Advice needed - baby car seat questions (merged)

onlyroz

If you're in a money-saving mode then the obvious things to do are to go for buggies/carseats/cots with the maximum lifespan. Some buggies are suitable from birth up to 4 years. You probably have to resign yourself to getting two car-seats, because from newborn up to 9 months you'll need a rear-facing one - although some of these will clip off and fit onto the buggy, if you go for a "travel system". Then when bubba is about 9 months you can get a front-facing seat that will do them until they're 4.

As for cots - we went for a cot-bed, which is suitable from birth up to 5 years. This way we didn't have to fork out for a moses basket for the first 6 months. The only issue with this is that the baby looks awfully lonely in a big cot-bed when they're a newborn - we used half of it as a changing table and put baby down the bottom end in their little sleeping bag.

The main advice is to not buy too much too early. Leave off buying a lot of stuff until you actually find that you need it. This especially goes for clothes, because you'll find that you're given a lot. Resist buying too many toys, because a newborn won't appreciate them anyway, and many will never get played with. A high-chair can wait until the baby is 6 months old, but a little bouncy-chair is probably a good investment - useful for short day-time naps, and for letting the baby have a good view of the room.

hayleyc_2

lizziebell*80 wrote: »

At the moment I have chosen to get the Bebe Confort Loola Up which folds compact, front and rear facing seat, reclines flat so can use for newborn, has car seat that can attach (Creatis, not isofix but good for safety and can use a base) and also has cot option but don't think it would be necessary. Buy obviously this is the ine that will suit my situation and as an FYI it was the one the Mothercare staff both recommended and had bought themselves.

You've just reminded me of the other thing i was going to say - which is to also recommend a rear-facing pushchair. When I was pregnant, I was also thinking of getting the Loola pushchair but in the end got a cheaper one (Hauck Infinity - under £100) which I find is excellent. It can be front and rear facing, which I found ideal.

Hayley

foreversomeday

Re the getting a carseat etc with maximum lifespan - this is only moneysaving if you only plan on having the one baby! By the time baby 2 comes along, baby 1 will have grown out of the infant seat and be in a toddler seat or you can now buy seats which go from 9 months to 11 years. So you only need the one infant seat, and 2 toddler seats/child seats.

So if you plan on having more than one baby, buy things which have a shorter lifespan per child as it can be reused. However if you only want one child a cot bed, convertible high chair, and combination car seat are better value.

Don't spend too much on the travel system/pram as you will probably end up using a cheap umbrella fold buggy when the child is old enough, they are much less bulky to carry around.

Also remember re carseats that they are manufactured to very high standards and even the cheapest ones are safe - they just aren't always as comfortable, pretty or easy to use. We bought the cheapest mothercare model and we are going to line it with a sheepskin because it doesn't look very comfortable.

HTH

Oh and for reviews, comparisons etc, try ciao, mothercare, and amazon. Pregnancy magazines often do comparisons of different products so have a flick through in the shop to see what products they are testing this month before you choose which magazine to buy. Other than that, I found it easiest to go onto an online shop having a sale, pick out 3 or 4 of whatever I was looking for and then google "product name review" obviously replacing the product name with the actual name! And to ask around other baby people for a general consensus on brands. ie, maxi-cosi and britax for safety with car seats, mclaren for long lasting buggies which will do many children, mothercare for budget equipment etc etc.

Hell_Dans_Un_Handcart

Can I point you in the direction of this forum? (Somebody tell me if this isn't allowed!). It's a baby/parenting forum and they discuss all these things on here regularly, so just having a read will give you loads of info:

http://hitched.co.uk/Chat/forums/36.aspx

lwcus78

Hi Popsy,
Congrats on your pregnancy!:j
I'm due in Nov and my head is also spinning!! I think which pushchair/carseat you go for depends on your needs ie my needs may be different to yours. I've been looking for a lightweight pushchair so that I can easily lift it in and out of the car boot. I also want something sturdy that I can use from birth. For me, i dont want to be able to use the car seat as a part of a travel system as I think it would tempt me to leave baby in there for longer periods of time.
I've more or less decided to go for either silvercross pop or dazzle pushchair. Maxi cosi isofix base car seat. I also have 2 slings babybjorn and babasling to use whilst out shopping in supermarket during first few months.
Some of the pushchairs which got "best buy" in the which report didn't seem to offer much back support so try not to be swayed to much by the reports.

