Car seat help. Fixed v travel

[Caspianberg]

Early days yet, so have a bit more time before purchasing.

I think we would do best with an extended rear facing car seat that swivels for our car day to day. We have a narrow garage so it would be easier getting baby in and out, plus have no need to use car seat on the pram. (Will get sling and off road large wheel type pushchair for our area)

However, what about when we travel?

The large extended rear facing will be too big to travel with. We live overseas so will need to travel back to Uk min 3-4 times per year, plus any additional overseas travel.

Is it better to just buy a basic seat for travelling like the maxi cosi citi, or would it be better to buy a baby size seat with isofix for the first 18 months at home, and then an extended rear facing seat? Im assuming thats a fairly pricey way to go about it.

Car seat for travel needs to be as light and portable as possible as we will likely have to take the train 2 hrs from our home to airport either way, taxi, and then 3-4 different locations in the Uk with a mixture of hire car and family cars plus public transport.

Is the Doona car seat on wheels worth all the ££ just for travelling for the convenience? I know the 30+ min recommendation for car seat, but for travelling the car seat would have to go on a small folding type pram anyway as i wouldn't be able to carry seat/pram/baby/ luggage and everything on various trains and plane myself otherwise. I would take a sling also. It wouldn't be needed or used at home at all as we live basically in mountainous farmland so completely unsuitable. But i guess we could use as main seat in car with isofix instead of another, but is it ten not a pain getting baby in and out wihout swivel function?

At home, on a day when using the car, baby is likely to be put in and out of the car frequently inbetween various shops etc, and into sling as you can't really walk between any large shops as all out of town type.

Sorry, thats 101 questions, and basically a thought explosion all at once! I basically want to know what is a) most convenient b) requires less items to buy.

We had big, bulky carseats that lived with us overseas, and big bulky carseats that lived in my parents garage and we used every time we came back to the UK.
Yes, it was expensive, but it also meant we didnt gave to schlep carseats round the world, and risk them being damaged or lost or delayed.

When mine were tiny, I used to take them in and out of the carseat when we got anywhere - so into a sling or lie flat pushchair. But then mine woke taking the carseat out if the car, so moving them made no difference! Some people have babies who will carry on sleeping if you take the carseat of of the car and connect it to a chassis. But I am uncomfortable with small babies being in carseats for extended periods, so wouldnt drive, shop, drive without getting them out anyway.

Thank you

We wouldn't be able to leave car seats at our parents as wouldn't be practical as we would need the seat several times before we even reached them both in this country and the Uk. We also have 3-4 destinations each time rather than straight to one family, otherwise buying and leaving there would be far easier.

Yes I would take them in and out each time in the car, hence removable wouldnt be needed on a daily basis at home. Its already a 30-45 min+ drive to the nearest shops, so I would want to take them out by this point.

In london I will likely use the tube also to then take mainline trains, or receive lift from family other end so would need to be able to take it up and down stairs easy enough even if baby in sling.

For babies, it's generally better to buy an infant carrier then buy a group seat when they're 12mo+. The main reason for this is that infant carriers are the safest type of car seat for babies. Another important reason is that you don't know how big your child is going to be. If your child is heavier than the 50th centile, they will outgrow an 18kg before 4yrs, the age when they are old enough to transfer into a high back booster. If your child is heavier than the 50th centile, a 25kg rear facing seat is the best option and that will easily last until 4yrs+.

So in your case, I would get an infant carrier for home and if you want one for travelling, get something like the Joie Juva. Then assess which rear facing weight limit suits best when your child is about 12mo.

@teaandbiscuitsforme - thanks. So something like the Britax dualfix2 with newborn insert, isn't as safe for a newborn?

The joie juva, i don't think i can get locally but if i can do you know if it fits on pushchairs? ie the babyzen frame for travelling

Oh and we only have a small old car. A Vauxhall corsa ( 2007 model). it does have isofix points though. But the back is quite small.

One of the issues with the birth to 18kg seats is they're trying to be everything to everyone. So the positioning in the Dualfix isn't as good for a newborn as it would be in an infant carrier because in order to make a seat that fits an 18kg child, compromises have to be made. There is also an issue with the straps going tight enough for newborns. But it's most definitely not unsafe, it's a very good seat!

A couple of other things about the Dualfix...

One big negative long term is that it has a very small shell so it's often outgrown by height long before 18kg or 4yrs.

Also check the fit in your car before buying it. I believe the Astra has very sloped seats? If so, combined with the isofix, the seat is likely to be very upright in a car with sloped seats so you won't get a good position for a newborn.

Its a Corsa not an Astra, the back seats are flat like a bench.

I don't actually think the "too many categories" thing applies to 0-18kg ERF seats (happy to elaborate on this). Some of the original spin seats to come to market were quite short in the shell, but newer ones are taller. Some can sometimes have a poor fit for tiny babies, but actually, so can a lot of infant carriers - and I've seen some newborns fit much better in larger, spin type seats with inserts than many do in a lot of infant carriers, which tend to be quite curved. Babies are just so tiny when they are newborn and grow so fast that it is really difficult to get a very good fit for a newborn in a car seat in general. (The best fit I've ever seen for a newborn in any seat ever is the Avionaut Pixel, which is Venicci Ultralite for the UK market, if you can't get the Pixel where you are).

