now I'm worried it's not safe enough. I'd like the car seat to be the safest option for my little one (obviously!), look nice (although they all seem pretty ugly ) as I'll probably use it on my pram wheels a lot once the baby is old enough, be easy to get the baby in/out of, and not be too bulky/heavy. At some point I'll probably want an isofix base but I think I'll just fit it with a seatbelt to start with and see how that goes.

Options I have to fit my travel system are:

Maxi-Cosi: Pebble Plus, Pebble, Cabriofix, Citi
Kiddy: Evolution Pro, Evolution Pro 2, Evo–luna i-size
Cybex: Aton, Aton 4, Aton Q
Besafe: iZi Go (X1), iZi Go Modular

Any brands I should favour / avoid, or are they really all much of a muchness?! Your comments much appreciated!

I have not heard of kiddy but the others are well known brands. There is an excellent Facebook group called car seat advice UK.

Why are you worried the maxi cosi isn’t safe enough? It scores well in safety tests.

@soydora where can I see these safety tests? I think I read a post by some random MN user saying that they didn't consider Maxi-Cosi to have tested to an adequate level. Or something!

If you want a light car seat don't go for the kiddy evoluna, DS is only 4 months and it breaks my back to get him in and out of the car and to lift the seat onto the pram. Really regret buying this car seat and DS hates it as well!

You are not supposed to use it on your pram chassis a lot.

Get Isofix. I thought the same thing about the seatbelt but I can't imagine having to do that every time I want to put DS in the car! Isopod is so quick and easy!

Isopod? I meant isofix!

Do you already have pram to match to? Britax/Roemer are the obvious omission from your list. You are only likely to use the seat on wheels for a few months. All baby seats meet the same EU safety standards.

I don't already have the pram, but have decided what I'm getting and those are the listed compatible seats.

Baby car seats are much of a muchness on the whole so long as you go for one of the well known brands. It's the next stage of seat where you have to be far more careful.

The most important thing when choosing an infant car seat is getting one that fits properly in your car. Mothercare etc aren't much good, you're much better going to an independent car seat specialist where possible.

And join the Facebook group 'car seat advice uk'.

If your pram takes a Maxi Cosi, you can get any seat that is compatible with the Maxi Cosi adapters so you can also include the joie seats for example.

We had a maxi cosi pebble and it was brilliant, plus it lasted until 15 months!!

Don't get the cybex if you are likely to be taking it out of the car and carrying it anywhere. It weighs an absolute tonne!

Just a note, my car seat clips in to my buggy frame and I've used it like that probably 4 times for my son (18 months) and never for my daughter.

@teaandbiscuitsforme I didn't know that about the maxi cosi adapters. V helpful thank you

Not on Facebook so can't join the group PPs recommended unfortunately.

We have a Jane Trider and there's a lieflat car seat that comes with it so you don't have to worry about how long they are in it. Worth a thought?

Maxi Cosi adapters are pretty much universal, they won't take a Graco, Britax, Cosatto, Hauck or Silver Cross (or own brand/Nania/teamtex) seat but they will take all the infant seats of the brands you mentioned, including models not in that list (it's likely to be an older list) plus Joie, GB, Nuna, Recaro and a couple of the brand specific ones, I think Stokke and Phil + Ted's. If in doubt, visit a branch of Mothercare or John Lewis and ask the sales assistant if you can try with any maxi cosi adapters on any pram they have in stock.

Maxi Cosi have excellent safety ratings so are a good bet. They are probably the most popular brand in the UK. Worth noting that the Citi does not have any compatability with an isofix base, though. The Cabriofix has both an isofix and belted base available. Joie is probably the cheapest if you're looking for economy, their bases are also cheaper than maxi-cosi. They safety test well too. TBH, it is hard to find an infant seat which tests poorly. Even Nania ones come out alright and their seats are don't-touch-with-a-bargepole usually.

IMO the isofix bases are a bit of a waste of time, I never had one for DS1 and it only took a second to strap the seatbelt in. DH insisted for DS2 and I can never click the bloody thing in first time and it takes me just as long and seems very jolty for DS2. DH can get it in immediately though so maybe it's just me We have the Cybex Aton 5. I certainly did not feel the base was worth the €90 we paid for it but DH likes it.

