New Born Baby Car things help

[Jimbobcook]

Morning All,

In prep for having twins in December I'm looking to see what other mums and dads are using as a child seat, if you have any answers to the following that would be great!

1 - Do you use a an ISOfix base or a car seat that just fixes in with the seat belt?
2 - Did you buy a new born seat for the rear facingness or a 360 swivel model?
3 - What make an model did you get?
4 - If you have twins what pram did you get haha
5 - Does everything fit in a Hatchback boot (I will have the ST for the first 6 months)

Any information that may help me prep for the incoming onslaught of little people would be fab, I'm a man of planning so peoples opinions etc are better than some review of someone on Amazon that 1, bought it for someone else or hasn't opened it yet or 2, put's great pram or works great lol. Turns out I get to have my own back with the wife as now she goes round and says what type of buggy people have and how expensive it is, there will be no holding back on SEAT/CUPRA models from now on when she says I'm sad haha.

Unfortunately the next car is still undecided, the better half likes the new focus and I like the CUPRA Leon 245 Petrol lol

Cheers

 

[Legojon]

Oh dear.. double trouble. I mean congrats.

I can only answer a couple of the questions as I’m sure your not interested in the dog hammock I’ve just fitted (although might be worth considering for two of them).

I’m not sure on the brand as it’s not here right now. But when we have my grandson, we use an iOS fix base. When mine was younger, we just clipped it in with the seatbelt. I’d def go isofix now… it just seems so much more stable. And we have them, so why not use them.

He’s 18 months ish now. His seat is a sort of grow with him one. It goes in the back, facing the rear window. But it’s leg room adjustable, kind of like a normal car seat. So as he grows, you pull the seat back. It swivels… but only… um 90 degrees… I think. So you can swivel from facing the back window to facing the open door - to help with lifting in and out. I’m not sure if the seat does a full 180 for when he’s older… but they are so pricey, it’s worth considering.

I’ll try and find make / model.

 

[H Rafiq]

We’ve got a 5-month-old at the moment. We did use a travel system, but the car seat that came with that was sh!t. We bought one from Mamas and Papas which is isofix and it’s brilliant. Inserts can be removed as he grows etc. It swivels all the way around. Makes getting baby in very easy. We also have a Doonar which can be used as a pram, then folded up to be used as a car seat, but belted in, not isofix. The one from Mamas and Papas is very big though. Seat in front needs to be pushed forward quite a bit. The Doonar can fit behind my seat in my driving position though. I’d definitely recommend a Doonar. Everything fits in the boot. With the Doonar, we don’t need an extra pram. The Doonar is the car seat and the pram.

 

[Glosphil]

I used a Joie fully swivelling & reclining seat with built-in ISO fixing for my grandaughter. Can be used rear facing for a baby & front facing when they are bigger (up to 4 years old). Locks side facing to made it easy to 'load'. Has pads fixed in with velco to fit the baby & height of straps & headrest are adjustable. Cost £250 new.

I only used it a dozen times & it's currently packed up in my garage. I'm in Gloucestershire if you're interested.

 

[black_sheep]

Things to consider:

Seats - we used maxi-cosi for the majority of our car seats from newborn to 12 yrs/135cm. They are one of the most popular, the covers can be removed washed and/or buy replacements - this also means that you will likely have 50%+ return on your investment when you sell, or you could buy secondhand, steam clean and replace covers for an 'as new' experience (this is one of the biggest parent lessons with baby gear - you will buy new and will only be used for a short period of time; for those with 2 children sequentially you will not be so concerned about having to buy the must have item new second time around). Note: seats should not be re-used if vehicle has been involved in an accident.

We used the maxi-cosi iso-fix base with the newborn cot and then seats which had iso-fix fitting. In terms of iso-fix base we didn't get it for the cot initially; but it makes life so much easier, especially when carrying a multitude of equipment and tight parking spaces.

