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Original poster

infant carriers v newborn-4yrs car seats

18 replies

nh101andhertwinbeans · 10/12/2007 15:53

I have seen car seats that you can use from newborn to 4 years old. Obviously this seems to me to be much more economical than buying infant carriers that last till 9-12mths and then buying another car seat for toddler age.

But obviously these 0-4yrs seats stay in the car - you can't carry the baby into the house in the seat (eg if they are sleeping). Also, are they as safe?

I like the idea of having seats that don't move out of the car cos then I know they are always correctly fitted. If i was to have infact carriers I'd want ISOFIX which is another £100 (£200 for me with twins) as well as £100 each for the seats as well as £150-ish each for the toddler seats.

Infant carriers plus ISOFIX plus toddler seats = £700
newborn-4yrs seats = £300.

So is being able to carry the baby into the house while asleep that important? Is it worth £400? I don't think I'll be going out in the car much anyway as I live in a nice little village with everything close by. I'll only be taking them on longer journeys of an hour or so to my mums etc.

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TheBlonde · 10/12/2007 16:01

Assuming you are in the UK the combo seats (0-4 yrs) don't come as isofix

Infant carriers might be more convenient as you will have 2 to manage to get in and out of the car

Original poster

nh101andhertwinbeans · 10/12/2007 16:06

Thanks Theblonde - I realise the 0-4yrs don't come as ISOFIX, they don't need to cos they are secured into the car at all times. It's the infant carriers that I would want as ISOFIX (if I was to have them).

Out and about I would transfer the babies from their seats straight into the pram, and at home I'd just take one at a time into the house. Obviously it is not quite as convenient as carrying them in their car seats but is it worth £400 just for that?

Does anyone have 0-4yrs car seats? I am keen to save money especially as I am having twins but obviously I realise sometimes the money just has to be spent.

OP posts:

Haylstones · 10/12/2007 16:11

If you shop around I'm sure you can buy them for much cheaper than that. FWIW, I found the infant carrier essential for carrying in and out of the car with bags, putting in supermarket trollies without waking them up and if you go out somewhere when it's nap time you can rock them in it. We have one of each but never used the 0-4 at the newborn stage- waited until a year and fwiw the 0-4 wouldn't fit rear facing in our car anyway. I'm 29 weeks and planning on using the infant carrier again for as long as possible. Infant carriers always seem to be really snug and cosy and even though mine isn't Isofix it was always really secure and I was confident it was fitted correctly and I am MRs Control Freak (you can get it checked btw)

crokky · 10/12/2007 16:12

Agree with TheBlonde - haven't seen the 0-4 yr ones in ISOFIX.

I have a toddler and a baby on the way. My toddler has a britax isofix duo plus (forward facing group 1, 9mths-4yrs). I have decided to get an infant carrier for the baby on the way - but not an isofix one. All the infant carriers that come with isofix have a leg that goes on the floor of the car. My group 1 britax isofix fits firmly with just the isofixings behind the seat. The ones with the legs can be a hassle and take up valuable room in the car - ie the footwell by the baby seat. Infant carriers are very very useful for young babies as the babies will often be sleeping and it is much easier to move them (newborns are quite flimsy to hold if I remember, needing head support etc!). I would get a belted infant carrier like maxi cosi or bebe confort creatis - both are about £95 I think. Then I would get isofixed toddler seats.

crokky · 10/12/2007 16:18

Also, babygear, whether it is a carseat, buggy or whatever, sometimes you get on with it, sometimes you don't. It really is worth reading the mumsnet reviews and asking online for recommendations. If you do get gear you don't get on with, keep it in good condition and stick it on eBay, whilst it is still current. I had a nightmare with my infant carrier (M&P primo viaggio) and I struggled on with it for ages - I thought all infant carriers were the same, but they are quite different and may suit you depending on requirements etc.

Other option, which may be useful to you, don't know what make - you can get a chassis that you can attach 2 infant carriers to - this would help you transport your twins quite easily for short amounts of time.

TheBlonde · 10/12/2007 16:18

I think the combo seats are still judged not as safe as the isofix ones

I guess isofix has 2 advantages - they are supposed to be easier to fit correctly and you are not relying on the car seat belt

We have a 0-4 years combo seat similar to the Britax SI but it's from the US so it is isofix

It might be worth asking in multiples about this too

Original poster

nh101andhertwinbeans · 10/12/2007 16:30

Crokky - what was it about the M&P infant carrier you didn't like?

