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Fixed Car Seats for Newborns

9 replies

LRob2506 · 13/08/2025 10:55

Due our first baby in December. Looking at car seats and can't decide between a baby carrier type car seat that comes out of the car or the fixed 360 type.

Initially thought we would prefer the fixed 360 type, lots of which are advertised as suitable from birth, but I've been reading reviews for this type of seat and some say the support isn't great for newborns and they are better in the carrier type? Can anyone advise, or suggest a 360 type that they have used from birth without any problems? Thanks 😊

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Bitzee · 13/08/2025 11:00

I quite liked the flexibility of the infant carrier. Because it’s light and portable it’s so much better for travelling, taxis, taking on holiday, transferring between cars, you can keep baby in it if you’re running a quick errand etc. Then when outgrown around 15 months I’d get a really good rear facing seat to take us to DC turning 4. Then finally a high backed booster until they outgrow car seats altogether.

bitterexwife · 13/08/2025 11:05

All three of mine were in a Joie 360 signature fixed car seat from birth. I never feel I missed them not being in a carrier. I remember my niece was in a carrier and I could barely pick her up in it after a few months as so heavy.
used to transfer sleeping or awake newborn to flat pram/indoors/sling without trouble.
My cousins now have my old Joie 360’s and appear happy with them.

Marblerun18 · 13/08/2025 11:08

I used a Joie ispin 360 with a newborn and he's still in it now at 2.5 years old. I only found out later that apparently it's not recommended for newborns but mine was premature weighing 6lb when we took him home and he seemed to fit in it fine! And actually the first few weeks, even months, we didn't do many journeys in the car so depends on how often you think you will be using it.
Never had a separate infant carrier as i didn't like the idea of having to take it in and out of the car. Much preferred keeping the car seat in the car all the time and just carrying the baby or putting in a sling/pram when out and about.

SquigglePigs · 13/08/2025 13:40

We had a 360. DD seemed fine in it. I could always transfer her asleep so that was never an issue.

I was never convinced by a carrier type as they're not meant to be in car seats for long when they're tiny so you'd have to take them out of it anyway.

BertieBotts · 13/08/2025 14:35

Joie 360 Spin (or i-Spin 360) / Graco Turn2me is probably the best budget one, but it will only fit well if your car doesn't have a strong slope on the back seats. You also need to be fairly confident in fitting babies into it in order to get a good fit, and you are unlikely to get a good fit for a smaller baby under ~50cm (even though they are approved from 40cm).

They have a newer one out now called the i-Pivot which I haven't seen in person, so not sure if it's the same in terms of newborn suitability - I think the inserts might be different.

If you can spend a bit more but still want the spin, Besafe izi Turn B (forward and backward facing) or Besafe izi Twist B (rear facing only; Swedish plus tested) are the nicest spin seats for newborns up to 105cm (approx age 4.5) IMO. This seat is a bit of a beast in terms of weight, but it's incredibly solid and well designed and it can counteract any slope in your vehicle seats. It has to be the "B" version to come with the newborn insert.

I'm not up to date on the current Britax or Cybex seats of this type - they might be worth looking at in comparison to the Joie or Besafe (both of which are stocked by John Lewis among other stores). If you want to assess newborn suitability, see if you can find or borrow a soft-bodied doll or teddy where its body fits into a newborn sized vest, and take this to the shop and ask the staff if you can try it in different seats. They might also have a demo "baby" you can use, although these are often weighted at around 6kg which is roughly the size of a 3 month old. You're looking that you can bring the doll's bottom down to the crotch strap (or wherever it sits on the newborn insert, as some "boost" them up instead) and the shoulder straps are still nice and snug on the shoulders, and also that it's physically possible to tighten the straps around such a small "baby". With some combination seats, the shoulder straps are floating an inch or so higher than the shoulders, which is no good, or you can't fully tighten the straps because the pads which are usually needed for safety are so long that it prevents you from tightening them further.

The other thing to check is the angle that each seat sits at (bearing in mind that this may well depend on your car) and whether the design of the inserts creates a flat line for the baby's head, neck and spine (good) or whether the head is either forced forward or tipped right back - neither of those are good.

