Car seats!

[UniqueMeta]

Looking at baby zen yo-yo as it fits in my mini and has good reviews. Can I buy it with just the car seat and forward facing? Or do I need the full package with the newborn attachment so they can lay flat? Not sure I can afford the latter so may need to consider my options...

We planned our car seats and bases around our pram for our DTs. Biiiiiig mistake!!! Sure the car seats attach to the pram, but it’s so bloody wide it doesn’t actually fit through any doorways or shops, and we found out later when we were £800 down that they shouldn’t be in car seats for too long.

I’d recommend buy the best car seat and isofix base you can afford new and that will work with your car, and get a pram with a carrycot secondhand. We got ours off of eBay, was a third of the price New, and was in fab condition, and had loads of extras that I’ve never used.

If you go to an expectant parent event at Mothercare they give you 10% off, and will let you try out the car seats/Prams fitting in the car. I never felt under pressure to buy anything, and their advice is great.

I did loads of research into this and knew we’d be doing several long journeys and wanted a lie flat car seat that would attach to the pushchair base.

The only thing I found that did what I wanted was the Jané Matrix, which is a lie flat car seat that clicks onto the pushchair base so you can use it as a pram. You can also get a mattress to use it as a Moses basket when travelling. It’s segmented and transforms into an upright car seat - my 13 month is still in it and will be for a while.

You can get a range of different pushchair chassis to suit different terrains etc.

It’s been brilliant for me but the Matrix is heavy. I didn’t bother with the isofix but sort of wish I had.

If your buying your travel system in a shop they should be able to keep you right on what’s safe. When I was ordering mine they told me for the first 6 weeks baby could only be in car seat for 30 mins at a time

Definitely pop into Mothercare, they're advice is really helpful and will help you figure out what you need. They'll let you try the prams in the car to see if it will fit.

You don't need to buy from them (I bought from a Baby Show in the end).

I think it’s best to trust the people in the shops. Yes, they’re trying to sell you things. But if you tell them your budget and needs they will see you right.

The “only 45 mins in a car seat” thing isn’t exactly evidence-based. If your drive home from hospital is an hour then I wouldn’t have a 30 min stopover just for the sake of it. If you’re worried about babies safety on that journey you could just sit in the back seat with them.

@UniqueMeta we are looking at buying the Cybex Cloud Q car seat as it can be laid flat - not sure if it would be compatible with the pushchair you are looking at.

We're also looking at systems that will fit in our Mini Cooper

Could you buy the newborn cocoon on eBay or Facebook? I have the babyzem yoyo. It's fab.
I started using it firwards from 3 months.

Depending on how often you go out. You could probably get away with just keeping baby in the carseat it it's a short trip round the shops/use a sling for the first few months.
Then once they get head support you can put them in the foreward facing yoyo. It lays fairly flat anyway