* Advice Needed Please! * - Car Seats

[BlueMountains]

Apologies.... clueless first time Mum to be and I would really appreciate some advice re. car seats!

I have just been given a Maxi Cosi Pebble Plus car seat (by family who bought new) which I've read will be suitable from birthday to approx. 12 months. I was planning on buying the 2wayfix base as I have been told that they are more stable/safe than just using seat belts to attach. The next step then seems to be the Maxi Cosi 2wayPearl toddler seat which will last until approx. 4 years again using the 2wayfix base and then a "big boy" seat until old enough/tall enough.

However, looking on Mothercare there are seats such as the Joie Every Stage car seats which would be suitable from 0-12yrs and are a tiny fraction of the price of the Maxi Cosi options above.

So, my question is, what's the difference? I don't mind paying more for higher spec/more safety features etc. but I also don't want to pay a lot more for a negligible benefit!

Thank you in advance to anybody who responds :)

We looked into this a lot... were about to go for the exact same set up (madi cosy range) but have gone for the Joie spin 360 having summed everything up.

Main disadvantage of this is that the car seat doesn't come out like the maxi Cosi so if baby is asleep then may be woken up by moving them into pram/sling when getting out the car. Our friends recommend the Snuggle bundle for lifting them out the car seat and into pram because her babies didn't wake up with that (though every baby is different of course). Also advice is to reduce time in car seat as much as possible (apparently!) So will help us to do that! Does them until they're about 4 years, we love the spin function and isofix/rearward facing for longer (most important things for safety).

Sorry for long reply! There are pros and cons to all options!

As most size 0 car seats don't allow the baby to lie flat you are only suppose to leave them in for 2 hours maximum.

The joie spin 360 looks ideal and I'll look up that snuggle bundle. One question i have though is what happens when you come to 'take the baby home' from the hospital? I thought you had to have a car seat but if it's not a portable/carry one what are you supposed/allowed to do?!

The safest way for a newborn to travel is in an infant carrier. The pebble plus is a good seat. I’d use that, with or without the base (v easy to belt in and makes no difference safety wise. This then gives you time to see what centile your child will be following. This makes a huge difference to the seat you buy afterwards. They need to be in a (preferably rear facing) harnessed seat until at least the age of 4, and most seats only harness to 18kg, so if your child is above average weight they’ll need a 25kg harnessed seat. Things like the joie spin and every stage are great if you have a

We have the Joie stages, it’s been a fab car seat DD is 2.5 now. It’s probably won’t last until she is 4 as she is tall but at £150 we haven’t spent a fortune on 2 or 3 other car seats that she’d have grown out of super quickly.

The newborn insert makes it fine for babies until 6 months. Babies aren’t supposed to spend prolonged time in a car seat as the way they position them means that it can reduce oxygen levels over long periods. So I was never bothered about a seat we could remove. As a newborn she never woke up when we were getting her out and if she did she went back to sleep quickly when in the pram or carrier.

The only change I’d have made is to go for the 360 to make it easier to get in and out.

A car seat on a base is no safer than belted in.

The maxi Cosi next stage seats are good, but they are expensive and not worth the money imo. There's much better options out there.

Personally, I'd use the maxi Cosi you have been given (with or without a base, your choice), then once baby is 10-12 months old you'll have an idea of how tall and heavy your child will be and you'll be able to make a more informed decision about what the best next stage car seat is (as most go to 18kg, but if you have a heavier or taller child you'll need a 25kg seat).

Car seat advice UK Facebook group is a brilliant resource.

We got the Recaro zero.1 elite because it's the only one on the market that both has an infant carrier that lifts out but also swivels. It's nearly £500 so not cheap but it lasts til they are around 4 years old so saves you buying 2. That was my reasoning anyway!

We used the car seat that came with our travel system until DS was around 10 months and then switched to a Joie Every Stage, which I think was about £160. In theory it should last until DS is 12 and he can be rear facing until 3-4.

The car seat we had with our travel system was one we could attach to our buggy base so I could lift him into it to nip into the shop or just to wheel him into the house when he became really heavy!

Expecting DS2 in a few weeks and will do the same

We have the pebble (and a pearl in storage from older DC) and the base. TBH I found the base a pain to use with the pebble so we tend to strap the seat in.

Also I've been told the snuggle bundles compromise safety as nothing should go between the seat and dc as these do. You might want to read up further on these.

I have both the maxi cost pebble and a Joie Stages seat. We got a two way base for the pebble thinking we could use it for future care seats too.

Do not underestimate the benefits of being able to lift the baby carrier out of the car with a sleeping baby in it in the early days. For this reason I would always recommend an infant carrier with an isofix base for as long as this is something you will be doing.

If fitted correctly belted seats are no less safe than isofix but if you are regularly lifting the seat in and out with the baby in it isofix is much more convenient.

Once they are too heavy to lift in and out in the seat it doesn't really matter whether you go isofix or belted as the seat tends to stay put most of the time.

If you are planning more than one child you will probably end up at some point needing two seats at the same time any way. That's the situation we are in now, the baby will be using the pebble and base and the toddler is in the belted in Joie Stages.