2 in 1 vs 3 in 1 travel system - Advice please

[Loulou2202]

Hi all,

First time mum to be and looking for some advice on prams/ travel systems … there so much choice and I would be grateful for some opinions .

I was originally going to buy the Ickle Bubba Cosmo travel system for the ease of getting it all together from one place however I have since now been a little confused by the advice about baby’s , specially newborns and sleeping/ being in car seats too long and the need to get them out every so often .

If that is the case , although I don’t anticipate many long car journeys especially with a newborn I’m concerned about having to get the baby out every 30 mins or so anyway which kind of defeats the object of being able to attach the car seat to the pram and not disturb sleeping baby ( I think)

I am now thinking of getting the Cosmo pram still on its own and buying an all stage 360 car seat. It’s more expensive than the travel system but means only investing in the one car seat.

I don’t know many other mums and dads and I can’t see that anyone else mentions this as a concern so wise mumsnetters I overthinking / being precious or is this a legitimate thing to be considering?

I was adamant before pram shopping that I wanted a 3 in 1 travel system but after speaking to the lady in the shop, we decided to get a separate spin car seat rather than the removable one.

One of the reasons for this is as you said, baby is only supposed to be in the car seat for a limited amount of time so I saw little point in then getting a movable car seat and they also only tend to last until baby is 12-18 months until you will need to replace with a bigger carseat. Instead, the seat I have will last until baby is 4 years old.

For me personally, I can think of only 2 occasions when my baby was very young that I would have found a transportable car seat helpful and that was to go to medical appointments or weigh ins where I was waiting around with a wriggly baby, the rest of the time I happily used a carrier or the pram. Once baby can hold their own head up then it gets easier to hold them when you want to dash in and out of shops. I feel for me personally that I made the right decision but it depends on what your lifestyle is as to what will be right for you.

Before we were discharged from the hospital the midwife told us that the baby should only be in the car seat for 30 minutes when they are a newborn, then when they older for a maximum of 2 hours with regular breaks. She also said that it’s ok for baby to fall asleep in the car seat but should be taken out when you get to where you are going.

I bought my pram and car seat separately as sometimes some of the infant carriers that come with the travel system aren’t the most supportive, especially if the baby is early or a lower weight like my little girl. I have the Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro.

With fixed seats you also have to be careful, as some say they are suitable from birth but again don’t provide the best fit until they are older (around 4/6 months).

I’m not sure if you have Facebook but there are two groups on there that are helpful with providing advice, Car Seat Safety UK and the Extended Rear Facing (ERF) Car Seat Safety.

Some of the infant carriers that regularly get recommended are:

Avionaut Pixel Pro
Avionaut Cosmo
Joie I-level
Maxi Cosi Pebble Plus
Maxi Cosi Pebble Pro (not 360 version)
Britax Babysafe

They will also be able to help with recommending a fixed seat if that’s what you decide you would like instead. 🙂

All stage car seats are not very supportive on their own for newborns (despite what the advertising says) and ickle bubba infant carriers are also not great. I would buy the carrycot / pushchair combo and then if you are on a budget the Maxi Cosi Cabriofix is only around £100 and a great infant carrier option if you arent planning on using a car often. We then upgraded to a spin / next stage seat when DD was about 1yr.

The car seat groups on FB that pp has recommended are really good. Or you can ask MN to move this thread to the car seat board and there are some very knowledgeable posters on there.

We did the same and agree that there was only a couple of times we wished we had an infant carrier style seat.

We had separate for our 3 youngest tried the 3 in 1 for the 4th and hated it within days so got rid

Agree with a couple of points pps have made.
I specifically wanted a travel system where I could attach the car seat to the pram frame - I have never once done this and DC has now outgrown the infant carrier!
If you do go for a 3 in one, ickle bubba car seats tend to only have passed the very minimum safety testing required, there are much safer seats available so do your research.
Multi stage car seats rarely provide a good, safe fit for new borns so a more budget (but safe) infant carrier may still be worth investing in.

Our ds is now 6 months old. He came 5 weeks early and when we took him home in a Cosatto giggle system car seat it was pretty useless (mostly because our son was too small). He then hated the car seat for the first three months until a friend gave us their cybex Aton and then he was like a different baby. Suddenly he wasn’t crying in the car and would sleep or just be awake.

Also personally I found the seat belt method faffy to do each time compared to the isofix base.