Also consider protective rubber mats that go under the base of the seats - this stops the seat marking the leather/alcantara and gives you those vital few seconds in case of an accident.

Do you have a wet vac? If not consider one for the liquid and solid accidents (you can sell this for the home and car, but we know it's really for the pride and joy!).

In terms of pushchairs etc, we used the Phil & Ted's brand (when we had 2 children) - expensive, but generally look after it and get most of you money back when you sell. We had the vibe version with an aluminium frame - the steel ones can be quite heavy to lift in/out of the car. Why this brand? - folds more compactly than others (wife had a Golf Mk5), in-line design so easier to navigate busy stores, different attachments/seating arrangements as the kids grow (i.e. buy accessories not new prams) and adaptors to fit you maxi cosy seat.

 

[Jimbobcook]

Oh dear.. double trouble. I mean congrats.

I can only answer a couple of the questions as I’m sure your not interested in the dog hammock I’ve just fitted (although might be worth considering for two of them).

I’m not sure on the brand as it’s not here right now. But when we have my grandson, we use an iOS fix base. When mine was younger, we just clipped it in with the seatbelt. I’d def go isofix now… it just seems so much more stable. And we have them, so why not use them.

He’s 18 months ish now. His seat is a sort of grow with him one. It goes in the back, facing the rear window. But it’s leg room adjustable, kind of like a normal car seat. So as he grows, you pull the seat back. It swivels… but only… um 90 degrees… I think. So you can swivel from facing the back window to facing the open door - to help with lifting in and out. I’m not sure if the seat does a full 180 for when he’s older… but they are so pricey, it’s worth considering.

I’ll try and find make / model.

Haha thanks, we're quickly finding out that it is indeed double trouble lol I'd love to be able to fit a dog hammock for my own dog but alas that isn't just yet.

I agree I think IsoFix does look like the way to go, seems pretty easy. I think whilst they're super young they need to be rear facing then after a certain time they go forward facing I think haha I think if a seat ca do from 0-12 years or something then the price is all good being higher, I just need 2 of them haha

We’ve got a 5-month-old at the moment. We did use a travel system, but the car seat that came with that was sh!t. We bought one from Mamas and Papas which is isofix and it’s brilliant. Inserts can be removed as he grows etc. It swivels all the way around. Makes getting baby in very easy. We also have a Doonar which can be used as a pram, then folded up to be used as a car seat, but belted in, not isofix. The one from Mamas and Papas is very big though. Seat in front needs to be pushed forward quite a bit. The Doonar can fit behind my seat in my driving position though. I’d definitely recommend a Doonar. Everything fits in the boot. With the Doonar, we don’t need an extra pram. The Doonar is the car seat and the pram.

We've looked at travel systems as well and some of the reviews go along with what you found out, we went to Mama's and Papa's at the weekend and they had some good stuff and not bad prices considering the store. The size of the seats does worry me as I'm 6ft2 my seat does go back a little further than most but I can also sit behind myself in the back so there is plenty of space. I'll have a look at the Doonar and let the wife know as she's in charge of the final say once we know it fits in the car haha Cheers

I used a Joie fully swivelling & reclining seat with built-in ISO fixing for my grandaughter. Can be used rear facing for a baby & front facing when they are bigger (up to 4 years old). Locks side facing to made it easy to 'load'. Has pads fixed in with velco to fit the baby & height of straps & headrest are adjustable. Cost £250 new.

I only used it a dozen times & it's currently packed up in my garage. I'm in Gloucestershire if you're interested.

We've seen quite a few people use a Joie (including Stacey Soloman apparently), I think it's in the current top list for ones to check out so this just helps with that assessment. If we were interested I'd have to find one the same as I've got OCD so both of the twins need the same seat haha thanks for letting me know though.