It also tends to be good if the newborn or infant insert has bolsters or padding at the sides to help cradle their body while they are still small. And then some seats (e.g. Maxi Cosi Mica) have an issue in that the insert is very good for newborns, but it is very chunky and comes completely out as one piece, so once the baby gets to about 3-4 months and the insert needs to come out, they are totally lost in this huge roomy seat which is a pain. I know that Britax sell a "comfort insert" which is useful for this in between phase. For some fixed seats which are suitable from birth, the insert is a newborn insert which means it is used until roughly 3-4 months, but sometimes it's an infant insert designed to mimic the angle and "contained-ness" of an infant carrier, so should be used up to about 9-12 months. You can check by downloading the manual of the seat in question if it does not say on the insert itself.

Another option is to look at seats which last a bit longer. Axkid One (whichever number but must be "+" version for newborn insert) lasts up to 23kg/125cm which is about age 6. Again Swedish plus tested, and one of the most practical ERF seats on the market due to the rails letting you slide the seat back and forward to adjust between child leg room and front seat room.

Avionaut Sky or Besafe Stretch B are two belt fitted options up to 125cm, cheaper than the Axkid.

Or Avionaut Stardust is supposed to be good as well, that one is pricey, but manages to combine the spin option with an ERF mode up to 125cm and then a high back booster mode as well. I am not sure what to make of this one, because usually I'd say to avoid the "all stages" seats but this does seem to have some pretty good credentials and the newborn fit looks very good.

  • Is it important to have a "perfect" fit for a newborn? Arguably no; many infant carrier type seats don't give a perfect fit for tiny newborns. The smallest crash test dummy is modelled on a 6 week old baby, and they grow and uncurl a lot in 6 weeks. If you don't expect to spend very much time in the car in the first few weeks, and journeys are liimited to under 30 minutes anyway, then it doesn't make a huge amount of sense to obsessively optimise for this period.
One more thing to consider - some of these seats have two versions, where the version with the newborn insert typically costs around £100 more than the version without newborn insert, which can usually be used from around 4-6 months, when baby is comfortably sitting with support. (Some models are more for use from 9+ months like the older Axkid Minikid).

So you could, as an alternative, purchase a basic infant carrier for less than £100 to use for this period and then this gives you a much wider choice of fixed seats to move into later. For this price you wouldn't usually get pram compatibility or a base, but you can fit these seats using seatbelt. These are the models I'd look at:

Joie i-Juva
Graco Snuglite i-size
Hauck Comfort fix (does come with isofix base)
Britax Baby-safe core (this does go on the most popular universal pram adapters)
Cosatto Acorn 2 in the clearance fabrics (pram compatible)
Maxi Cosi Cabriofix i-size (pram compatible)

Sunseeker83 · 13/08/2025 14:57

I’m going to go against the grain here. An infant capsule was invaluable for me. But in saying that I had a toddler whose schedule (nursery drop off, pick up) we needed to work around. Being able to let the baby nap and move the car seat with the sleeping baby in it was essential. A fixed car seat just wouldn’t have worked.

Louiestopit · 13/08/2025 15:23

I had fixed car seats with my last two babies. They were much better.

But I never had the sort of pushchair that you could clip a car seat onto, so taking a seat in and out would have been a bit pointless anyway. We had the Joie one that was birth - 7 years.

FamilyAreEverything · 13/08/2025 21:26

As a mum of a December born child, the infant capsule was invaluable for quick and easy in and out of the car in awful weather (we had snow and sub-zero temperatures for more days than I care to remember for the first 3 months).

If I had another baby I’d go for an Avionaut Pixel Pro which provides a super safe fit for even the tiniest of babies (mine was less than 5lb when discharged from hospital), or the Avionaut Cosmo / Cosmo Smart if on a budget. Really light too so easier to carry as baby grows. Fits on most prams with the universal adaptors, although you need to limit time in the infant capsule, especially in the first few months, as baby should ideally be able to lie flat as much as possible.

Other than that @BertieBottshas given some great advice above.

PlantsAndSpaniels · 14/08/2025 13:59

We had a maxi cosy infant carrier and had to upgrade after a crash after a few months and went for a avionaut sky. It's beautiful and still using it 3 years later. I didn't miss having an infant carrier as by this point it was so heavy to lift with baby in and never went in other people's cars.

Main things to note.. how close to home do you park? If you have to walk a distance, infant carrier is might be easier as you can pop it on your pram base (although baby should only be in carrier for 30minutes or so at a time). Space in house to store it when not in use, especially if you have pets that might sleep in it.
Also note that some like the maxi cosy have height limit of 75cm. My little one would've outgrown hers at around 10 months so beware if you think you may have a tall baby

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