Theblonde - did you use your 0-4 seat from birth? how was it? Did you find it a pain not to be able to carry the baby into the house in it?

OP posts:

crokky · 10/12/2007 17:04

It was way too upright for a newborn baby. My LO was born at 37 weeks because I had complications. As he was born a bit early, he was a bit skinny and it took him longer than usual to learn to support his own head. The seat is so upright that the baby's head flops forward onto his chest. IMO the seat was not fit for purpose. I had it fitted at M&P before LO was born and they said it fitted my car. So that wasn't the prob!

Other reviewers agreed, see mumsnet reviews here:

www.mumsnet.com/Reviews/CarSeatsFromBirth/10/?ts=1197306061695

castille · 10/12/2007 17:09

Was talking about this with a friend recently - she has one that she started using when her LO was about 5 months, but now that he is 16mo she's finding that it doesn't recline at all/enough (can't remember which) so he isn't very comfortable sleeping in it. Which is the same as saying it's too upright for a newborn, I suppose

Original poster

nh101andhertwinbeans · 10/12/2007 17:15

Hi Castille - is that a 0-4 seat you're talking about?

OP posts:

CharlieAndLolasMummy · 10/12/2007 17:22

I would personally go for the safest car seats I could, and this would be, for me, the ISOFIX at each stage.

Also, car seats do improve quite a lot over the years. We got ds, who is 4, the safest one we could when he was born. Now it is considered pretty crappy by WHICH. But at the time it was the best there was. SO I feel quite happy about replacing car seats at regular intervals.

Thats just my opinion, and I do worry a lot about car safety (I have had several friends who have died in car crashes -a car crash is far from being an abstract possibility for me, its something that I know can happen, even to the world's safest driver ). That said, you are buying for two kids and if you can't afford 2 x isofix, you can't. Do check out the online places though-I got dd's first seat at kiddicare for 1/2 the price because it was last season's colour!

TheBlonde · 10/12/2007 17:29

We actually used an infant carrier up until about a month ago for various reasons but I would happily use the combi from birth

Original poster

nh101andhertwinbeans · 10/12/2007 17:59

Theblonde - so not being able to carry the baby about in the car seat wouldn't have bothered you? And do you feel it would give enough support to a newborn (not too upright?)

My multiples mums are backing the Jane Powertwin with carseats that attach to the chassis so maybe I will just go with that!

OP posts:

TheBlonde · 10/12/2007 18:10

The seat reclines so would be okay for a newborn
It all depends on your lifestyle - we drive once a month so I am on foot

trixymalixmasy · 10/12/2007 20:53

nh101,

I loved having an infant carrier that could clip in and out of my pram. It is just such less hassle if you are just nipping into a shop or they are asleep, obviously if I was going for longer walks I would put my LO into the pram.

It was also great for going shopping in the supermarket with one of thos trolleys you can sit them on as it would be impossible to do a big shop with a pram.

I also found them good for sitting the baby in if you were somewhere where you couldn't lie them down on the floor i.e. after swimming when I was getting changed or at other peoples houses.

In fact I would have said it would maybe be even more essential if you have twins.

castille · 10/12/2007 21:08

nh101 - yes, sorry, it's a 0-4 years. It does recline, but not enough, she says, for comfort when asleep.

Agree with others that a carrier is an extra set of hands, particularly before they can sit up unaided.

Gemy · 10/12/2007 21:28

We had the infact carrier first but felt it was just too squashed for DD once she was coming up to 4 months. We bought the Britax First class 0-4 which does recline and has a newborn insert for head support. DD looked instantly more comfortable in this and then, it was so easy just to whip out the newborn insert and change it around to front-facing.

Never bothered me not being able to remove baby + baby carrier. Plus the M&P baby carrier we had was bloody heavy! In my opinion, if you had a twin in each one over your arms, it would be very hard work carrying them even short distances!

We now have the Britax one ready for this new baby with the newborn insert back in etc, and have since purchased a maxi-cosi XP Priory for DD1 (which she really likes) both of these are not isofix but we are happy with that.

TanE · 10/12/2007 21:38

Hi, I have both types of car seats (infant carrier and 0-4 seat). Infant carrier far easier to remove from car. 0-4 seat is rear facing and sits very high in car so not much head room for you to duck into car and get baby out with blankets etc. Best for when they go forward facing really, even with head huggers etc.

Try calling your local council road safety department, here (in Essex) we have a try before you buy scheme which you take your car to and they have carseats to show you which is best and safest for your baby. this is the local number 01245 437234 they may know of a similar scheme in your area?

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