Reccommendation please - baby seats for car

Brands are probably a personal choice, but the main thing has to be to make sure it is installed properly, & has the british standard kite mark.Apparently approx 70% aren't fitted/used correctly. Try to avoid buying 2nd hand, unless you can be really sure of it's history. Your new baby's life ain't worth cost saving.Congrats on your imminent arrival,
matt.

Mike

I agree 100% about buying the right one - your child is priceless.

If your car has Isofix fittings, buy a compatible seat - it is the very best fitting available at the moment in terms of child safety.

What car do you drive ?

Mike,

With 4 weeks to go, a car seat for a newborn is a complicated mater of form vs. function.

Do you require a car seat which can be moved onto a pram? (We didnt do this, and wished we had)

Do get one that has passed side crash testing.

Do get one that fixes to your car the easiest so that you dont wake the baby inserting, or removing the seat from the car.

Your aim will be to keep the noisey thing asleep as much as possible.

Have you got a lock on the door that your Naim kit is behind?

Have done the reading and I am aware of the safety issues but still none the wiser as to what people feel is good and what they don't.

I don't actually drive because of my poor eyesight so this will need to fit someone else's car to begin with and then ours. The household vehicle is an old Astra and so definitely not Isofix.

What do people think of these baby transport system things then?

Mike

Hi mike, sorry the replies haven't been useful to you so far.Wish we'd have got one of those baby transport systems. At the insistence of the missus, we went for a separate seat & pram.The system where the baby seat comes out of the car & onto a set of wheels to turn into a pram, so to speak has a couple of plusses. If baby is asleep in the car, you won't wake him/her up when transferring out of the car, & into the pram. Same obviously goes for transferring from pram to car.BIG plus.Also, the ones I've seen have a kinked carrying handle, so that one-handed holding/carrying is a lot more ergonomic & easier. As far as actual brands, can't specifically help there. Colour/visual design may well come into it especially from a female point of view.Once baby gets a bit older, & is forward facing, try to get a seat which will last through a few phases of years.The recaro one looks pretty good, with adjustable backrest & armrest heights.One where the backrest can recline is also good if you want your child to sleep on longer journies,etc. This is all in the future a little way, but it is surprising how quickly kids grow out of all things, car seats included, & need the next one up. Try to get it right first time & not ending up with 3 or4 seats in the loft. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Cheers, matt.

We've done it both ways for each of the kids and buying a Britax BabySure from Mothercare or Halfords is the way to go. It was so easy just to lift the whole thing out - sleeping baby and all! We didn't have this with our first and would always have to wrestle her out of the seat to get her indoors. We have also had two of the all-in-one car seat/pram type things, but they are hugely bulky and we got rid of them after a couple of weeks. The size of the pram is ridiculous and the frames are huge and heavy (wouldn't go in the Polo boot), with stupid little caster wheels. BabySure and a compact 3 wheeler to go in the boot. I've been there.
See this. Look at the Rock-a-Tot and frame, its ridiculous

Hi Rasher,

Thanks for that. Britax seem to be everywhere so we were being drawn to them whether we like them or not. Really don't like the systems, although they look like a great theory.

Do you have any insight on the advntages of the Britax Cosy Tot as opposed to the Babysure?

Mike

We always went for Maxi Cosi - worked well for us and widely available in UK.

Adrian

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Hughes:
Do you have any insight on the advntages of the Britax Cosy Tot as opposed to the Babysure?

Not really Mike, they all look very similar in that range to me. Britax are trustworthy and safe, and they all do the same job. Do you really want to have to carry the hood and extra padding and weight around? I always go for the lightest and most compact, otherwise you get bruises on your knees when lugging them around - especially up stairs. All that stuff sticking out is in the way. It's only a car seat - you don't need it for any other purpose. The canopy might be good if you were using it in a pushchair frame, but in the car is pretty redundant.

Car seat purchased. Britax Cosytot Premium (although it was nearly Rashers' recommendation).

Now, I just have to pray that her waters don't break before I set off on the coach to the LDV Vans Final tomorrow.

Good sign though - I won £80 on an each way bet on the National. That has at least paid for tomorrow (or the seat depending on your perspective).

Mike

Mike

It paid for the seat - that'll get you in the good books !

Nah, the parents paid for the car seat so it definitely paid for our eventual glorious victory.

Mike