Things to consider:

Seats - we used maxi-cosi for the majority of our car seats from newborn to 12 yrs/135cm. They are one of the most popular, the covers can be removed washed and/or buy replacements - this also means that you will likely have 50%+ return on your investment when you sell, or you could buy secondhand, steam clean and replace covers for an 'as new' experience (this is one of the biggest parent lessons with baby gear - you will buy new and will only be used for a short period of time; for those with 2 children sequentially you will not be so concerned about having to buy the must have item new second time around). Note: seats should not be re-used if vehicle has been involved in an accident.

We used the maxi-cosi iso-fix base with the newborn cot and then seats which had iso-fix fitting. In terms of iso-fix base we didn't get it for the cot initially; but it makes life so much easier, especially when carrying a multitude of equipment and tight parking spaces.

Also consider protective rubber mats that go under the base of the seats - this stops the seat marking the leather/alcantara and gives you those vital few seconds in case of an accident.

Do you have a wet vac? If not consider one for the liquid and solid accidents (you can sell this for the home and car, but we know it's really for the pride and joy!).

In terms of pushchairs etc, we used the Phil & Ted's brand (when we had 2 children) - expensive, but generally look after it and get most of you money back when you sell. We had the vibe version with an aluminium frame - the steel ones can be quite heavy to lift in/out of the car. Why this brand? - folds more compactly than others (wife had a Golf Mk5), in-line design so easier to navigate busy stores, different attachments/seating arrangements as the kids grow (i.e. buy accessories not new prams) and adaptors to fit you maxi cosy seat.

Thanks for the lengthy reply! Maxi-Cosi has also made it into the top ones to look at when we go look at them in a shop, I think we would normally buy new and like you mention get some money back once we'd finished with them. Still not sure if we're going down the seat for newborn specifically then get the slightly older to 12 years as some mention that as twins are normally smaller they don't tend to look as comfy in the 0-12 year seats etc.
Rubber mats are a good shout, I was going to give the seats a hydrophobic coating to help with things sticking then just have something to soak it up at the back when it slides down but rubber mats would help with marking the seats etc.
I don't have a wet vac but you know I just need one now haha, the wife won't be happy but it's for the greater good!
I've personally not seen a Phil & Ted pram yet so I'll give them a look see and hopefully they will be at the shops we go look at, weight is a big thing as it's going to be a twin pram it's naturally heavier so the wife needs to be able to do it by herself etc Did you go with side by side or one in front of the other for the pram design? I see people saying that side by side is better as the top child cannot kick the lower one in the head when slightly older haha.

 

[Legojon]

Just to add… it’s Maxi-Cosi we’re using… we bought 2 - one for each car. As they are a bit fiddly to get connected to the isofix sometimes. But as long as they are staying in the car. Plus, I think that could be true of most brands anyway… especially as I don’t fit / refit as much as the parents have to.

 

[ChocoHR]

Same here, my son is 3 months old and I got the Recaro salia elite. Fits well and this are the specs : 0 - 18 kg | 40 - 105 cm | max. 4 years

I'd say Im happy with it

 

[H Rafiq]

Our travel system is by Dani Dyer (My Babiie), car seat from Mamas and Papas is Maxi Cosi, and we have the Doonar. Car seat that came with the travel system is naff. Returned it in the end for a refund due to safety issues.

 

[black_sheep]

@Jimbobcook we went for the fighter jet style as opposed to the side by side - despite the various tutting of parents on the various forums neither one of our kids has ever mentioned the fact that they had a restricted view or kick as an infant whilst in the pram.

 

[Jimbobcook]

Same here, my son is 3 months old and I got the Recaro salia elite. Fits well and this are the specs : 0 - 18 kg | 40 - 105 cm | max. 4 years

I'd say Im happy with it

Thanks for the reply, I don't think the wife will want anything Recaro, me on the other hand wouldn't mind it.

Our travel system is by Dani Dyer (My Babiie), car seat from Mamas and Papas is Maxi Cosi, and we have the Doonar. Car seat that came with the travel system is naff. Returned it in the end for a refund due to safety issues.

