Non-Isofix Car Seat Advice

[Moonlighting]

Hi everyone, just looking for some advice about car seats from those in the know. I’m 31 weeks pregnant with baby number 1. Did my research and thought I’d get one of the convertible swivel type seats for convenience/longevity.

However we have a 3-door, 2007 Ford Fiesta which I took to Halfords today and turns out it doesn’t have the Isofix connectors! The guy at the shop basically said the swivel type is out without the ability to install an Isofix base.

So I think my options are either to get a belted, infant portable-type seat or a belted, rear-facing convertible-type seat. Based on practicalities I’m thinking the latter would be really challenging to strap baby into considering it’s a 3 door car and I’m better off with the former. This then opens a can of worms about whether we should go for one of these travel systems. (Although I’ve no idea the purpose of the 3rd attachment - the carry cot?!) Basically I’m in a complete tangle and haven’t got a clue. Anyone have experience and able to share their wisdom?

(I don’t know if I’m just Googling wrong but everything I search comes up with 90% Isofix recommendations which is not terribly helpful! Sadly a new car is not on the table…)

You'd have to double check your model but most cars you can buy the mounting kit and retrofit isofix mount to them fairly easily, may give you more options and be safer

Oooooh I did not know that, thanks for the steer will have a look into it!

We have an old landrover so have a set of seat belt fix car seats for that. I'd recommend any decent infant carry cot style car seat as all can be fitted with seat belt (like maxi Cosi pebble plus) and then we had a britax romer for rear facing when outgrown (they do the max way now which allows extended rear facing to 25kg), then a Joie bold which converts to a high back booster to last until they no longer need a car seat.

Have you checked whether the airbag in the front passenger seat can be switched off so you can use a good belted seat in the front?
Belting a car seat in the back of a three door car and getting a good fit will be difficult and getting a baby in and out, adjusting straps etc will be even worse.
I would try to explore changing the car for one with four doors.

We bought my mum a Joie Stages which stays in the car and is a belt install. It’s easy enough to use, just lift them over where the seatbelt wraps round. Has the longevity factor too and is very good value. So could be worth a look?

Also, I have a Maxi Cosi swivel seat in my car and it’s a total gimmick. We never use it. The baby is behind the driver and despite the fact that our car is pretty big, there still isn’t enough space to spin it when DH has been driving, which is fine, because it really isn’t difficult to a buckle a seat from side on. So you’re not missing anything IMO.

As for a travel system, so putting the seat on the pram frame, not sure I get it either. Tiny ones aren’t supposed to spend more than 45 minutes in the seat at once and once they can do longer, the combined weight of the seat plus baby makes it too heavy to easily move around like that.

Just seen you are also asking about travel systems. I was never convinced by them as a baby seat (the portable ones) should not really be used for too long as the upright position is not good for small babies.
So while the argument is that you can take the baby our of the car without waking them, in my experience (5 kids) a sleepy baby taken out of the car and into the pram is likely to fall asleep again as soon as the pram moves.
In terms of pram /carrycot it is up to you. If you are 31 weeks now and your baby is due in spring I would say not absolutely necessary as long as the pram lies completely flat and the seat is really well padded. If the baby was due in autumn I would recommend a carrycot to protect the baby better from bad weather.
I would look fo a pram that allows for the baby to face you for as long as possible and that has a seat that can be physically turned around. And I would go second hand for the pram and look for half decent suspension for the babies comfort.
Also think about lifestyle /do you go for long walks, shopping basket etc.
When my kids were small the best prams were made by a Swedish company called Emmaljunga - not the trendiest ones but very well designed for babies comfort with seats big enough for even a toddler in thick winter clothes to comfortably sleep in and a dream to push. I had the full size one and it did fir into the boot of a small old clip.
Also had smaller buggies but found them hard to push and unpractical. Also did not like that babies nose was at a similar level to exhaust fumes when out and about.
Hope that helps.

I wouldn’t bother with isofix it’s no safer and more expensive. If you can turn off the airbag you can use the front passenger seat.
Personally I’d go for a good infant carrier like the maxi cosi cabriofix isize - then after 6/9 months get a good 25kg rear facing tethered seat like the axkid minikid - no isofix needed. Once outgrown that around 5/6 get a good high backed booster which will last until 150cm.
“all stage” seats don’t really do all staged and perform badly in crash tests. Most also don’t fit newborns well - enough especially if small.
if you want something from birth then look at avionaut sky, lasts to 25kg and does fit most newborns - not isofix.
ps Halfords are crap, find a good independent near you, look on the axkid website for stockists.

Agree with the above - Halford a bit useless and the multi stage seats not very good.
If you are anywhere near the in car safety centre (if they still exist) - otherwise maxi cosi or if you can find it any of the Scandinavian ones (there used to be klippan)

There's a facebook group connected to the In Car Safety Centre - i think it's called Car Seat Safety Advice UK? Anyway, it's brilliant and gives loads of helpful advice.

We dont have a car and so need car seats that are not isofix so we can transfer between hire cars / taxi etc. Agree with pp above that an infant carrier is the best from birth so we went with Maxi Cosi Pebble Plus i think? It connected to our buggy (uppababy vista v2) - obviously you can't use it on the buggy for long periods (more than 30mins i think?) but for nipping to health appts in taxi etc, it was so convenient.

Then we upgraded to Joie Stages, which is seatbelt fitted when DD reached the height limit on the Maxi Cosi (I think maybe around 14 months?)

Someone above has recommended the Axkid. These look great but we found we couldn't use them as not all vehicles have the tether connector. So worth checking yours does.

Re travel systems, you need the carry cot because baby shouldn't be in the seat until they are 6months + usually. They need to be lying flat which the carry cot allows.

Thank you all so much for your input. It’s so helpful just getting my head around the vocabulary! Clearly have a bit more research to do but it sounds like we should start with a proper infant carrier.

With most infant carriers you can just strap them in with the seatbelt. You won't be able to use a base, but that should save you some money because the bases can be £100+ just on their own.

For the second stage I'd look at the Swedish type rear facing seats. They are nice and compact and some of the safest things you can get.

If you're going to belt fit your car seat I do recommend trying it out in a shop, many of them have a fake car seat with seatbelt there to try the seats in. Britax and maxi Cosi i seem to remember are really easy and smooth to fit with belt, some other brands are more fiddly.

In terms of pram compatibility, you have two types, some which only take the same brand car seat and some which take a multi brand adapter that will take maxi Cosi, Cybex, Joie or the newer Britax seats as well as a couple of other brands. But all of the infant seats are much the same except for things like how fiddly they are to fit.

The point of the carry cot is that babies can't be sat up when they are first born, they need to lie flat until their neck muscles get a bit stronger around 4-6 months. While you're in the car it's okay because it's a trade off they make for crash safety, but the car seat shouldn't be used on the pram for extended periods. If you have a small car, you will probably struggle to fit pram wheels and carry cot in the boot at the same time, so you can save money again by not bothering with the carry cot and instead looking for one where the seat lies totally flat and you can just put the baby on that from birth. I liked the Cybex, maxi Cosi and Joie ones for this.

You can also do second hand pram, new car seat if you choose one of the car seats that go onto the universal maxi Cosi adapters. The shop should be able to tell you this.

You can retrofit Isofix in a ford of that age most likely but make sure you get the proper ford part. There are generic Isofix sets on Amazon and eBay but they are to be avoided, they don't look like they meet the proper standard.