Sky 2.0

I wouldn’t recommend getting a car seat that grows with a child for a newborn, they’re not supportive for that age with the exception of something like the Avionaut Sky 2.0, which is suitable from newborn-25kg. But generally babies don’t tend to get a good fit in car seats like that until they’re several months old, and they tend to be more upright and more likely to cause severe head flop, which is dangerous until your baby can support their own head fully. We did have a baby carrier that fitted on the pram base but only used it occasionally if I was popping to the shops and the whole trip would be less than 30 minutes, but was very convenient for the early days hospital appointments and bringing baby in and out of the house. Ours lasted until about 15 months for our 99 percentile son, so yours may last a fair bit longer if you had a smaller baby!

My firsts infant carrier was shit. It didn’t give a very supportive fit, and neither do most on the market. It’s shocking how awful some of them are. My second I wanted a fixed seat for, I got her an Avionaut Sky the same as my eldest went into when we got rid of his infant carrier. It gives a beautiful fit for average sized newborns, she was born 6lbs10oz and 46cm and the fit was better than the infant carrier we had previously. The Sky rear faces until 25kg/125cm, although can be outgrown sooner than expected if baby carries more height in their torso than legs as it has a shorter shell than other similar seats. My third was always going to go into eldests Sky when it was outgrown, so I got the Avionaut Cosmo for him. Also gave a beautiful fit. Never had any issues with chin to chest at all with either of my younger two. The Pixel Pro is also a great seat if baby is expected to be smaller than average.

Jumping on this - my short two year old has an Axkid Movekid and Avionaut Sky, she can get in both seats herself (this isn’t always helpful!). The Sky is the most compact ERF but is taller seat. The Movekid (has had a rebrand recently) is much easier to get her in and out.

Sorry to jump on this, and if you’re joining the FB group suggested maybe you’ll have the advice anyway, but a lot people find the Maxi Cosi inserts especially for the next stage seats aren’t the most supportive and the shell is very short so it’s often outgrown really quickly relative to other seats so it might not last until a safe booster age. If you want a modular system we have the BeSafe Beyond system which has been amazing and the toddler seat lasts up until 125cm rather than 105cm which will be a big difference for my tall child. If your baby is likely to be lower centiles the Cybex Cloud/ Sirona will be more supportive for a modular system. But often, the toddler seats which fit into the newborn base are aren’t any cheaper than buying an isofix seat whose base is attached. I saw in another comment that you said you were considering weight as a factor for the infant carrier, and if you are then one of the Avionaut infant carriers would be great. They are both incredibly supportive, the Pixel is more expensive and is lighter and offers the best newborn positioning on the market, and the Cosmo is cheaper, and still fantastic positioning for newborn and beyond and lightweight. Neither lay flat but they don’t need to because the inserts are so supportive then keep the chin off the chest easily even in the baby is tiny. And in a crash it’s safer for the baby to be in a more insight position than a reclined one.

A handful of time, but could have lived without it. One thing I’d be careful with over seats which say they grow with the baby is they often provide a poor fit for newborns despite saying on the box they’re ok. There are a few suitable seats which are supportive enough: If your baby is likely to be smaller centiles these would probably get them to a safe booster seat age: * Axkid Spinkid * Besafe izi Twist/Turn B If your baby is likely to be bigger/taller then I’d look at these * Avionaut Stardust * Avionaut Sky * Axkid One + * Besafe Stetch B

What’s your budget for it and what centiles is your baby on. Some bigger babies will reach 105cm/18kg before they turn 4, which is really too young to be in a HBB, so if you want to rear face them until then getting an EFF seat from the start makes sense. If you want a belted seat, the Axkid Minikids, BeSafe Stretch, Britax MaxSafe Pro or Avionait Sky might be your best bet. If you want an ERF isofix seat, then the cheapest is the Avionaut Stardust and I’d probably pay the extra for the baby insert at your daughter’s age, but there’s also the BeSafe Beyond or Axkid One. If she’s on the smaller side, something like the Joie 360 or Graco equivalent (same in cheaper fabrics) or Cybex Sirona would be good

They don't attach to a stroller but you can look at the Axkid One+ (+ indicates it has the newborn insert), Besafe Stretch B (B is the one with the infant insert), and Avionaut Sky. These are ERF seats which give good fit for an infant and will take you right up until they need a high back booster, so all the way from newborn to 7 years old, rear facing, plus tested, very safe seats. There's no 360 seats which can also attach to a stroller as the 360 seat uses an isofix base to allow for the swivel and therefore the main seat part is attached to the base. So you need to decide if you want the 360 or the removable infant seat. Also to add, if you only want to buy minimal seats then you don't really want to gamble on a 360 seat, as these are only good to 18kg or 105cm with the harness, so if you have a +50% centile child they will outgrow the seat at around 3 or younger, when it won't be safe to forward face / move to seat belt and then you'll be forced to buy another seat to take them to safe booster age. For a 'buy the least seats possible' route the most efficient way is to either buy one of the birth - 36kg / 125cm ERF seats, or buy a good infant carrier, max that out so you know what centiles your kid is following and then buy the most appropriate Group 2 seat for their centiles and then buy a good high back booster when you get to that age.

There is a real lack of information for parents in the UK about car seat safety. It is 4x safer for children to rearface in the car, especially before 4 years of age. The longest lasting rearfacing seats usually fit with tethers instead of isofix. They aren't difficult to fit by any means, just different. Depending on the brand, these are often Swedish Plus tested also (a far superior and more in depth test for car seat safety). Your average car seat on sale in UK shops only has to pass a safety test at 30mph. That is with both cars going only 15mph! We purchased an Axkid Mini kid 2 for my son when he was 10 months. He is 5 in march and he still fits in it rearfacing with no issues. He's perfectly comfortable and I know he's safe. We bought an Avionaut Sky for when my daughter was born as it rearfaces for just as long, but also fit newborns. It is true that these are more expensive than some car seats, but they also last a long time! I've also seen older versions of the Mini kid (such as the Mini kid 2) at reduced rates recently. So it's worth having a look.

It's not advised to have babies in an infant carrier (the one that attaches to the pram) for longer than 30 mins so unless it's a quick drive, in out the shop then it's not safe. We had the maxi cosi cabriofix which is a safe and bduget friendly option but it has low height/weight limits so she's outgrown it now at 10 months. The Avionaut Cosmo will last over a year though and around £130. I had a baby in September so the only bonus of the infant carrier is that you can easily bring it inside to keep it warm before putting a baby in. We switched to the Avionaut Sky (which is suitable from birth too) around 5/6 months and it's been great. Love this seat. Should last her until she's 5 at least.

I do believe it is this seat which is a good budget one. If you're on Facebook, I recommended joining the Bump to Booster group. The admins are experts and are so good at giving good non-judgemental advice. This is a good seat once baby fits but all isofix seats have a set weight limit, usually around 18kg for low budget seats which doesn't tend to last children long enough so then it would be recommended to buy a longer lasting seat which is double the money. I got the maxi cosi cabriofix with base with my travel system (had to ask for others as the pebble wasn't very supportive or recommended) and now I use the Avionaut Sky. We switched around 6 months and love it so I can highly recommend that. It lasts until 25kg which should see my low centile baby until she's old enough for a booster. It was pricier at £300 but it lasts 10 years so we'll get lots of use out of it when we have our next one too. It really is a minefield so don't worry. I went down a rabbit hole when I was pregnant and had a panic attack that my baby would die if I would bought the pebble. All my friends have them and they're fine seats. My baby wouldn't die if she were in it but them hormones are brutal!