You can look up safety testing by ADAC, it's in German but it's not very difficult to understand (Safety is "Sicherheit") and if you want more detail just use google translate.

www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/kindersicherung/kindersitz-test/default.aspx

NB you might have to go back to previous years' tabs for seats which have been out a while such as the Cabriofix.

In hindsight I wished that the seat had a little recession for the baby's head as they always seem to have such big heads as newborns - perhaps the Maxi Cosi Pebble head support is good for this.

I do like the strap adjustment in the Cybex Aton 5 as there is no fiddly rethreading of straps when they grow, you just increase it in small increments which means it always fits them well, but it doesn't have hooks to hold the straps out of the way which makes getting the baby in and out a bit of a pain. And as a PP said it is heavy, but it's alright if you're just carrying it for a short time. I had a basic Mothercare seat for DS1 back when they were basically a Maxi Cosi Citi (made by Dorel) and it was fantastically lightweight.

There are often weighted dolls at baby shops you can try putting in and out of various car seats.

We had the BeSafe group 0 car seat with adaptors for the YoYo Zen buggy (needed a small buggy from newborn). The isofix base is also used for the next seat up which DS has just gone into.

@bertiebotts that is SO helpful. I'm very very grateful to you for taking the time to share your knowledge!

We have the kiddy evoluna I size, it did really well in the crash tests reported by Which? It's also lie flat which is great if you do a lot of driving. We used it on our baby jogger pram chassis, with their maxi Cosi adapters

It is big and heavy though and also isofix only so less good if you're likely to swap it between cars.

I had the maxi cosi cabriofix because it was still as safe as other seats and much lighter than the other maxi cosis (weaklin here)
Served us well.. il be getting it again for my next..

I think BeSafe Izi is probably the safest out of all those brands, but admittedly I've not bought a car seat for a couple of years so haven't checked more recent reviews and tests.

Definitely look for swedish pass plus and ADAC tested seats as these tests are more rigorous.

If you are near to an In Car Safety Centre (Essex, Milton Keynes, Belfast) then make an appointment and get them to fit the most appropriate seat for your car.

Whilst the infant carriers which fit onto a travel system can be convenient, you can't really carry them once baby is a few months old and they should be sued for extended periods anyway as oxygen sats can drop.

Get the safest car seat for your car and use a standard pram or sling.

shouldn't be used

sorry

I have the pebble plus, thoughts-

1. I'm going to buy a different brand for toddler years that covers birth -4 so that's 400 quid that I didn't need to spend.
2. Dc is 10 months and am getting to not be able to lift him in onto the pram whilst in it.
3. It is useful having something small ish to get into taxis etc when i don't want to drive.
4. The normal pebble has a better head rest as it's detachable from the body newborn insert. Dc got too big for the insert body wise but his head seemed to need extra padding which wasn't ideal.
5. Quite useful if you're getting a train then taxi as only need one bit of equipment

I wish I’d asked here first! Right, buying for my daughter who is expecting her first. I bought a Diono Quantum pram, and according to ‘a’ website (unfortunately I later realised, not Diono’s own website) an Kiddi Evoluna Isofix car seat which was supposed to fit the wheels. It doesn’t. She’s since crushed the boxes (as they were huge) so sending either back is difficult. Can I keep the isofix base & get another car seat, or do we have to get the base back out too?

Just remember that as a newborn, they shouldn't be in a car seat for longer than 30 min.
This gradually increases to 2 hrs.
In addition to back and cranium development, there's also a risk of positional asphyxiation.

If you take into account buckling in at home, putting in to car, arriving at destination, pushing round in car seat, back into car, then home... travel systems aren't actually idea for babies. Also, the bucket carseats are bloody heavy so not great for most backs.

Also. Babies and children shouldn't wear coats or snowsuits or heavy layers under the straps. So you'll have to dress up/blanket baby once removing them from the car anyway.

A fixed rotating car seat, such as a 360 or a dualfix is much kinder on maternal back and removes the temptation to leave baby in a seat for too long.