When choosing between different models of spin seats I'd look at:

• Max headrest extension/highest harness slot (longevity of seat)
• Fit and stability in your car - check in all modes so reclined, headrest extended, newborn inserts in/out etc
• Recline angles (suitable for non-sitting baby/curious toddler?)
• Leg room for older child
• ADAC testing for side impacts
• If seat has possibility to RF and FF and there is a RF only model, ADAC/Plus testing for that for frontal impact (will tell you relative safety of seat when in RF mode)
• Ease of adjusting harness

Since you'll use this seat for a long time it's well worth visiting a car seat specialist if you can possibly find one (I can recommend a couple of chains in Germany?) - if not, your second best bet is a nursery specialist store, preferably one which advertises that they offer car seat advice (usually their staff will be trained by car seat company reps) and are happy to let you try several models in your car to compare ease of use and fit etc. Online might be cheaper, but it's worth spending a little bit more to get this expertise. Since you don't want an isofix base for the infant carrier, it also frees up a bit of money to put into your decision for the right "main" seat.

The only other possibility I would look into before looking into the different spin models is whether you think you might one day be interested in a 25kg limit ERF seat. After your baby grows out of the spin seat, you will then usually be looking for a high backed booster seat. If they are four or five at this point, then this might be something you're absolutely comfortable and happy with. But if they are two or three at this point, you'll probably not be happy with it at all, in which case, you'll then be looking at larger rear facing seats, and the next bracket (which is the largest available) go up to 25kg. Sometimes people also choose a 25kg limit seat even if they have smallish children, simply because the difference between rear facing and forward facing is the biggest change in safety in the car and they just want to delay that change for as long as possible, which is also reasonable. The reason I say this is that 25kg ERF seats tend to cost about as much again as the spin seats themselves, and if this is something you're likely to want to go for in the future, you would be best off with a long lasting infant seat (with base if you want, but you don't need one) to use both at home and for travel, and then change to the good quality 25kg ERF for at home.

You could also just buy an infant carrier for now (and use for travel later) but narrow down both a spin seat and a 25kg ERF seat you like, and see how big/small/average your baby is by about 12 weeks, and make the decision based on that. Or if you are very likely to have a second child, it's a fairly safe bet to go for the spin seat and delay the decision about spin/25kg until you need a second seat covering Group 1 anyway.

As far as travel seats go, I'd get the longest lasting, most lightweight infant carrier you can find in budget, bonus points if it fits onto a pushchair and/or is flight approved and use it until it's completely outgrown, which could be a good 18 months (my 75th centile first child lasted 18 months in his) or even 2+ years if you have a smaller than average child. Then you would have a few options to follow on from this:

• Britax Eclipse. Forward facing only, so not great for safety, but can be fitted with a lap belt or normal seatbelt, is flight approved, is lightweight as Group 1 seats go. Switch to Trunki boostapak as soon as you feel this is acceptable for child.

• Britax Two Way Elite. Rear facing up to 25kg, so max safety, but larger and more bulky to carry around, although the lightest and most universal of all the 25kg ERF seats. Flight approved. May be pointless if you plan to swap to a booster ASAP.

• Any lightweight 123 seat - forward facing, but most lightweight harnessed option, and will last until booster stage. Better than nothing, but the very light 123 seats tend to be extremely light on safety.

I wouldn't bother with the Doona personally - it just seems silly money for an infant seat, most of which already have the possibility to go onto wheels as a pushchair, although you can find people who absolutely adore this seat.

However I will slip in one last wildcard - have you seen the Nachfolger inflatable car seat? That is a 0-18kg rear facing one. It is surprisingly solid (I have seen/handled one IRL), supposedly suitable from birth with an insert (probably not for tiny newborns, but assuming you wouldn't be travelling for 2-3 months after birth) and supposedly solves your exact problem. It is about €300, but at least where I am, it's cheaper than the Doona, and it would mean you wouldn't need an infant carrier at all. Plus, no worries about the seat sustaining damage in a plane hold, since it would be just a deflated shell, and the crash test results are actually alright - not the best seat in the world, but actually much better than most of your other realistic travel options. If you're going to travel a lot it quite possibly would be worth the investment, or at least looking into it.

Oh sorry - forgot to add.

Joie Juva is only compatible with one specific Joie pushchair. Their other seats go onto Maxi Cosi adaptors. Many car seat brands go onto Maxi Cosi adaptors. It can be a bit tricky to tell but generally any of the well known brands except for Britax go on these. Off the top of my head Cybex, Kiddy, BeSafe, Recaro, Joie (except Juva), Avionaut,

The Maxi-Cosi pushchair adapters look like this. So if you go onto the car seat's website if they are a company that also sell pushchairs, they will have a page of accessories for those pushchairs and one accessory will be the car seat adaptors. If they look like this with the U shaped cut outs in then they are the same as Maxi Cosi adaptors, if they look different then they won't be compatible. Sometimes also (e.g. Cosatto) will sell "Maxi Cosi adapters" but also "Port adapters" (Port is one of Cosatto's own brand car seats) and they are different - so you can see the Port wouldn't work. You can also look at the car seat itself for clues. Anything sticking out at the bottom of the sides just below where the handle hinges is a clue it's not compatible. Car seats which go onto maxi cosi adaptors have a hollow space under the handle hinge bit with metal clips inside.

