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Pregnancy

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Original poster

Anyone have a baby and a Mini Cooper?

46 replies

batfish · 06/08/2015 06:37

I have a Mini Cooper hatchback and a I love it but I'm having a baby in October - we have always talked about exchanging it for something more sensible but I would love to keep it and also I've only had it a year so will have lost quite a bit of money on it. So does anyone have one and manages to fit in a baby seat and a pram/buggy? Apparently the front seat has isofix and can disconnect the passenger airbag and maybe I could lay down the back seats to make a large boot, crazy idea?!

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dannydyerismydad · 24/08/2015 08:19

I bought a Mini when I was pregnant (had to trade up from a Smart). It's no bother at all.

I had a Maxi Cosi isofix base and the Cabriofix car seat. We had the icandy cherry buggy. Both the chassis and the seat fitted in the boot.

It's also our only family car. You can make it work if you want to.

iamheathcliff · 24/08/2015 08:22

We did, although we had another car as well. Until DD was 2. It was fine, obvs you have to be organised and not have a car full of things you don't need. .

We had Britax seats in there no problem, I can't remember the model names.

Me624 · 24/08/2015 08:44

dannydyer my Mini was a trade up from a smart too! I still love the Smart, maybe one day after children I'll get another one again!

Original poster

batfish · 24/08/2015 10:44

Hmm we already have a pebble....will also investigate the car seat in the front situation as I would be so happy if I could keep the car!

OP posts:

TheDovefromabove56 · 24/08/2015 11:55

I am in exactly the same situation and having thought I could put the baby in the passenger seat (with the airbag switched off) have been convinced its only ok as a last resort. The other issue with a Mini is that it wouldn't do my back any favours, having to bend into the back seat. We looked at some cars over the weekend, like a Nissan Qashqai or an Audi but they just seems so dull and unacceptably 'grown up' compared to the Mini. Much more excited by the prospect of a Countryman!
Blimey - trying to research car seats has been an education! I had no idea that babies and even infants should be rear facing. I understand the reasons why now but think it is strange that you can't make eye contact with them if they are distressed. I would think a screaming baby would be distracting for driver and be more likely to result in an accident. Also, when did children start needing rally driver style car seats up to 7 or 8? and booster seats up to 12?
My Mum used to be a childminder and so we would always have a car full or kids. My brother, sister and I used to have to sit in the boot with the dog.
Off topic, sorry.

Mildpanic · 24/08/2015 12:53

I bought a Mini when my 2nd dc no longer needed a pushchair. I then had an unexpected 3rd DC. We bought the Quinny Zapp which fits in the boot without having to take wheels off etc. the Maxi Cosi car seat fits on the front seat, you can easily disable the air bag on the passenger side. This has worked until recently. Dc began to reach over and pull door handle and I struggled to manouvere a wriggly 20 month old into the car seat in the back. Just swapped to a bigger car and tbh wish I hadn't struggled so long. It would have been fine with 1 dc but with 3 I was left with no room to put any shopping in. It is fine when they at school as just me and youngest but struggled with school hols and all 3 in car.
I would recommend the Quinny as it worked well with the Mini.

lavendersun · 24/08/2015 14:11

A quinny with a mini - fab .

Have just checked our photos and we definitely had a Britax seat in the back of our mini, baby and then front facing.

Hufflepuffin · 24/08/2015 14:19

You may find you don't mind not being able to get the car seat easily in and out of the back seat, my baby never stayed asleep when we tried it so we just took him in and out and there's actually a lot of room in the back of a three door car while the front seat is forward.

Givemecoffeeplease · 25/08/2015 15:45

I've survived with a VW Up which is smaller than the Polo - admittedly it has a great boot, and it's been a squeeze, and we can't wait to upgrade when we escape the finance plan in 18 mo (by which time we will have another baby!) but it is do-able. Plus, at 6 months the baby can go into a Maclaren or similar which saves a ton of space.

Congrats btw!

NKfell · 25/08/2015 16:13

I had a Fiat 500 with 2 children and have only just changed with the arrival of my third.

So, I had it with my first then 4 years later my 2nd- so right up to a 6 yr old and a 2yr old and all their stuff could fit in fine.

