Please help me understand baby car seats

Bunny

the maxi-cosi pebble should fit the same as the cabrio-fix (just an updated version) if you get the family fix base for that (isofix) the follow on car seat (pearl) will also just clip on to the same base if you're interested.
However there is apparently evidence as mentioned earlier that it's better to keep the child in rearward facing car seats as long as possible, such as 4 years old due to the impact on the childs neck in a head on collision (go forbid it ever happened).
There are a few available, this site should help http://www.rearfacing.co.uk/buyersguide.php
however you can always cross that bridge when the baby is around 9 months.

Also last but by no means least, Congratulations x

MrsE_2

cambermam wrote: »

For stage 0+ (up to 33lb so lasts longer than stage 0)

http://www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplay0_10751_-1_118783_10001

and

http://www.kiddicare.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/productdisplay0_10751_-1_6931_10001

leave the base in the car all the time, unclick car seat from base to pushchair and vice versa.

Apparently you won't need to buy adaptors to fit the car seat the the Oyster chassis as the Britax SHR has them built in

The seat will be used in 2+ cars, regularly & maybe more.

cambermam

MrsE wrote: »

The seat will be used in 2+ cars, regularly & maybe more.

You don't have to have a base in the car, you can just strap the belt around the actual car seat

shelleuk

If im honest the £100 base was a waste of money for maxi cosi cabrio car seat because they are only in the stage one for such a short amount of time. If my little boy was going in his grandparents car then it was just as easy to strap the belt over and across the seat. If i was going to do it again i personally would not buy the isofix base. The seat hes got now just stays in the car now at all times. I had a quinny zapp that the car seat used to just clip onto but i only used this for short journeys. Sometimes you can buy things just for the sake of it when having a baby. We have 3 buggies for some unknown reason.

onlyroz

shellsuit wrote: »

isofix is really handy for the smaller baby seats, but for the bigger seats, most are just attatched in the car all the time so there's really no need for isofix then.

I disagree - it's more than just about convenience. Isofix is much more secure than just using seatbelts, which is why I have always gone for isofix for all our car seats.

With the larger seats, the isofix is usually inbuilt into the chair, so the chair itself clips into the isofix fittings, rather than the chair sitting on a base. We've gone for the Britax chairs for our 2-year-old (in a chair for 9 months - 4 years) and our 5-year-old (in a "junior" chair for age 4-12 years).

There is evidence that a lot (if not most) people don't fit their carseats securely enough, so it's worth while getting a fitting demo from (e.g.) halfords, whatever chair you choose.

Gingham_Ribbon

MrsE wrote: »

Because the belted bases don't do anything the seats on their own don't do, or am I missing something?

Also if you do use isofix, do you need to use the seatbelt as well?

Without the isofix, the belt is needed to strap the seat in. You need to be shown how to fit it properly as a poorly fitted carseat does not give the required protection. It can be fiddly and hard on the back, especially if it needs to be taken in and out.

There is another belt inside the chair, regardless of whether it's isofix or not, and that's the bit that straps the child to the chair, rather than the chair to the car.

The isofix means that the seat is effectively part of the car, and you can't get it wrong. It's either in or it's not. It's very easy and convenient.

With baby seats, rather than toddler ones, the belt can get in the way if you want to take the baby in and out of the seat and is difficult too if you want to take the seat, with a sleeping baby in it, in and out of the car. (Because it's rear facing - the belt goes across the top of the seat.)

But isofix is very expensive. That's the only down side to it in my opinion.

money_saving_diva

Hi, I don't think anyone has mentioned this and you haven't confirmed - have you actually got isofix fittings in your car? You can only use isofix if you have a fairly new car.

We haven't got isofix so we use the seatbelt around the seats. As long as you do it correctly it is fine and gets easier/quicker each time.
I have never woken my children up undoing the seatbelt and lifting them out. And I don't really see how isofix helps your back??

As a grandparent I wouldn't buy another carseat, especially a rear facing one that is easy to swap in cars. We kept our son in a rear facing car seat until he was one. He was larger than average but he still fitted in it. Don't move them to the next stage too quick. We could have moved him at about 7/8 months because of his weight but we wanted to keep him in a rear facing seat. We will do the same with our dd.

When they are in the next stage carseat you might need one for your car because all carseats don't fit all cars. We have a maxi cosi tobi and that does fit in both our cars and all the grandparents cars. But I know some of my friends had a limited choice of seats because of the cars they had.

brazilianwax

money_saving_diva wrote: »

Hi, I don't think anyone has mentioned this and you haven't confirmed - have you actually got isofix fittings in your car? You can only use isofix if you have a fairly new car.

We haven't got isofix so we use the seatbelt around the seats. As long as you do it correctly it is fine and gets easier/quicker each time.
I have never woken my children up undoing the seatbelt and lifting them out. And I don't really see how isofix helps your back??
.

Not all bases use isofix, but the base has been a lifesaver for my back.

I have 3 cars - 2 with isofix and 1 without. I have 1 isofix base and 1 non-isofix (uses the belt to attach the base) for baby's maxi-cosi cabriofix. It means I only need to lift madam for a few seconds onto the base rather than bend over her for an extended period of time messing about with the seatbelt. Both are significantly more secure. Had 1 base to start with and just swapped it between the cars - much easier than strapping the seat in.

The 2 bases are a godsend for me, and worth every penny. Mind you, I did buy a new car to go with the baby :rotfl: I also bought a cot top changer and the tallest travel system on the Market to reduce the bending. Makes a real difference when all they do is get heavier.

Also, apparently ford focuses have short seatbelts in the back which can make it hard to strap a baby seat in. I don't have a focus but lots of people do so it's worth mentioning

Coveredinbees!!!!

Our first seat came with the push chair - chico trio for me - and had a belt fixed base that it clicked in to, no problems at all. Our daughter is now 18 months and has a maxi cosi axiss which is also belt mounted, our car is pre isofix but has the advantage that it swivels round to get her in an out. It's a real advantage when she is asleep and we want to keep her asleep.

money_saving_diva

brazilianwax wrote: »

Also, apparently ford focuses have short seatbelts in the back which can make it hard to strap a baby seat in. I don't have a focus but lots of people do so it's worth mentioning

we have a focus and the seatbelts are shorter but are fine with fitting seats in. Used the focus every day with a silvercross Ventura when ds was a baby. It was tight but soon got use to it.