Maxi Cosi seems to be the one to have, I've also seen the NCAP people also state that they test with Maxi-Cosi and Britax so that's always good to know.

@Jimbobcook we went for the fighter jet style as opposed to the side by side - despite the various tutting of parents on the various forums neither one of our kids has ever mentioned the fact that they had a restricted view or kick as an infant whilst in the pram.

That's interesting as like you said quite a few people say don't get the fighter jet style because of kicking etc so something tells me that it's just a few people saying and standard social media catching on. It would definitely make it easier to get through doors.

 

[Nathan penney]

Congrats @Jimbobcook.
We had a Phil and teds double but ours weren’t twins, there was 18 months between them.
The eldest sat at the front and the new born went behind in a kind of hanging crib bit.
But he soon outgrew that so he went in the other seat with the full padding.
We had the heavy steel frame one though, heavy and quite big folded but didn’t matter to us as we had an S max and I had a Vito crew van at the time so I used to just lift it in without even taking it apart. Brilliant!
I never had to put it in the Cupra mk1 at the time, that never saw a kid until they were old enough to know to climb over the plastic sill covers without scuffing them, just sit there with their feet firmly on the rubber mat, clean hands and not to touch anything.
Car seat wise, always used maxi cosi but these new swivel ones weren’t a thing when we had our last.

 

[Sly870]

Morning All,

In prep for having twins in December I'm looking to see what other mums and dads are using as a child seat, if you have any answers to the following that would be great!

1 - Do you use a an ISOfix base or a car seat that just fixes in with the seat belt?
2 - Did you buy a new born seat for the rear facingness or a 360 swivel model?
3 - What make an model did you get?
4 - If you have twins what pram did you get haha
5 - Does everything fit in a Hatchback boot (I will have the ST for the first 6 months)

Any information that may help me prep for the incoming onslaught of little people would be fab, I'm a man of planning so peoples opinions etc are better than some review of someone on Amazon that 1, bought it for someone else or hasn't opened it yet or 2, put's great pram or works great lol. Turns out I get to have my own back with the wife as now she goes round and says what type of buggy people have and how expensive it is, there will be no holding back on SEAT/CUPRA models from now on when she says I'm sad haha.

Unfortunately the next car is still undecided, the better half likes the new focus and I like the CUPRA Leon 245 Petrol lol

Cheers

1 - ISOFix, I think (in my head) it's stronger then seatbelt.
2 - I believe the 360 are fixed to the isofix so we bought the one (Joie i-level) that can lie flat-ish. Next size we will go 360.
3- Joie I-level, fits our pram and the bigger carrier. Love it.
4 - Not twins but got the Joie versatrax pram.
5 - I had a Fiesta and it would fit sitting upright without the plastic cover piece.

Do lots of shopping! Take the main family car you will use and try different seats/bases and see how the pram fits in the boot.

 

[Jimbobcook]

Congrats @Jimbobcook.
We had a Phil and teds double but ours weren’t twins, there was 18 months between them.
The eldest sat at the front and the new born went behind in a kind of hanging crib bit.
But he soon outgrew that so he went in the other seat with the full padding.
We had the heavy steel frame one though, heavy and quite big folded but didn’t matter to us as we had an S max and I had a Vito crew van at the time so I used to just lift it in without even taking it apart. Brilliant!
I never had to put it in the Cupra mk1 at the time, that never saw a kid until they were old enough to know to climb over the plastic sill covers without scuffing them, just sit there with their feet firmly on the rubber mat, clean hands and not to touch anything.
Car seat wise, always used maxi cosi but these new swivel ones weren’t a thing when we had our last.

Thanks very much
Phil & Teds website confused me for a while lol I found some twin prams but they seem to be a very random design so I'll leave that to the wife but you're the second person to mention them. We definitely need a light frame so aluminium will be key I think, an S-Max is a good size, they've got my ST 300 till June then who knows.
I think Maxi Cosi is the way forward it seems but I'm sure there are other ones we need to look at etc.