We never attached the car seat onto the pushchair, we would transfer him to the carrycot. Then again we had a baby who would only cry in the car seat so it wasn’t really an option. Now we have a joie versatrax that can fold all in one which is nice.

Next on my list is a 360 car seat for when he is 1, however I would have got it at 3 months if we didn’t have the cybex car seat. That said, we regularly take the car seat in the house so it’s easier to transfer him while in a warm livingroom vs him stirring while outside.

I never got the point either. We had a system where the car seat could attach to the buggy frame and between two babies I only ever did it once.

Thanks so much everyone , lots of great advice on here and really helpful. I didn’t realise there was a specific car seat/ pram section I could have posted this on.

I mentioned the ickle bubba cosmo as it had a convertible carrycot/pram seat and I liked the idea of from a space saving point of view but I have since seen there are other perhaps better brands that also have this option such as a maxi cosi Zelia .

As for the car seat, reading your advice. I may just get the travel system if I go with a better brand like maxi cosi as someone mentioned but just ensure that we use the carry cot for anything other than transferring in and out of the house or for very quick appointments ( where I can still get baby out of the seat whilst waiting ).

Or as some others suggested, an individual newborn carrier that has all the right testing and the 360 for the next one up when they are not so little

Im not so sold now on the 360 from birth due to the possibly safety concern and not being to remove it to do things like bringing baby inside from car to house for example which for a winter newborn might be helpful although I know not essential.

Choices of places to physically go and try stuff out are limited near me so thanks again for the opinions and recommendations and will check out those Facebook groups also.

I’m going to be the voice of dissent on this thread - we got a Cybex 3 in 1 travel system and frequently use the car seat on the pram. It’s useful if you’re going shopping or to a cafe or a baby group and don’t want to keep transferring baby.

I think our baby prefers being in the car seat to being on his back, and it’s sometimes helpful to have this option if he’s a bit sicky.

I really love the Maxi Cosi prams - I think the Ickle Bubba ones are made quite cheaply and aren't very robust.

A carry car seat is useful. Yes you shouldn't leave them in it all day, but you wouldn't do that anyway. After the first 4 weeks it's OK for them to be in the car seat up to about 2 hours at a time. If you don't have a removable car seat then what you'll end up doing is just sitting in the car waiting for them to wake up - so how is this any different/magically safer than just being able to carry them out of the car in their seat? It's not.

The companies used to market travel system car seats as doing everything - car seat, newborn-compatible buggy adapter, rocking chair in the house, nap location, feeding chair. It's this that the advice is really warning against - and modern parents as a rule aren't doing all these things. We wean later so wouldn't use the car seat as a feeding chair, we are told only to use flat beds for sleep (not reclined rocking things), we are advised that newborns should ideally be in carrycots or laid flat, not in a car seat except when necessary.

There's nothing dangerous about the car seat if you're using it as a car seat and then occasionally/for short bursts on the pram wheels and giving baby plenty of opportunity to lie flat and roll around naturally.

The 360 degree all stage (list of features longer than your arm) car seats for £150 are a false economy because again they are cheaply made, not a good compromise to make. Get a buggy with a carry car seat, when baby grows out of this get an ERF seat or a spin seat covering up to age 4. Then buy a separate high backed booster later.

Agree with PP re all stage car seats not having the best fit and avoiding baby being in it for too long. Wanted to also add that you can have a travel system without buying the same brand for pram and car seat. Most have adapters that you can get so you can have the pram you want and then your maxi cosi/cybex etc car seat can be popped on and off it the same as if you buy the car seat made by the pram brand. So you don’t have to buy a maxi cosi pram to get a maxi cosi car seat.

I really liked having an infant carry seat. When mine were little I liked getting them strapped in before going out of the house (I had an isofix base so then I just had to clip them in). It meant I wasn't dragging round in the rain faffing with straps. I also would carry it in for things like doctors appointments or baby groups

I also liked being able to clip it to the pram when I was just nipping in and out of shops in the car rather than keep moving them in and out. All trips of less than two hours in total obviously (shorter when they were really little).

It was only for a short window though before they got too heavy to carry easily in the seat (6-8mths)

Thanks all.

I have definitely decided we will be getting a maxi cosi car seat , cabriofix probably for in car safety primarily and will likely get a pram that it can go onto with an adapter but mostly for convenience of in and out of the car and very short trips as some have mentioned especially when baby is a little older.

Il get a different one later as most have suggested.

As for the pram.. to be decided, visiting a baby showroom type thing at the weekend so will hopefully get a better idea then.
Thanks again for the help