I had/have an iCandy Apple. On long journeys (or when doing a large shop) I had split fold rear seats so would put baby in the front and boy in the back with the seat next to him down.

blodynmawr · 25/08/2015 19:29

Batfish I would sell the pram before the car! I never bothered with a pram in the car, just a Mothercare buggy that they could go in from birth. My sister in law kindly donated us a pram but it was such a krypton-factor-esque PITA to collapse and put up I never bothered taking it in the car. Just kept it permanently put up in the study so I could use for daytime naps or walks. We have had mini hatchbacks, clubmans and countrymans and the buggies fitted into all, but I think with the hatchback only the Quinny Zapp would actually fit without collapsing any seats. The new mini hatchback is based on a bigger chassis though, due to the 4-dr option, so its boot is probably bigger and can fit a greater variety of buggies than the 2006 version I had.

Cockbollocks · 25/08/2015 21:23

I had a Bugaboo Bee that fit in the boot of my mini. I also got baby DD and toddler DS in.

The nightmare was the three doors, kills the back. Also once the kids get old enough to poke and irritate each other that kills your mental state

WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant · 26/08/2015 00:07

For my ds, a few years ago... We got a great buggy. Mothercare own brand. Nice and padded. Laid flat for newborn. Umbrella fold, so long and thin.

It depends what you use the car and pram for?

Do you walk much? Car for you and bump? Or family trips?

Baby will be nearly as comfy in a flat buggy, with cosy toes and rain over. Not so good for off-road walking.

Apparently my quinny will take a car seat, but you don't want to leave baby in car seat all day.

WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant · 26/08/2015 00:15

We had the bugaboo for dd. nice pram, but heavy.

For the carseat, you can consider fixing it once, then just remove the baby each time? You won't know until you see what sort of sleeper baby is. If it doesn't mind being woken and moved, you might be ok.

Ds had to go in the front of my great big Mondeo. The belts in the back were too short for the car seat. It was much easier to deal with him too. Sometimes he would fall asleep holding my hand. Or I could hold his bottle. It was an automatic!

Crazyqueenofthecatladies · 26/08/2015 09:39

Got a mini here as well as a three and five yo. Luff it so much even its shite boot. City mini buggy fits fine, shopping goes on the front seat next to me and they have a maxi cosi and monza recaro seats in the back. Even managed camping trips with it.

ohthegoats · 26/08/2015 12:19

I have a Peugeot 107. It has 5 doors, but bugger all boot space. I've found that it's easy to get car seats in it, sometimes I had her in the front when she was rear facing, but now she's in the back and forward facing. I like that I can still reach her from the driver seat if I need to. I have a flat folding Baby Jogger City Mini that fits perfectly on its side in the boot. It's almost as if the boot was made for it in fact.

itsonlysubterfuge · 26/08/2015 12:44

We have a Hyundai i10 and don't have any problems.

We don't use a pram, but have fit PIL's pram in our boot, it was a tight fit.

Our car seat is the Britax First Class. DD is 3 and we have used it since she was born and has been great. It's very easy to install as well.

elk4baby · 27/08/2015 18:06

Pram: nothing beats a Babyzen YoYo for size and compact fold. And it's now suitable from birth. Absolutely brilliant little thing.

trufflehunterthebadger · 28/08/2015 00:41

Get a sling instead of a buggy, you don't need one. Dh did not go in a pushchair until she was 2. Learn to travel light - you really don't need to cart half your house round with you. Especially if you BF, you only need a nappy and a clean romper in the event of vomit, I used to walk into town, baby wrapped on my chest, a change of nappy and clothes rolled up in my handbag. I always felt a sense of smugness freedom watching other people struggle to get their gigantic, lorrylike pushchairs/dozens of bags through revolving doors

Me624 · 05/12/2015 22:50

Bumping this thread in case any other Mini Cooper owner mums to be are interested! I am now 27 weeks and we have just bought our iCandy Peach 3 which fits happily in the boot of my 2014 Mini Cooper without the need to pop the wheels off even. The carrycot for when the baby is newborn does not fit in the boot but that was always to be expected and it will go on the backseat. The more upright stroller part goes in fine though. Pics attached!

miamiaMo · 10/12/2015 15:00

I have FordKa, very comfy, no problem. DD sits in the back.

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