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Car seats

Confused about car seat regulations? Find baby car seat advice here. For Mumsnetter-approved essentials, sign up for Mumsnet Swears By emails here.

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Original poster

Car seat from birth- 4 years

29 replies

nearlymumofone · 05/07/2010 17:21

Hello,

Am 8 months pregnant and have been starting to look at car seats that are suitable from birth (rear facing) then change to forward facing from about 9 months. Therefore not needing to buy two different car seats.

They seem a bit too good to be true- I mean if you can buy one for the duration, why buy two? I was wondering if anyone had experience or knowledge of these and could advise me about them.

many thanks!

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tiredfeet · 05/07/2010 17:25

I have been wondering the same, so would love to hear from anyone who knows a bit about this

differentID · 05/07/2010 17:27

hi there.

They are available but they are big and bulky.
They can be fiddly to fit and will need checking every time you use it as a rear facing seat to make sure it is still secure enough.
They cannot be used as a carrier type, so you need to think about your lifestyle as in would you prefer to just clip the car seat out of the car and carry a sleeping baby inside or would you prefer to take baby out of the car?

The carrier types tend to get higher safety ratings in tests, because they only have to do one job. plus you can get isofix bases/ seat belt bases to secure the carrier type into.

differentID · 05/07/2010 17:28

if you have a 2 door car, then I never recommend this type as fitting them securely is a PITA, and accessing the baby to remove from the vehicle is not as easy either.

BertieBotts · 05/07/2010 17:33

Well basially, beause the carseats which only cover the lower age group are muh more portable - you can move the seat around with a sleeping baby in it, some of them lip onto a pushhair as well whih can be handy for quik trips.

Also the combination seats tend to be more upright than baby seats so aren't as suitable for newborns, they are safe, it's just that the infant arrier type seats are probably better for them. How important this is probably depends on how muh you drive.

The other thing is you may wish to buy a rear-facing Group 1 (9 months - 4 years) seat when your child outgrows the baby arrier, as rear faing is muh safer than forward faing - with a combination seat, you HAVE to turn them forward faing when they hit the weight limit (usually 13kg - whih to be fair is about 18 months. But with most infant arriers they will outgrow it in height/length before weight, whih means you have to hange to a bigger seat earlier)

The good thing about these seats is that you save money and also that they often allow hildren to be rearfacing for longer than the more standard combination of infant carrier + forward facing toddler seat. You should keep your baby rearfaing for as long as possible so this is a plus compared to two separate standard seats, but irrelevant if you wanted a group 1 rearfaing seat.

If you do deide to get a ombination seat I reommend the Britax First class.

tiredfeet · 05/07/2010 17:43

thanks Bertie , that's really helpful. I was considering either the Britax infant seat or the First class one, but Britax (understandably I guess) don't spell out the pros and cons of each on their website.
I think I will get the infant one as it can be used with an isofix base, whereas (please tell me if I'm wrong) the Britax First class looks like it is attached using the seatbelt rather than isofix?

castleonthehill · 05/07/2010 18:12

You may also want to look at the britax carrycot as you can carry a sleeping baby in it or clip it on a pushchair its not bad for the baby to stay in it and then you can move to a rear-facing carseat. There is a lady in my road that has a rear facing to 4 carseat in her two door car and she seam to get on fine putting her child in.

BertieBotts · 05/07/2010 19:21

Yes the first class is fitted with a seatbelt. XP has it in his car for when he has DS. I am surprised they don't have a little comparison on there - it's not like they are comparing between their own and someone else's seats, they would just be comparing the options between their own things.

I don't drive myself so we were not in the car much when DS was tiny, but I did find it useful to be able to carry him sleeping in the carseat. Not so much a problem if you are out and can transfer them to the buggy as the movement usually lulls them back to sleep, but when you have just got home it's nice that they stay asleep for a bit.

BertieBotts · 05/07/2010 19:26

If it sways you at all - the Britax Baby Safe with base gets a Which? Best Buy, but the Britax First Class does not. I believe this is because they say a seat that covers 2 age groups has to compromise on one or the other.

Another thing to check would be whether a different Britax or other Group 1 (toddler) carseat will fit in your car. The Britax First Class is often recommended for this age group if your car is awkward as it has two different belt routing options. So if you are likely to end up getting this one anyway you might as well use it from birth. If you have isofix in your car though it's unlikely you will have problems finding a seat to fit.

Another option - have you seen the Maxi Cosi FamilyFit system? The infant seat and the toddler seat both fit onto the same base, though I think that all of the kit is more expensive so you might not end up saving anything by doing that.

tiredfeet · 05/07/2010 20:01

thanks, this is really helpful. I don't know why its so hard to find this kind of information out on the shops websites. Need to get a which subscription maybe! I've checked and we definitely have isofix. I had been debating between britax and maxi-cosi but then a friend suggested the First Class and I got confused all over again!

nicm · 06/07/2010 09:55

hi, i have a birth to 18kgs car seat. it is an isofix seat called the KISS(klippan isofix safety system). i has a seat part that comes off the frame and can be carried like a baby carrier seat and then stays in the frame for older children iykwim? its a bit hard to explain! i plan to use it for no 2 due in december and keep ds in the two way elite. it is really easy to fit as it just clips in to the isofix points and then the supposrt leg comes down. it can be used with a seatbelt as well, this is a bit more fiddly but still seems secure. good luck with your decision-it took me months to choose ds second car seat lol!

annayoung · 10/07/2010 20:59

Has anyone tried the Besafe IZI Combi Isofix for a newborn?

