Car Seat Help

[MrsTurner3]

Hello 👋🏻

Currently deciding on car seat options as Ive just found out I'm pregnant with #2.

@teaandlotusbiscoff
@bertiebotts

Not sure if you are both still on here but if you are 🤞🏼 and anyone else who knows their car seats - help and advice needed!

DS1 had a Joie i-Gemm Group 0+ i-Size as a newborn and because he was a lockdown baby, apart from the journey home from hospital it hardly got used. The added bonus of having a car seat that clipped onto the pram or could be carried, heaved/dragged around didn't turn out to be useful for us as he was never wheeled round in the car seat. I was happy to transfer him to his pram or put him in the sling when getting out of the car.

We thought we were one and done so sold it and bought a Joie Baby i-Spin 360 i-Size instead. We absolutely love this seat and it's served us well.

Then we decided to try for #2 and DC2 is due in September. We were hoping that because DS1 will be 3.5 and he's tall, that he'd be ready for a high back by the time DC2 arrives and DC2 could go in the Spin from birth to save us a bit of money. But I've been reading some stories and reviews about how apparently the Joie Baby i-Spin 360 i-Size isn't as safe as the Spin Safe models because it's not swedish tested as it has the option to FF. My query is, if it's always kept rear facing, is it at the same safety level as the Spin Safe models or do I need to buy new seats for both of them to keep up with top safety? 🥴

Also any suggestions on the best high backs for DS1 when the time comes would be appreciated. I don't have the same amount of spare time to devote to research as I once did 🤣

Thanks all. Take care x

I believe the ispin and spin safe both tested about the same by ADAC, if using rear facing then would be very similar anyway. The normal non isize 360 tests worse than the isize though. Check out ADAC.
Also most car seat groups say 4.5 minimum for a high backed booster, and the joie seats don’t work well for newborns - more like 3-4 months before they are tall enough for them.

Thanks so much for your reply! DS1 will very likely have exceeded the max weight and height for his Joie spin before he is 4.5 and it says suitable from birth which is why we thought to put DC2 in there and move him to a high back - do you know what the alternative next step is before we get him a high back?

We’ve got an axkid minikid which is rear facing to 25kg and Swedish plus tested.
The Britax maxway plus is also 25kg and very popular and cheaper. Both of these have loads more legroom than the joie 360 we’ve got in grandparents car.
I’d get an infant carrier for baby, maxi cosi cabriofix isize is cheap and decent - then once that’s outgrown into the joie, once oldest is 5/6 move them into high backed booster and youngest one into the new 25kg seat.
have a look on the axkid website for independent car seat retailers near you - will give better advice than Halfords and the like.

Hello, I've only just seen this, sorry! I don't have tags turned on because I hate being tagged when I'm already on a thread, but wish I would get the ping when I'm not on one 🙄oh well.

So first of all - there is a very slight difference between the Joie Spin Safe and the i-Spin, they added an extra little bump on top of the headrest which presumably makes a difference or they would not have done it. However, the difference between the Spin Safe and the i-Spin used in rear facing mode is likely to be absolutely marginal. Really not worth buying a whole extra seat just for that. Keep the one you have got. Personally I think the i-Spin is fine from birth unless there is any reason that you're likely to have a very small baby.

As for your DS1, although he could legally go into a high backed booster at 3.5 a lot of people tend to feel that is quite young to use a high backed booster. Depending on his height and weight at the moment, he might not even be big enough for one - they have to be a minimum of 15kg, although crash data from America shows that closer to/ideally over 18kg is much better. (Difficult to get over in the UK due to our Group 1 seats ending there).

Luckily you have several options, so you could look at these:

• Extended rear facing seat up to 25kg for eldest such as Britax Max Way Plus or Axkid Minikid or Besafe Stretch, I would say these are the current favourites out there. This would fit him until he's about 6-7, or basically until you get totally fed up of rear facing and want to move him to a high backed booster, without needing to worry about any height/weight limits/younger sibling needing the seat. This is the safest option.
• Extended 25kg harness 123 type seat, such as Joie Bold or Cozy n Safe Excalibur. These seats use isofix and top tether so you'll need those fittings in your car. You can keep him in a 5 point harness until he gets to 25kg, or again just whenever you feel he's ready to move into a seatbelt. Then the seat becomes a high backed booster (unfortunately quite an average one).
• "Normal" isofix 123 type seat, (18kg or 105cm limit on harness) such as Britax Advansafix, Recaro Tian Elite, or Silver Cross Balance. If you don't NEED the 25kg capacity in the 5 point harness, then these can be good options to look at because there are more higher-quality, better rated versions available from trusted brands (particularly Britax and Recaro are worth looking at.) If you have the top tether fitting in your car, then the options with top tether are worth a look because they score better for safety. Some are i-size compliant which means you get some in-between weight limits like 20kg/21kg/22kg. This is really great if you have a child due to hit 18kg exactly on a cusp and you just need an extra 6-12 months. If you do not have top tether, there are some belt-only options like Britax Evolva. Do beware of cheaper, basic, 123 type seats as some of them are known to score quite poorly. But there are some really great seats in this category too which score and fit well both as harnessed and booster seats.

Or you could get an infant carrier for LO and keep DS1 in the spin until outgrown. If you do this, I would go for a higher capacity infant carrier like a Britax or Cybex or Joie - not Joie i-Snug and not Maxi Cosi - the old Cabriofix was huge but they have replaced it with a new model which is smaller. If you aim for a seat that LO could use for approx 18 months, then DS1 will be able to stretch the Joie out to capacity and save buying an extra seat. It's a bit of a gamble, though, and you can always hand whatever in-between seat down to DS2 later as well to avoid the same situation coming up again.

Thank you so much for your informative reply!!! Gives me some good options to have a think about and reassuring too to hear the one we have is safe enough!