Baby Car Seat Recommendation! No ISOFIX

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  FoxJump on 18/04/2023 - 23:36

  +1

  my car has isofix. theyre in a stupid spot. so i use the seatbelt. it's fine.

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  Jimothy Wongingtons on 18/04/2023 - 23:39

  Got two graphene - seems fine to me. More narrow base than the millenia we have .

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  accessdenied on 19/04/2023 - 00:03

  Congratulations buddy. I am on the same boat. I'll keep an eye ont his post too.

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  kawinuyo on 19/04/2023 - 00:14

  My car doesn't have isofix and we still go the britax millennia after a lot of research (6 years ago). Still using them now.

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  p1 ama on 19/04/2023 - 00:17

  Also they said 0-4 Seat is better than 0-8 ( 1-8 or 6months -8 are not on my list because I need a baby car seat to take my wife from hospital on the first day).

  Yes, agreed a 0-4 is much more appropriately sized for small babies vs. a 0-8 ,which I've always found to be comically large.

  Even then, a 0-4 is generally pretty large for a < 1 month baby, so you may want to look at a baby capsule. You don't get much use out of them (and most people don't either), so this is something that I would strongly suggest getting second hand. I had a capsule which was handed around several family and friends (I think something like six babies got use out of it). It's also super convenient to be able to take the capsule into your house so you can load/unload the baby inside. I ended up using my capsule for around 2 months before switching over to the 0-4 seat.

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    saltysalt on 19/04/2023 - 08:24

    Yeah capsule is a godsend for the first few months.

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    pmt0912 on 19/04/2023 - 08:43

    So i have to use a capsule to take my kid home ? My plan is to buy a new born -4 car seat so I dont have to buy a capsule ( even second hand still cost ~$100-150) plus installation cost $50 for the capsule. After taking them home, I will probably not take them out until 1-1.5 month.

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      FoxJump on 19/04/2023 - 11:53

      you /can/ install yourself also

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      p1 ama on 20/04/2023 - 00:50

      So i have to use a capsule to take my kid home ?

      No, but a capsule, at least in my opinion, is more convenient for small babies. Opinions will vary, but I found that with mine, it was nice to be able to put baby into the capsule and take baby out once in the house (as opposed to the car in the driveway), and the seating position seemed to be more comfortable for a small baby (it's a bit more "reclined" than a 0-4 seat can go). It was also just a big smaller and more snug and helped baby sleep.

      I wouldn't spend full price on a capsule, but I got one second hand for around $150, and sold it second hand a few months later for around the same price, so all well and good.

      My plan is to buy a new born -4 car seat so I dont have to buy a capsule ( even second hand still cost ~$100-150) plus installation cost $50 for the capsule. After taking them home, I will probably not take them out until 1-1.5 month.

      Just rent a capsule, or ask friends / family, someone definitely has a capsule that's sitting in their garage somewhere. Just throw the cover into a washing machine and it'll be brand new.

      installation cost $50 for the capsule

      Why? Just read the instructions / watch a video and install it yourself. Car seats are designed to be user-installable. It takes me a few minutes to install one.

      You're better off learning how to do it, otherwise what's going to happen when you're on holiday and need to put one in a rental car, or when you have a loaner because your car is getting repaired, or if a relative wants to drive your kid around…etc.?

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    Chandler on 19/04/2023 - 09:48

    We never got a capsule.

    Most (well, the Britax at least) 0-4 seats come with extra padding that sits on the seat for newborns/small babies. The padding can get taken out when bub gets too big (or makes a mess!)

    In my opinion, the only advantage of a capsule (apart from any actual or perceived safety benefits) is that you can remove the seat from the car, meaning if baby is asleep you not trying to get them out of the seat. We personally never had too many issues getting sleeping baby out of a seat, and they usually either stayed asleep, resettled with some assistance or they were ready to wake up anyway.

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  geekcohen on 19/04/2023 - 07:55

  I have two of Britax Graphene and they are great. Had it in my VE Commodore with no ISOFIX, and it was perfect. My new car has ISOFIX and it is working very well.