We are starting to think about car seats etc for the twins we are expecting at end of November.

I like the idea of a safe seat that will last them from birth to 4 years, and the Besafe gets a mumsnet best buy for 0-4 year olds.

But the besafe.eu website suggests that the IZI Combi Isofix is only recommended for 6 months plus.

Confused!

yousaidit · 10/07/2010 21:13

Hi all, i haven't read the thread fully, so apologies if i repeat or am not much use, but we used the Britax First Class car seat for ds from birth and he is now using it forward facing and it has been fantastic, i felt much much much happier when he was in it at birth rather than the group 0 car seat as it was just bigger sturdier etc than my dc1's group 0 car seat. hth's

hellymelly · 10/07/2010 21:18

I echo the rearfacing advise.Keep rear facing for as long as possible,9m is far too young imo to be facing forward.Mine are in rear facing Britax seats made for the swedish market.They were v.expensive,but they are much safer.google rear facing.My dds are five and three btw.

UniS · 10/07/2010 21:30

We had a good experience with the Britax 1st class. boy grew out of it at 3.6 when he was too heavy, rather than too tall.

Its is a bit bulky , but if its staying in one car that not really an issue. I didn't find it difficult to strap in when it needed to be re done. The whole lot was disassemble-able ( with care and attention) for washing after a major puke incident. The alternative seat belt routing was usefull to avoid buckle crunch in some cars.

As someone who only used the car for long ish journeys i didn't need/ want to be able to carry baby in seat.

thisisyesterday · 10/07/2010 21:37

annayoung, we have a besafe izi combi and although it it technically approved for use from newborn the manufacturers do recommend you wait until your child is older!
in our car, because the seat slopes slightly it is VERY upright, even in its most reclined position.

i def would not use it for a newborn

nicm · 10/07/2010 22:24

annayoung the KISS is from birth to 4 and is rf, like the besafe. i wanted the besafe but ended up with the kiss as it was smaller and i had to fit 3 in the back! the besafe is approved from birth but not recommended until 6 months?!

www.incarsafetycentre.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/30/products_id/54?osCsid=jl54hnimqrnujb9f c171qlvom7

it is hard to describe but the seat bit lifts out and onlt the headrest and frame are left in the car for small babies. i haven't used it in baby mode as only got it when ds was a toddler but plan to use it in december in baby mode!

thisisyesterday · 11/07/2010 12:37

nicm.... don't suppose you're interested in a double teutonia are you?

raindroprhyme · 11/07/2010 22:29

i used te besafe from 6kg as my first class got damaged in an accident. my ds was fine you can manipulate the foot rest so you can get a more reclined position. my ds was a big strong lad tho and was not lost in it.
this is yesterday did you ever try your besafe in the middle seat.

thisisyesterday · 11/07/2010 22:34

no, we can't use it in the middle as we have a "lump" there (it's a volvo v70) and the support leg doesn't straddle it completely.
lady at milton keynes did say that some cars it's ok to have it resting over the lump, but she'd rather we spoke to volvo and had them confirm it would be ok to do that before she sold it if we were going to use it in that position

Carseatcrazy · 11/07/2010 22:45

I'd echo nicm's comments. I have the KISS, which is also sold under the name Atko Graco Duologic II

It is so well thought through...

from newborn the seat part comes out, has it's own set of wheels on the bottom, and extendable handle like a suitcase, so you can pull it short distances. It also fits onto a graco pushchair, and it can be fitted on it's onw in the car, or on top of the iso fix base.

It will then keep your little one rearfacing until at least 3 or 4 (which is now accepted as 5 times safer than turning them forward facing at this age).

It can be belt fitted or isofix, so fits in pretty much any car, is very easy to fit....

....and best of all, is one of one 3 seats (the besafe ones being the others) to pass the extremely stringent swedish Plus safety test- so is a world leading in safety

I love mine I'm in Devon if anyone wants to test mine out in their car (I've also got a besafe belt fitted rearfacing seat too, if anyone wants to compare the two, before buying )

nicm · 11/07/2010 23:19

well described carseatcrazy! i have pregnancy brain lol!

thisisyesterday i might be but i have a golf and am not sure that it would fit in the boot! will have to go and see it in the shop. i was wondering if i took the parcel shelf off it might fit and put the carrycot in the front passenger seat? won't need to do it that often but will need to on an odd occasion! what do you think? also will i really need one? ds will be 2.7 yrs but it will be winter and i walk loads and don't fancy being stuck in the house!

thisisyesterday · 12/07/2010 11:19

hmm yes i think you might struggle to get it into a golf

you'll have to have a new car

annayoung · 12/07/2010 11:47

Rearfacing sounds good, but I am worried about carsickness. Hubby and I were both carsick as kids, and I still get queasy at 30-something, but maybe that's just Hubby's driving!

If kids are rear-facing until 4, do you get more "major puke incidents"?

thisisyesterday · 12/07/2010 11:51

nope. only ever had 2 puke incidents, and both were with FF ds1!

Carseatcrazy · 13/07/2010 16:44

me neither! I think because they're looking at the road behind them it is no different to looking at it in front - from the inner ear and balance point of view, either direction is the same - so def won't make it worse

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