1 - ISOFix, I think (in my head) it's stronger then seatbelt.
2 - I believe the 360 are fixed to the isofix so we bought the one (Joie i-level) that can lie flat-ish. Next size we will go 360.
3- Joie I-level, fits our pram and the bigger carrier. Love it.
4 - Not twins but got the Joie versatrax pram.
5 - I had a Fiesta and it would fit sitting upright without the plastic cover piece.

Do lots of shopping! Take the main family car you will use and try different seats/bases and see how the pram fits in the boot.

Thanks for your info!
I agree I think ISOFix with the foot well pole seems to be a good thing to have these days, with regards to the ISOFix base as you're maybe having Joie for both, do you need to buy the base again or will it fit all Joie seats in it? Or did your i-level one not join with the base at all?
It seems you went all out for Joie haha, they're on our list in the top 3 I think so we will have a look at them when we go for the size check trip.
Interesting about the Fiesta as the wife has a new style one and we weren't sure if a twin pram would fit in the boot, with regards to the plastic cover piece is that car or pram related lol

Yeah the main family car is my MK3 Leon ST Estate so space is plentiful in the boot but when that goes back (leased) we will have the Fiesta until we replace it with something bigger. Is there a place you went to that allowed you to fit seats into the car etc, plan for Saturday is to go to the pram expert in Boston to see what they have.

Cheers

 

[rafletcher]

For a pram, we went with one that would convert. It could either be a simple one reactangle pram bed (our 2 were premature, and were both about 2kg, so not big!) but also converted to a tandem (one behind the other, both facing front) pushchaie. It was also narrow enough to go through single doors, a boon when out shopping (it was nearly 30 years ago now!). These days prams/pushcahirs are all hugely expensive, and huge (IMO). ETA I just looked - Bebecar do some, but £1000!!! Bloody hell. Ours were second hand (as were the cots, with new mattresses), as were most of their clothes for the first couple of years - we had a friend with slightly older twins and got bin-liners full of outgrown clothes.

We also had some fantastic all plastic high chairs from the now-defunct Toy's 'R Us, which had telscoping legs, so could also be used a low chairs - and crucially were short enough when folded to fit across the width of the boot (a Ford Escort Eatate). Oh yeah, get an esate car....

 

[Sly870]

Thanks very much
Phil & Teds website confused me for a while lol I found some twin prams but they seem to be a very random design so I'll leave that to the wife but you're the second person to mention them. We definitely need a light frame so aluminium will be key I think, an S-Max is a good size, they've got my ST 300 till June then who knows.
I think Maxi Cosi is the way forward it seems but I'm sure there are other ones we need to look at etc.


Thanks for your info!
I agree I think ISOFix with the foot well pole seems to be a good thing to have these days, with regards to the ISOFix base as you're maybe having Joie for both, do you need to buy the base again or will it fit all Joie seats in it? Or did your i-level one not join with the base at all?
It seems you went all out for Joie haha, they're on our list in the top 3 I think so we will have a look at them when we go for the size check trip.
Interesting about the Fiesta as the wife has a new style one and we weren't sure if a twin pram would fit in the boot, with regards to the plastic cover piece is that car or pram related lol

Yeah the main family car is my MK3 Leon ST Estate so space is plentiful in the boot but when that goes back (leased) we will have the Fiesta until we replace it with something bigger. Is there a place you went to that allowed you to fit seats into the car etc, plan for Saturday is to go to the pram expert in Boston to see what they have.

Cheers

Plastic piece is that board/cover thing in the boot of the car - parcel shelf I think it's called?

Yeah, we know Joie from family members kids, just seemed like the most price friendly product out there. The carrycot also fits on the pram.

