Car Seat Recommendations

[OnMyJourney]

Hi! I'm looking for a car seat for when my baby is out of the infant car seat, I've looked at Joie, ickle bubba, puggle and a few other brands but I just can't seem to find one I like, myself and my partner don't drive but obviously would like a car seat for when we get lifts and to put in grandparents cars, I would like one that spins, reclines and preferably doesn't need an isofix base as we'd need to move it in and out the car often, does this exist or am I dreaming too high? Any recommendations are appreciated thank you 🩷

Most car seats for the next stage don't need the isofix base - but the ones which spin generally do have isofix, just built into the seat. They tend to be much heavier, which is a bit of a pain for moving between different cars. You can get a lighter seat if you're happy with seatbelt fitted.

Personally I'd steer clear of the Ickle Bubba and Puggle brands as these are not very good quality, they are a bit confusing to use and the instructions on them aren't good.

It sounds like you're looking at a budget in roughly the £150 sort of range, is that right? There is a lot of choice in this range, unfortunately not a lot of quality. Joie and Graco do have some good options at this price point. Some belt fitted without the spin, some isofix with spin (but they are heavy seats).

How old is your LO currently and do you know their weight and height or even what size clothing they are in would be useful if you're not sure on those :)

And do you usually go into one or two cars, or is it lots of different cars you'd tend to use?

@BertieBotts
At the moment my baby girl is 4 months old she weighs 11lbs she's only just gone into 0-3 clothing, she's small for her age as she was born 3 weeks early, her infant carrier says it goes up to 22kg so she's still got a little while to go in that one

It's good to know to stay away from those brands I've seen other people use ickle bubba and I've never really been impressed,

Yes deffo a lighter one would be a lot better as I'm not the strongest of people, the car seat would be in and out of people's cars, luckily all the people who would drive us around mostly have big 4x4 cars so hopefully that should make it a lot easier to get it in and out, there's so many options for car seats 😅

You’ve got ages to go. Mine were both on the small side and fine in the infant seat past 18months. Both outgrew it by height while still having plenty of room weight wise so if she’s also on the shorter side you could well be looking at changing her seat at 2 years old.

Personally I’ve kept mine rear facing - it’s much much safer. But if you don’t want to or can’t do that I’d find something with the best possible safety ratings and forfeit the bells and whistles of swivelling and what have you - those features will make it bulkier to store, harder to switch in and out and aren’t worth it for an occasional use type seat.

Definitely look into extended rear facing.

Axkid and britax are good brands. But our axkid is a pain to fit as it tethers so perhaps a bad choice for you.

I'd guess your infant carrier is up to 12kg isn't it? Or maybe 22lbs (10kg). 22kg is not a usual weight limit for an infant carrier.

I agree with the others, you'll have a really long time to use your current seat and as a non driver also, the infant carrier type is by far the easiest type of seat to carry around and move from car to car. Some of them can be used until the baby is over a year old. So I wouldn't even make any recommendations yet. Keep her in her seat and post again when she's getting close to the limits on it.

An infant carrier is outgrown when baby's head reaches the top edge, or when they reach the height or weight limit, or if it's one with a movable headrest, when you can't move the headrest any higher up and the baby's shoulders don't fit under it any more.

It's totally OK and safe if their legs poke out of the end, this is normal. They can just rest their feet up on the backrest of the seat, or bend their legs, whatever they want to do.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone!

I literally have no idea when I got 22kg from I re read the car seat and it says up to 18lbs my memory is terrible oops lol but that's good to know I'm glad it lasts longer I've always thought for some reason they didn't last too long but if it's going to last well until she's over a year I'll hold out, thank you for your help everyone!

Sorry to be annoying, are you sure because 18lbs doesn't sound right either.

Most infant car seats are up to 13kg, a few are 12kg and very occasionally you see one up to 10kg but these are quite rare now. These days they often have a height limit too in cm.

Do you know which one you've got? You can put a picture up if easier.

It's not that important as she won't be anywhere near the limit yet, just so you know for later.

Oh my gosh I can't read oh dear 🤦🏼‍♀️ She has a group 0+ car seat which I think after googling is up to 13kg (hopefully I read it right this time omg) her car seat is a Red Kite car seat which I can't find a picture online but it came with the Push me Pace travel system

Ah yes I know that one and you're right, 13kg is the weight limit. It is a bit shorter than some in the shell but as your LO is on the smaller side should fit her for a while yet anyway.