You can also ask your nursery specialist store as they often know every combination, and if they don't know, they will usually be able to check on a pushchair they do have in stock, because almost all of the high end brands have maxi cosi adaptors available, so they will have some in store, even if not for the pram you choose.

Britax is the other brand which has adaptors available for several models of pram, but they aren't anywhere near as widespread as Maxi Cosi style ones.

@BertieBotts
Wow thanks for all the info, its really helpful. I might head to Munich way around christmas time, so If you have any places you recommend around there that would be great.
There isn't the greatest choice of nursery specialists or larger baby stores at all where we live, so I may have to travel a bit anyway to try something.

I haver seen the maxi cosi citi 2019 model now fits on prams i think, and the cybex basic aton was another option, as both are lightweight. But i don't think the cybex is FAA approved. I think we are likely to buy something like the babyzen or similar for travel if we don't get the doona, so that plus car seat wouldn't be any cheaper. But the babyzen would then last longer i guess into toddler age for travel.

At home likely the Mountain buggy or similar, so I think thats going to just be impractical travelling often alone with on public transport.

I basically need to be able to carry car seat, plus somewhere for baby to sleep (small pop up type cot), plus handluggage and baby alone. I would be happy to just use sling and carry seat, but i don't think that will be practical as somedays that would mean carrying seat around a city all day. Hence need to some kind of wheels.

Oh i have seen the nachfolger also. I will take another look. I think the inflating bit might be a pain though as i couldn't just grab a taxi last minute and pile in without stopping to inflate and deflate either end.

I didnt have an infant carrier, lived up 2 flights of stairs and very weak arms so didnt fancy carrying a car seat about. I also didnt want the temptation of leaving him in a carseat for longer than recommended. I didnt miss it at all, he didn't transfer inside sleeping but like I said, i wouldnt have been lifting the car seat in and out anyway so it didnt bother me. I would rather he was in the pram or wrap as a tiny baby.
I had the cybex sirona and loved it, very easy to use and would do him up to 4 as he is low centile. He is 2.5 and perfectly happy rear facing in it. However we have been moved abroad and this seat is definitely NOT transferable, it is very very heavy! I'm between buying a Joie Tilt which is RF til 18kg and only about £80 so I wouldn't mind taking it back and forth on plane or buying one of the US Graco ones available here which seem amazing but again heavy and not able to take between.

@Jent13c - thanks. yes i wouldn't need or want an infant carry style to be removable when we are at home. The only place to park is a garage, which i would then have to walk about 10 m to a slope, up a large sloped walkway, followed by 12 steps to the house. With a seat it would be too heavy. Whatever we get is literally going to be used 4-5 weeks per year during travel.

Im happy with just rear facing until around 4 years i think, so not too concerned with a 25kg seat.

Hi.

We got an infant car seat with isofix for our cars initially and it was very easy for travelling as it clipped onto the pushchair so we didn't need to carry it. We travel frequently and it's a good easy fit into cars and taxis.

Recently we have bought a Diono Radian 5 as our daughter is getting bigger, this folds to make it more compact for travelling but is heavy. We have had no problems flying with it we just put it in a bag at the airport. This also seems to fit in most cars, including our relatives cars importantly.

Not sure if this helps.

Good luck for your new baby.

Have a look at how fast it is to inflate/deflate on youtube. That's the part I haven't seen but I think it's fairly quick.

You're right the Citi and the basic Aton are both cheap, basic car seats but from safe brands. Both can go on a pushchair - I think the difference is the Citi doesn't fit on any of their isofix bases, which might make it slightly lighter. The Maxi Cosi Cabriofix is around the same price as the Citi now as well, you get better side impact protection and a smaller headhugger for little babies, but I'm not sure what the length is like, and also only the Citi is approved for flying (I think). I'd go for a Maxi Cosi over Cybex, as the Cybex is heavier and doesn't last very long due to the headrest (though I see they have changed to a doughnut type cushion now, which may be better). That's the one we found DS2 outgrew early. Joie Gemm also works. Britax Babysafe might be worth checking if it's compatible. I know Britax do their own microfold buggy for travel.

I'd look at Zwergperten or Kindersitzprofis. Zwergperten have a store in Munich but Kindersizprofis don't seem to. Don't be put off by the prices of their seats - I wouldn't buy an infant seat there due to lack of choice, but they have comparable prices to other stores for the 25kg ERF seats and (most of the) spin seats plus Nachfolger. The only issue seems to be that where there are two models on the market, they only stock the more expensive one. That might be OK for your main seat, though. If you did want to look at more basic models of spin seat it seems like a nursery store might be better.