I think we have to replace the base but then that allows a few more seat options in as she grows. The Mrs did all this research, has pages of the stuff

 

[Jimbobcook]

For a pram, we went with one that would convert. It could either be a simple one reactangle pram bed (our 2 were premature, and were both about 2kg, so not big!) but also converted to a tandem (one behind the other, both facing front) pushchaie. It was also narrow enough to go through single doors, a boon when out shopping (it was nearly 30 years ago now!). These days prams/pushcahirs are all hugely expensive, and huge (IMO). ETA I just looked - Bebecar do some, but £1000!!! Bloody hell. Ours were second hand (as were the cots, with new mattresses), as were most of their clothes for the first couple of years - we had a friend with slightly older twins and got bin-liners full of outgrown clothes.

We also had some fantastic all plastic high chairs from the now-defunct Toy's 'R Us, which had telscoping legs, so could also be used a low chairs - and crucially were short enough when folded to fit across the width of the boot (a Ford Escort Eatate). Oh yeah, get an esate car....

This is my main worry that prams are on the large size so side by side maybe somewhat of an issue when out and about, as for price you can pay as much as you want, the wife mentioned Silvercross as a proper expensive brand and something that ha Donkey in the model haha Gutted Toys 'R Us closed down, they would of been ideal as there isn't really any places like it for scale and choice. I've got the Estate till June then who knows...

Plastic piece is that board/cover thing in the boot of the car - parcel shelf I think it's called?

Yeah, we know Joie from family members kids, just seemed like the most price friendly product out there. The carrycot also fits on the pram.

I think we have to replace the base but then that allows a few more seat options in as she grows. The Mrs did all this research, has pages of the stuff

Ah thee old parcel shelf, yeah I imagine that maybe the case with a twin buggy, it would just take up a little more room width ways as it should be the same height folded I assume. Joie does seem to be a good benchmark to look at for price and reviews. Like you, the wife has been doing the majority of the research but getting an idea from car owners is always helpful as well.

 

[Sly870]

This is my main worry that prams are on the large size so side by side maybe somewhat of an issue when out and about, as for price you can pay as much as you want, the wife mentioned Silvercross as a proper expensive brand and something that ha Donkey in the model haha Gutted Toys 'R Us closed down, they would of been ideal as there isn't really any places like it for scale and choice. I've got the Estate till June then who knows...


Ah thee old parcel shelf, yeah I imagine that maybe the case with a twin buggy, it would just take up a little more room width ways as it should be the same height folded I assume. Joie does seem to be a good benchmark to look at for price and reviews. Like you, the wife has been doing the majority of the research but getting an idea from car owners is always helpful as well.

The Mrs has a Seat Arona which we use at the moment. I sold my Fiesta and was planning on getting a Cupra Formentor but have ended placing a deposit for a new GR Yaris instead, gone completely backwards!

 

[Scott_FR]

My twins just turned 3.
Would recommend maxi-cosi isofix bases. We had the Pebble seats, which were good up to about 18 months.
Not much room behind the drivers seat in a Leon though.

Had a Bugaboo Donkey double buggy, which had an adaptor to allow the Maxi-cosi seats to fit.

If these are your first, good luck!
The first 9 months are a rollercoaster. The first few especially, when you'll be churning through 16+ nappies a day, and never ending feed cycles.
Things settle down after that though. After that fun period, having twins is no different to having 1 (we've also got a 5yo).

Top Tip: get the snip ASAP!

Sent from my SM-G980F using Tapatalk

 

[ChocoHR]

Thanks for the reply, I don't think the wife will want anything Recaro, me on the other hand wouldn't mind it.


Maxi Cosi seems to be the one to have, I've also seen the NCAP people also state that they test with Maxi-Cosi and Britax so that's always good to know.


That's interesting as like you said quite a few people say don't get the fighter jet style because of kicking etc so something tells me that it's just a few people saying and standard social media catching on. It would definitely make it easier to get through doors.

Sparco then?? lol

Why do you think she would not like it?