Car seat - baffled about how to fit it!

[emeraldgirl1]

I thought Halfords offered this service but apparently only if you buy a car seat from them and we already have one!
Local councils appear to sometimes offer a 'checking' service (to see if it's been fitted right) but not a service that actually fits them...
This may sound really ignorant, but are you meant to fit it yourself?? I thought only trained people could do it!
Am I wildly off track??!!

Which seat have you got?

You can fit it yourself, how do you think people move seats between
:)

Agg.

*between cars

MightyLois sorry, I explained myself very very badly... fitting the seat itself I am Ok with (have moved my nephew in and out of cars often enough) but I thought there was some main attachment bit that is actually fixed into your car and that you then just click different seats on top of... am I totally wrong?!

We have a MaxiCosi

just get the instruction book at and give it a go you will soon get used to it!! take it down to a kiddicare / mothercare if you worried you not fitted it right but they are all fairly easy once you get the hang of it

Most have instructions on them somewhere incase you move them rarely and forget. Why don't you look on line for the make and model and there maybe a fitting guide too.

but then how would you move car seat into another car?!? seriously instruction booklet out time!!

When i worked at toys r us we would show how to fit them making sure the right one fitted your seat however even if u brought one that day we wouldnt fit it in your car we would get u to fit it helping u ie telling u if where the straps would go but we couldnt phyicaly fit it for you maybe find out if a shop like that has it go in and ask them to show how its done we would get requests like this when people brought the seat but forgot how to fit it hope that helps

Cunfuddled thank you, you have both put my mind at ease actually as I am perfectly happy to have a good old go at fitting it ourselves, was just getting worried that there is some secret specialist fitting place I haven't found out about that would be the only option!! :)

Yes, I have a terrible tendency to ignore booklets at the best of times... I think I am in denial about needing to get all this stuff ready oh-so-soon...

You can get a base for the maxi cosi that stays in the car.
Car seat clips in and out.

You can use the maxi cosi without the seatbelt though, I actually felt that was more secure

FannyFifer - aha - it is the base thing that has been confusing me! I thought that had to be specially fitted by a man with a PhD in something engineering-based (joking about the PhD... )

make sure you are confident at fitting it before baby - our 2nd came a bit early we had a different car seat only realised didnt exactly know how to fit it when leaving the hospital'!! was a nightmare!!

Cunfuddled - yes, I am trying to get kind-of-organised as the idea of my (even more useless than me) DH trying to fit the thing in a panic the day I leave hospital is a scary one...

The ones that click into cars are isofix they have a base that's clipped into the car then the seat clicks on top of it. Otherwise there are standard seat belt seats ones. Both types are fit yourself jobs. Do you have a seat with a base or the strap ones?

Isofix base is easy to fit, just clips onto the isofix points in your car.

Sorry my first post was meant to read fit it with just the seatbelt.

That's only if you get an isofix base which are more £££.

You can easily fit both the car seat and the base yourself, but I think some people just prefer to feel safe that someone else has done it properly IYSWIM?

I am rubbish at stuff like that and have fitted both a car seat and base myself - easy.

It is isofix...

if you want to move between cars you will need two isofix bases unfortunately - they are heavy

Plus, if you're unsure YouTube the one you have, and it should have an instruction video. I've found YouTube to be amazing when I've been stuck with baby equipment!

Thanks MrsBradleyCooper (ps can I borrow your imaginary husband please?) :) it is good to hear that even a not-very-tech-savvy person can fit one!!

Sorry totally x-posted with you all

Depending on which Maxi-Cosi you've got, you either fix the base with the seatbelt, and then clip the seat in and out, or you use the base with the iso-fix, and then clip the seat in and out. You can also fix the seat with the seat belt and not use the base at all - eg you can take the seat on a flight abroad and then use it in a hire car.

I have no idea how iso-fix works as our car was too old. :(

Thanks v v much everyone. A panicky pregnant lady is much calmer now.

I have an isofix too, love it. YouTube and give it a go. They are really simple once you've seen it done