Talk to me about car seats

[DisneyGirl2387]

My LO is 11 months old and I'm thinking ahead to the next car seat. Ideally I'd like to keep him rear facing as long as possible. I would love some help with recomendations and tips! Currently we have 2 isofix bases and 1 baby car seat carrier. When I go to work My husband drops my LO off (at my mums) and leaves the car seat there and then when I pick up I put him in the carseat and clip it in my car to bring him home. So when we have a new car seat how easy are they to move in and out of cars? Would we need two? Also my mum would probably want a car seat so three car seats? Are we best to invest in 25kg car seats that last? It all seems so expensive. What do you all do? Suggest? FTM here and I've found all of this quite overwhelming. Also, how do you weigh your babies to get an accurate reading? Just on the scales at home? Sorry for all of the questions but I'm floundering here and looking to you all for any help
Thank you x

25kg seats are definitely the best bet but they are expensive and most require tethers to attach. There is one 23kg isofix rear facing seat the axkid ONE but it comes with a hefty £600 price tag! Once you're used to the installation the tether take seconds longer than isofix to attach. Your best bet would be an axkid move or minikid, or a britax max way or max way plus. These all tend to go on offer around the holidays and black Friday etc so if you can hang on you'd get a better deal.

If you're on Facebook have a look at car seat advice UK, they have some great info and recommendations.

If little one is lower centiles you could get away with an 18kg seat in which case the prices are a lot more purse friendly and something like the Joie tilt is only around £70. I would say the fitting on the 25kg seats makes it so much easier to get the baby in because the belt is almost tucked away rather than wrapped round the seat but once you get used to it both ways are fine.

And to add although the ONE is quite expensive, if you're looking at buying 3 seats it may be more cost effective to just splurge on that one and continue transferring it between the cars. Or buy a tilt for your mum to give you more time to save for a second seat for her and just move the other seat between yours and your partner's cars. The mini kid also has auto tightening tethers which speeds up the process. With the 25kg seats baby needs to be approximately 35cms from bum to shoulder while sat on the floor to get the right fit with the straps but at 10 months mine fitted perfectly so you should be fine.

And to weigh baby at home, step on scales holding baby then on them without baby and difference gives you a good estimate of their weight.

@BeHappyAndSmile thank you so much for replying. Some super advice here! I will read and digest it all properly x

@DisneyGirl2387 no problem! There's a lot to take in but you'll have a little while left in the infant seat yet so plenty of time to have a look about and find what works best for your family. Sorry if I bombarded you with information, I could talk about car seats for hours (ask my partner 😂) but happy to help if you have any questions

I don’t drive but we have the joie tilt for day trips with grandparents etc. It’s easy enough to install in the car and rear or forward facing up to 4 years old.
The price tag doesn’t sting either.

Looking at getting maxi-cosi mica for my 9MO DD. She is on the heavier side at around 11-12kg. This one is able to spin and recline. £299.

Oh also I get the whole nursery pick up.

We plan on getting the one "proper" one - as in doesnt clip in and out for my car as I will do majority of driving and picking up. But will get one that is a bit cheaper so have a 2nd spare for grandparents & second car.

Once they get to that age the seats become bigger and cumbersome and obviously baby is heavier so you don't want to be clipping in and out as with the first baby car seat.

@Tee20x

Looking at getting maxi-cosi mica for my 9MO DD. She is on the heavier side at around 11-12kg. This one is able to spin and recline. £299.

Just to warn you if your little one is on the higher centiles the mica only goes to 18kg regardless of height, so although it's i size if they reach the weight limit before the height it's still classed as outgrown

@BeHappyAndSmile ugh thanks for the heads up. I suppose it's back to the drawing board for me too :(

I had looked at the joie car seats but they're not compatible with my car apparently! So then started looking at the maxi-cosi

It really is a minefield. I'm so thankful of forums like this as practical advice is really helpful. Especially as I'm a FTM, pandemic pregnancy and baby. I've only got one mummy friend and she has got her 1 year old in a £40 forward facing car seat from Halfords! (I have forwarded her the recommendations in a kind/not prying/FYI way).

There are loads of excellent rear facing isofix chairs that go to 18kg (about 4y) but very few isofix beyond that - possibly because isofix is rated to a combined weight of 33kg. Since the isofix bases / chairs are so heavy, they reach the limit at a younger age.

We had a Jané Gravity until 4, then changed to a high back booster (forward facing). I think I might have preferred rear facing for longer, ideally, but I don’t think there were any isofix ones available then, and decided the isofix was more important at a younger age.

Really liked the Gravity - it spins and is quite high up, so they get a good view even though rear facing. Their customer service is also absolutely fantastic.

We spent a small fortune on car seats - like you, I’m pretty anxious - but if you hope to have more kids, they will get years of use, so the price per use isn’t that bad!

[quote Tee20x]@BeHappyAndSmile ugh thanks for the heads up. I suppose it's back to the drawing board for me too :(

I had looked at the joie car seats but they're not compatible with my car apparently! So then started looking at the maxi-cosi [/quote]
No problem! I made that mistake thinking "oh it'll do till 4 that's great" and then found out about the weight limit 🤦‍♀️. You could try axkid and britax although britax have a stricter fit list. The axkid move is on offer at the moment for £195 and although it doesn't spin it has low sides so it's really easy to get them in and out ☺️

@BeHappyAndSmile same as me! You hear the age 4 and think "oh that's ages away car seat will last ages woohoo!"

I'll have a look at the car seats you've mentioned - funnily enough I've had a quick search for the britax one already & it's only about £30 more than the one I was going to get!

Will do some more research.

Thanks again for saving me a decent chunk of money & thanks @DisneyGirl2387 for the thread.