Why not tell us what kind of lifestyle you lead and we might be able to give better recommendations?
xx

jetcat

lizziebell*80 wrote: »

At the moment I have chosen to get the Bebe Confort Loola Up which folds compact, front and rear facing seat, reclines flat so can use for newborn, has car seat that can attach (Creatis, not isofix but good for safety and can use a base) and also has cot option but don't think it would be necessary. Buy obviously this is the ine that will suit my situation and as an FYI it was the one the Mothercare staff both recommended and had bought themselves.

I have a Loola, and it is a great pushchair. However, from my experience, a newborn baby doesnt seem that comfortable in it, as the seat doesnt lie completely flat. I took it back to Mothercare, and they had a good look at it before informing me that really the carrycot should be attached for a newborn. By this time my little one was approx 10 weeks, so i decided against the extra expense of the carrycot just for a few weeks, so it is possible to manage without, but just thought i would mention it!

jennywren1976

Hi
Please can I just add that I am probably preaching to the converted here but it is the most important thing to make sure that you get the carseat that fits in the vehicle you are using rather than it being the cheapest/prettiest/funkiest etc.
Check out the manufacturers website or contact them to see what they recommend, britax has a fairly helpful website for this (only know this I am expecting bubba 3 in a couple of weeks and have been scouring the net for info).
I found that when we went into our local mothercare to see what was available armed with all my research info that the staff in there didn't seem to have as much knowledge or knowhow as I would have liked. I left feeling less than full of confidence in them!!
Congrats on your pregnancy though, I am jealous this is my 3rd pregnancy during the summer months...you would think I would have learned my lesson by now!!!

new_mum_5

Congrats on your pregnancy too! I bought a silver cross 3D pram system with the venturer car seat which was great. However my daughter grew out of it before she could sit unaided which is when they say to turn them round facing frontways. We then bought the Britax First Class which you can use from birth until approx 4 years old. It is a fantastic seat and she used it for another 3 months facing backwards as most shops will tell you not to rush to turn babies round until they are ready. They are much safer than way. Bought mine on Boots for around £100.

popsy20

Wow thanks everyone - you have all been so helpful - will check out your suggestions at the weekend :D:D:D:D

If you have any more ideas/suggestions please let me know.

:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

Lilystar

I'd also add, if you are using the car a lot, especially in the winter, consider a car seat with a base which remains in the car - it makes fitting the car seat so much easier and faster, which you will certainly appreciate in the freezing cold and pouring rain which typically happens for most of February (my DD is a Christmas baby). I also found it useful as we had two cars and a base in each, so either of us could pick up from nursery/grandparents. I'd agree with those who say don't go mad on the pram/travel system etc (although it's so tempting) as in my experience, we all switched to the far lighter and easier to handle umbrella type buggies as soon as we could - usually around 6 months, and when the weather is better
I also went for 2 moses baskets to start as at the time my DS was tiny we lived in a 2-up 2-down terrace with really steep stairs and I didn't fancy trying to carry a baby and a basket/stand up and down the stairs. I bought one and was given one when I was pregnant with my first, and they have since served fiveother babies between me and my two best friends and my s-i-l, with only a new mattress each time and the covers being washed. Given they cost about £30 each, that's not bad!!
We did buy a cheapie cotbed once which wasn't so good - ok as a cot but once we turned it into a bed it didn't long with the little angels bouncing on it. The slightly more expensive Babies'r'Us one (they always have one in the sale) lasted, and looked, a whole lot better.
Baby magazines are evil when you're pregnant for the first time - they try to tell you that you need so much stuff, and people around will say that you don't, but you won't believe them. Then, when you're having your second, you don't have time to read the mags, and you actually realise that you have bought about 10% of the stuff you did the first time. In my case I'd bought absolutely nothing when my DD was born as I had no idea I was pregnant, and all my old baby stuff had been passed on to others to use!!

Ok, that was a lot longer than intended, sorry!