Please help me understand baby car seats

jackieglasgow

Congratulation MrsE, that's lovely news.

pinkshoes

There's THREE options to put the car seat in:

1. Just use the seatbelt

2. ISOFIX base that fits into the ISOFIX points in a car (in all cars from 2006 onwards), then you clip car seat (maxi cosi) on top.

3. A NON-ISOFIX base that is fixed into the car using the seatbelt and a bit going down to the floor, then you clip the seat on top of this.

I use version 3, as my KA doesn't have ISOFIX points, but I like the convenience of being able to click the maxi-cosi into the base, then straight onto my Quinny pushchair, without having to wake/remove DS!

Krystaltips

MrsE, I have that pushchair that I've been using for DD2, but I plan to occasionally use the frame with a car seat for the baby I'm expecting next month (school runs etc)

We've gone for the Maxi Cosi car seat because it scores the best for safety when used in conjunction with a base... We'll be getting the base that fits with a seatbelt because our car doesn't have isofix... If it did though I would go for isofix because there's less chance of fitting it incorrectly and as someone pointed out... There's no point paying out for the best seat you can get if you don't fit it properly...

DD2 is now in stage 2, forward facing and we've gone for the kiddy infinity pro... It's not isofix, it's fitted using the adult seatbelt, but again the safest in it's class...

At the end of the day, in an accident, it will be the seat that saves the childs life so I really don't see the point in being cavalier about it...

money_saving_diva

[QUOTE=pinkshoes
I use version 3, as my KA doesn't have ISOFIX points, but I like the convenience of being able to click the maxi-cosi into the base, then straight onto my Quinny pushchair, without having to wake/remove DS![/QUOTE]


if you use a seat belt you don't have to wake or remove the child if they are asleep? You just unclip the seat belt, unthread it from round the chair which is really quick & easy as there is no tension in the belt. Then lift the seat out with the sleeping child out. I can't see how that is more likely to wake the baby than using a base? When I click my carseat into my pram chassis the 'click' wakes my baby up more than un doing the carseat does.

Our silvercross car seat didn't come with the option of a base. Not all of them do. I assume though that the ones in the op do. If I was a grandparent I would wait until the baby is here before deciding what car seat to use in your car. You might change car or anything between now and July?

Also meant to say my parents took my ds out a lot in their car. They could because I unfortunatly couldn't breastfeed him. We probably imagined it would be the same for dd but I am breastfeeding her so it's harder for them to have her without me being there. Therefore they haven't had the carseat in their car at all and probably won't until she is in the next stage car seat. So Im just saying you might be thinking you will have the baby lots now but sometimes it's not possible (like if the baby is ebf and won't take a bottle). Then you having a car seat may be a waste?

esio_trot

onlyroz wrote: »

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.

Not always the case, it's worth checking with the crash test ratings (I use Which?) as sometimes, belted installation is more secure. There are also variations in isofix base safety ratings. i.e. Maxi Cosi infant carrier is safer with the EASYFIX base than it is with the FAMILYFIX.

Nicki

I had the maxi cosi with the easy fix base too, and found it a lot more convenient than when I had my older two children before isofix had been invented. It is much quicker to click the seat into the base, and also easier to tell at a glance that the seat is safely secured. I bought the base on eBay secondhand and will probably sell it on when I am sure there are to be no more additions to the family. The seat I bought new.

For second stage seats, I checked out the ones with the best safety ratings, and these didn't include isofix ones, so his current seat is fitted with a seat belt. That's not a big deal though as I never remove his second stage seat from the car. If we had more than one car, we'd probably have secured the maxi cosi with the seat belt only in the car used less often for baby, and would have had a second stage seat for each car.

Hope that helps

money_honey

I had the maxi cosi cabrio with the easyfix base too, and it is honestly so much easier just to clip the seat on and off the base. At the time I didn't drive and my friend had to give me and my daughter a lift to a baby meet up every week, and strapping the maxi cosi in and out of her car with the belt was a lot more hassle! Not to mention, using the seat with a base is much safer.

My daughter was in this seat until she was well over 1 as she was fairly small for her age.

Currently we have the maxi cosi priorifix car seat which is meant to go up to 4 years. It has a base attached to it at all times, and fits using isofix or seatbelt. Both my car (2001 clio) and my husband's car (2006 golf) have isofix and we have to swap the seat between our cars fairly often so we just found it easier to buy a stage 1 seat with isofix. It's been used in my parents' car with seatbelt fitting as well with no problems, but for the sake of convenience we found it easier to use the isofix in our cars. I suppose the only disadvantage of the seat we have now is that because it has the base attached with no way to remove, it is quite bulky and heavy.

FairyShazza

We are expecting our first baby in 9 weeks and we have gone for the Easyfix base and the Cabrio Maxi Cosi seat.

We had a trial run and it is so easy to get the car seat in and out when using the base and personally I liked the way that there are bits on the base which change colour from red to green that show you everything is fitted correctly.

The Easyfix bases are quite often on offer on Amazon. Recently they went down to £57.50 each which is half price so it is worth keeping an eye open on there for special prices. We took advantage of this and brought a second base for my husbands car so we don’t have to swap and change one base around which will make things easier for us.

The bases do sell well on Ebay second hand too so when it comes to changing seats you should be able to get a decent price back for them.

mum2twinsx2

Congratulations :j:j what great way to start a new year.

I have maxi cosi cabrio and bases, i was told the bases made it a safer fitting, as normally with the first carseat its in out of the car as easier. it is easier to use as just clicks in and out and then straight on to the pushchair. You also have option not to use the base. But fiddly and not fun when its raining. I always found myself re checking it was in safely when not using the base. I think the length time that babies are in the first stage carseat varies from baby to baby. Normal standard amount time is nine months to a year.

The next stage up, i wont be taking the carseats out, i think only time i take my older girls seats out is when im cleaning it [which is rarely.]

Babystyle O pushchair is really nice my bestfriend has it for her new baby:D

bylromarha

MRS E - it's a piece of string question!

Budget, usage, isofix fittings all matter when considering a car seat.

Isofix is safest, no question. You can get isofix bases that clips onto isofix hooks tucked away under your back seats which mean your car seat is the most secure it can be. You can get isofix bases which take the size 0 carseat, then still work for the size 1 upwards car seat. They are pricey and can be fiddly to get in and out if you don;t want the bases left in the car when you are not transporting baby.

Size 0 car seats are easy to put in and out of the car with the seatbelt. The non Isofix bases you can get for them can be a help, as it means you click the seat in and out, but safetywise the difference is negligable. Size 1 upwards less so easy to fit as there is lots of fiddling to get it fitted correctly and you do need to be aware how to fit it correctly everytime as the effectiveness of the car seat is lessened if not.

I wanted Isofix for my 2, but Citroen didn't do a size 0 Isofix car seat under £200, plus my pram would never have fitted it. What I did was use the size 0 car seat from my Graco travel system without a car base - seatbelt easy to negotiate. Size 1 time, I bought the predecessor to this Scores exceptionally highly in the NCAP ratings (on a par and above some ISOFIX seats if I remember rightly....) and can be used from 12 months to 12 years. Mine are now 6 and 4 and these seats have grown really well with them since age 1.

Both car seats then easy to get in and out of nan's car and the Kiddy seat has a universal fitting, so no need to buy different seats for different types of car.