Please help me find a car seat!!

[SleepForTheWeek]

I have 2 DDs, 3 and 6 months

DD1 is currently in a Britax Dualfix which does up to age 4. She still fits in it fine and it's been a good seat.

DD2 is in the mamas and papas first size car seat which does up to 13kg (I think). DD1 also used this car seat up until 1yo.

However, DD2 really hates the car seat and always looks quite uncomfortable in it. She's a happy baby but not when she's in there. I live a 5 hour car journey away from family and we often visit, making the journey very stressful.

So, I intend to move DD2 into the Britax Dualfix and get DD1 the next size up - but finding the right car seat for DD1 is proving difficult.

The things it must have are:
Isofix
5 point harness
Recline

As I say, we often make long journeys and the roads are terrible so safely is absolutely paramount.

The one that has caught my eye is the Britax Advansafix III - but it's fitted using a top tether and my car doesn't have one!!

Please - is there a car out there in the world that fits the bill??

You can't get isofix for a seat for 18kg plus. My understanding is that 25kg seats all use top tether if they're forward facing. The Britax two way elite or the Axkid minikid are always the most frequently recommended 25kg rear facing seats. I've got two minikids - love them!

The Advansafix is isofix and goes up to 25kg, but yes, they are few and far between.

I've just told Of DH we now need a new car 😂

How long do you think dd has in the Dualfix?

Could you just buy a second one?

Also is there a reason to rule out belted seats? The 2way elite is a great seat but isnt isofix. Has a good recline though and a tall shell.

I thought the advansafix 3 is only harnessed up to 18kg? We've got the v2 which does go up to 25kg, but I'm sure I read a convo in my MN bus about the v3 being changed (and not for the better).

If you can find a 2, it's a cracking seat. DS is a v heavy child and will be 18kg long before I trust him to wear a seatbelt.

I'll google, because I'm sure there must be an alternative - just not sure what!

The Bold uk.joiebaby.com/product/bold/ might be what you're looking for

DD is 7.7 and in an isofix high backed booster that goes up to 36kg, no top tether, so you can definitely get seats that meet some of your criteria - it's just getting one to meet all 3 together that narrows the field significantly!

If you want to harness much longer for the 3yo then you'll need a harnessing seat to Group 2 which is 25kg. This rules out isofix, because isofix only covers harnessed seats to 18kg.

So you have two options: A belt-fitted harness seat to 25kg, or a high backed booster where the child uses the adult seatbelt. Whether isofix or not is moot at this point (isofix just stops it moving around in the car.)

What about getting an ERF seat for the baby and leaving the toddler in their own seat for now? If you think it will still fit for a good while.

High backed boosters are not necessarily less safe than harnessed if the child won't try to get out. If you have good side impact protection they can be pretty good.

Extended rear facing car seats are the safest ones out there in my opinion.

YY ERF is safest. But talking forward facing, there's not much difference once the child fits a booster correctly. Some even prefer HBBs because it's less of a strain on the neck than a fixed harness.

If you don't mind forward facing then I think Joe Bold fits your bill.

What weight is dd1?

DD1,is around 15kg, maybe a little more.

I did intend to ERF for longer, which is why I bought the Dualfix, by DD1 was such a sicky traveller and would just scream nursery the whole journey. It actually got to the point where I was so distracted and stressed by all the crying it was more unsafe (IMO) than turning her ff. She has been so much better since, but if DD2 isn't a bad traveller I will definitely rf for longer.

I had actually looked at the Joie Bold but then discounted it for some reason and now I can't think why? Does that not rely on a top tether? Is it isofix?

I'm definitely even more confused!!

We intend to get a new car later on in 2018 so might try hold off until then for the car seat as I can make sure the car has a top tether!!

I don't know why DD2 doesn't look comfortable in the seat, she's quite long and slim but always looks a little Awkward in it? And when she falls asleep her head kind of falls forward too which won't be comfortable

Just a thought, have you taken the foam wedge out of bottom of baby seat? Makes a lot more room and adjusts baby position. Our son is 91st centile and was fine in 1st baby seat to 16 months (got to 12.5kg and head to top of seat so decided to switch to the other erf seat we had from older sister- joie I anchor).
I would def want harness for the 3 year old for some time yet...

Yea I took that out several weeks ago - she definitely fits better.

Yes I'll definitely harness the 3yo - hopefully until she no longer needs a seat!

I had similar criteria - thought I wanted a non isofix seat which has a harness for nearly 4yo dd.
Because it’s nigh on impossible to find a harness on a seat for this age (or where I did find one t had a terrible which rating) I’ve chosen to rear face her in a besafe izi Plus. This gets a poor which rating but Purely based on difficulty to install - otherwise it’s super safe, crash tests well and Swedish (where they have much more comprehensive crash testing). It’s not isofix though

Which is terrible at reviewing car seats. A poor review for the Izi plus is madness!!

The joie bold uses is isofix, a top tether plus the seat belt. It has 3 recline positions and can be used with the 5 point harness until 25kg rather than 18kg. I'm going to buy one for my mums car, he is rear facing in an axkid mini kid in our car but due to logistics will need to forward face in hers. I wanted the 5 point harness until 18kg and also the isofix. When you convert a non isofix seat to the high backed booster you strap the seat belt around the child and the seat meaning that you have to ensure the seat is still belted even if the child isn't in the car to stop it becoming a missile in an accident. I didn't want my mum having to remember to do that each time he wasn't in the car with her.

That should say that I wanted the harness until 25kg! Ideally I would keep him rear facing in her car too but it's not possible.

Ah so the bold uses a top tether too.

So annoying my car doesn't have one!

I heard it was not that difficult to install top tether points if it's something you really want. Maybe look for a kit?

You could look at the axkid Rekid. It's isofix to 18kg then belt fitted to 25kg. Concord reverso has the highest isofix weight at 23kg but being I size it's outgrown at 105cm so most children will outgrow by height before weight. What us your reason for wanting isofix? It's not any safer than belt fitting and if it's for moving between cars I find my Rekid easier to belt fit than isofix (it literally takes two minutes after the first couple of times when the belt clips are very stiff).

Or if you are happy to stop harnessing at 18kg what about the Joie stages isofix?

Can I ask with the izi plus does it take up a lot of room in the car? What is the height limit on it?

I'm in a similar position (making the decision when upgrading from group 0+ whether to extended rear face or front face).

My DS is likely to get tall very quickly (both parents 90-100 centile) so not sure if a group 1,2 rear facing is worth it (and also whether both that and long legged parents can fit in the car!!!)

Cake I've heard the Izi plus is quite big. The Axkid Minikid and the Britax Two Way Elite are the longest lasting 25kg ERF seats and both are supposed to be more compact. I believe the Minikid has a longer shell so even better for taller kids.

Look in your red book and plot your child's height and weight at 4 years old and when they'll reach 25kg. I'm sure you'd find either of those two seats would be well worth the money (as well as being 5x safer than FF). Have a look at the Facebook group 'car seat advice for mummies and daddies'; you should be able to search to see what kinds of seats people use in your car.

Car seat advice for mummies and daddies on facebook is a great advice page. So is a-z of rear facing.