  I like ISOFIX because it's easier to move in and out when required, the seatbelt was a pain when the seat needed to come out.

  My daughter is approaching 4 in August and has been using the seat since birth in my car. In my wife's car, we had a capsule until we turned the seat around and put in the Britax.

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  Worf on 19/04/2023 - 08:36

  I think I have a graphene… I’m pretty sure you can still loop the seatbelt through the baby/child seat if you don’t have isofix. I’ll check later if it’s still in debate.

  Assuming you can anchor it with the seatbelt, I think it’s more a question of whether you like the car seat or not. Go to baby bunting, ask for a simulator baby (kind of like a weighted baby doll) and practice putting the baby in various car seats. You’ll find that you like some features better than others, e.g., strap, buckle, release mechanism, etc.

  Also, I’m told Britax’s generally have a smaller overall size which is helpful when rear facing.

  Some seats have extended rear facing which is supposed to be safer in certain types of collisions

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  donbot on 19/04/2023 - 11:11

  We just moved our son out of a capsule - just past the 6month mark. He's gone into his brothers Milennia in my wifes car, and into a Graphene in my car. We used the same capsule for both bubs - and would do it again in a heart beat. Second hand is perfectly fine - you dont get a lot of use out of them, but in that first 6 months, anything that makes life a bit easier is worth its weight in gold. $150 for a second hand capsule is worth its weight in gold to keep a sleeping baby asleep, rather than trying to transfer them from car to inside.

  Seats - make sure they actually fit in your car rear facing, as they are wide and take up a lot of space, particularly if you use the passenger seat. I cannot fit the milennia in my car as its too deep - but the graphene works rear facing as its not as deep. Baby bunting were great to be able to take it out the front and see that its physically going to fit.

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  seanfoite on 19/04/2023 - 11:31

  Capsule is very handy, but not absolutely critical. As others have mentioned, you can absolutely get away with a 0-4 year baby seat, just try and find one that does rearward facing for the longest possible time.

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  Wade on 19/04/2023 - 17:54

  First couple of looks I had terrible analysis paralysis. Way too many choices.

  Once I realized that they’re all perfectly safe to Australian standards, I just went for whatever looked good. I really can’t be bothered stressing out from things I’m not across as yet.

  I bought two of these for $838 and they’re fine. Easy to get baby in and out of. For a few months I cbf’ed using a capsule one (even though ironically I do have a capsule that came with our second hand pram) - https://www.babybunting.com.au/product/maxi-cosi-trvlr-conve…?

  Came with the mirror, seat protectors and sun shade too with each.

  Even though my car has isofix the installer used the seat belts as apparently it works better in my car lol.
  They also reiterate the isofix connections are purely for convenience, not for safety. FYI no 0-8 y/o seats come with isofix due to AU regulations apparently.

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  deeevan on 19/04/2023 - 20:30

  The key benefit of this seat is the shortest rearfacing depth and I think second narrowest width in the Australian market. Even if you don’t have isofix, good if you have long legged people in the front seats or fat people/other car seats in the back.

  Cheaper options are the Brava or even cheaper Quickfix which is the same seat as the Graphene, but different fabric and possibly minor features I can’t remember.

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  Brightland on 21/04/2023 - 10:14

  We've got the Graphene, partner's car doesn't have isofix and it works perfectly well. I've got a friend with a 10yo Aurion with no isofix, yet they still bought the Graphene as well, apparently it has a small footprint - I'd hate to see how must space a "big" seat takes up… I'm not sure why, but pretty much every mum I know has this car seat, and none of us knew each other prior to babies!! Also don't pay the $50 install fee unless you are a super cautious person or struggle to read and interpret instruction manuals. If you're concerned about installation, I know at least in SA the RAA offer a service for members to install seats for free.

  Capsules are a personal preferences depending on your travel habits tbh. We don't have to drive much where we live so unless we had use of one for free or a tiny cost, we wouldn't bother. If you live somewhere that you have drive everywhere, I can understand the appeal. We had our first baby at the start of covid, so it wasn't like we could go anywhere anyway - next baby coming in July so we'll see if my opinion changes with a bit more freedom!