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Which car seat for new-born, is 5.7kg too heavy?

9 replies

Ann767 · 08/01/2021 14:01

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy a car seat for a new born and can't decide what to go with.

As I liked the idea of a recline feature my main pick at present is a maxi cosi marble which I've seen for around £200 with base but I'm concerned it may be too heavy at 5.7kg?

Here are some others I've short listed with recline feature:

Joie i-Level - Doesn't seem as comfortable as the marble and I've read the head support can be a little too tight for some babies.

Nuna Arra - Not sure how comfortable it is and also a little expensive at around £320-£350.

Cloud Z - Again looks good but a little expensive once you add the isofix base.

Here are some others I've short listed without recline feature:

Maxi Cosi Tinca - I really like this because it's light and also has a larger hood than most of the older maxi cosi seats but not sure how comfortable it is and also can't find any safety ratings with it being a newer model.

Nuna Pipa Next - nice and light with good safety when used with base but expensive.

Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro or Plus - good safety without base and looks comfortable.

Maxi Cosi Rock - cheap at around £100 and looks to have good safety without base.

Any advise or recommendations from my above short list would be much appreciated. I don't mind paying more for a better quality seat.

OP posts:
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Mylittlesandwich · 08/01/2021 14:48

What kind of seat do you want? One that stays in the car or one that you can take out and for example click onto a pram base?

I found isofix handy for an infant carrier because I would lift the car seat out and put it on the pram if I was just quickly nipping into a shop, it meant I didn't have to wake DS. He was a big baby and got heavy fast so I then switched to a fixed seat so I could just lift him in and out.

Ann767 · 08/01/2021 15:46

I want one that I can take out at first and carry into the house etc.

I'm not really sure at what stage it will become too heavy and I will have to just leave it in the car or switch to another seat and that was my worry with maxi cosi marble being 5.7kg on it's own.

OP posts:
Mylittlesandwich · 08/01/2021 15:52

I can just about manage to pick up DS in his now. He's 12kg and the seat is just over 4kg but it is a struggle. As I said I had a big 'ol baby haha. I imagine most normal sized babies would be fine at first. It would be outgrown at 13kg so the maximum weight you'll be carrying is 21.7kg. I personally would struggle with that but you might be happy to leave it in the car from when baby is a little older. I switched DS from his infant carrier to a fixed seat at 8.5 months.

I don't personally know the stats of that seat or how well maxi-cosi test. @BertieBotts is great with car seats so I hope she doesn't mind the tag.

WhenTwoBecomeThree · 08/01/2021 16:41

I had a silver cross simplicity car seat for DD and that was around 4kg I think, it weighed a tonne once she got a bit bigger! I couldn't do the extra 1.7kg😬

Merrz · 11/01/2021 15:09

I had the Cybex Cloud z with DD as I also wanted the recline feature, in all honesty I never actually reclined it. It was a fab seat from 3-4 months and did her right up until about 20 months (it says 18 but she is small for her age) it felt very secure and safe and I loved that it spins, makes it so much easier for getting baby in and out but I found it very heavy and awkward when she was a newborn, taking it in and out the car. And even with the newborn insert she looked tiny in it. I'm pregnant with no 2 now and plan to buy a lightweight newborn seat then use the cloud z from around 6 months when it can just be left in the car.

BertieBotts · 11/01/2021 22:01

Hello, sorry I didn't get the tag! Only just seen this, how annoying. I have been checking my notifications as well.

Remember your baby is going to be 3-4kg at birth and relatively quickly weigh around 8-9kg. In all honesty the weight of the car seat doesn't make a huge amount of difference. They get heavy and uncomfortable pretty quickly anyway. It really depends how far you're planning to carry it - if you have a drive and carry it a few steps into the house you'll be fine. If you have to carry it down the street and round the corner, it will be too heavy before long whatever you choose. If you have a pram that's very easy/quick to put up you can click it into, it doesn't really matter how far you have to walk. If you need to carry it up several flights of stairs, you might want a sling!

My opinion on your list:

Joie i-Level, Nuna Arra - think you're right about these.

Cloud Z - agree with you but it is a REALLY nice seat. I do personally find it a bit too expensive, given the amount of time you use it for and I wouldn't personally go for the Sirona Z, so the base is expensive for just using with this seat, but if you can afford it, it's absolutely fantastic and really well designed. (There is nothing wrong with the Sirona, I just prefer other seats).

Nuna Pipa Next - yes, nice, but sometimes the shape of the inserts is a bit too upright for a lot of babies, especially if you have sloping seats in your car.

Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro or Plus - love these seats, they are brilliant, the only downside is the very low height limit on them.

Maxi Cosi Tinca/Rock - I can't see much between these. Go for the Rock or look at the Cabriofix, which fulfils the cheap, light, safe criteria but doesn't have a height limit as it isn't i-size. The Maxi Cosi height limit of 75cm (all their i-size carriers) is really low and reached at an average of 10 months which is really borderline for moving into the next type of seat, as well as limiting the time you get to use the carry feature!

A couple of others I'd look at:

Britax Babysafe 2 i-size. Not as compatible with as many prams, but still nice. Has an internal angle adjuster and not as heavy as some more flashy ones.

Avionaut Pixel/Ultralite - unfortunately you can't buy direct in the UK, but you can get Venicci Ultralite, which is the same seat rebranded for Venicci pushchairs. Uses the standard Maxi Cosi adapters. The inserts in it give a lovely flat position for newborns, it's incredibly lightweight and it safety tests really well. The Avionaut (and I think Venicci) websites have a feature about the insert which works differently to most seats.

If you're planning to use without a base, the Maxi Cosi and Britax seats are by far the easiest to fit using seatbelt, the seatbelt guides on them are incredibly well designed and not fiddly. Other brands they often come across as a bit of an afterthought. Fine for occasional use but if it's your main mode of install you'll probably curse it.

Overall advice for the infant stage would be to save money on flashy features that you may not use, spend on features that are likely to make a significant difference, save money for the toddler stage which can be £££ and really matters if you get the wrong one!

Ann767 · 12/01/2021 16:49

Thank you all for your very detailed replies.

I did go with the marble as I was prepared to deal with the extra weight as it would just be for carrying our baby in and out of the car from our drive to house.

Unfortunately the marble arrived damaged so will need to be returned now.

The marble is like a bigger version of the pebble pro. It's seems really really comfortable which lots of padding, nice new born insert, nice recline and a very very nice hood that really extends far with a peekaboo window. Also it was a bonus it came with the isofix base.

My only concern with the marble is more the size than the actually weight. I feel it could be a bit of a pain moving it in and out of the car because of the size.

After reading all your comments I think I'm now going to go with one of the smaller / lighter seats from the maxi cosi range and just use it with a belt.

I'm favouring the maxi cosi tinca just because it's lighter at 3.2kg and it has the a similar newer style longer hood like the marble.

BertieBotts do you think the tinca is likely to be similar safety wise compared to say a pebble pro?

Only asking as the weight difference is 4.55kg vs 3.2kg on the tinca.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 12/01/2021 17:04

Yep I'd say it's likely to be similar. Maxi Cosi infant seats are very well made :) You might not have as much side impact protection but it will have some due to being i-size.

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