Maxi-Cosi carseat Summer Cover

When Baby A was born last August, I wasn’t up for going out much in the car, and by the time I was taking him out I was using the Pebble carseat with the matching Footmuff. I love my Pebble, and I love the Footmuff, too. Its lovely and snuggly, the inner fabric is like t shirt material so its nice and cosy and soft against baby, and because it’s the official Footmuff to use with the carseat you know its safe, because the harness goes into the back of it, does up directly around baby, and the Footmuff does up over the top, so baby is securely harnessed in correctly. It kept Baby A gorgeous and warm through a long, chilly winter, and I was a bit sad when it was time to take it off when the weather got warmer again.

My ickle dinky dot was 6 weeks old in this photo

The weather turning warm meant that Baby A was getting sweaty in his carseat. Like his big brother, the combination of warm weather and being in a carseat means his hair is soaked and his clothes are sticking to him within ten minutes of travelling. I had learned with J five years ago that the summer cover for the CabrioFix was an invaluable piece of kit – and the summer cover for the Pebble is proving itself to be just as invaluable for Baby A.

The Pebble carseat with Cool Grey summer cover
(as seen on the Maxi-Cosi website)

I went for the Cool Grey colour summer cover, because I think it goes best with the existing Denim Hearts fabric. Although you don’t see any of the carseat fabric as the summer cover goes over it entirely, the harness pads are still the same (denim blue) and the rubber trim of the carseat is blue. I’m still using the headhugger in the carseat even though in just 2 weeks time Baby A will be a whole 12 months old, and this is a soft, grey, t shirt fabric.

I felt a bit sad, covering up my beloved Denim Hearts fabric. Having said that though, I cannot deny that Baby A is much more comfortable with the summer cover in place than he would be without – temperatures have been high 20’s / early 30’s here recently, and I think he would have been seriously hot and bothered using the carseat without the summer cover.

The summer cover is made from towelling fabric, so it keeps baby cooler by wicking away moisture from around the baby to keep them cool and comfortable.

Summer covers really are fantastic, I highly recommend them – I’ll be getting one for Baby A’s next carseat, too, and I’m considering one for J though he doesn’t get as sweaty now he’s in a high back booster seat – I think because it’s less closed-in than a carseat with harness. If you have a Maxi-Cosi carseat and you’re interested in a summer cover, you can buy them direct from the Maxi-Cosi E Shop for all current style Maxi-Cosi carseats, RRP £30.

Quinny Zapp & Maxi-Cosi Pebble

As much as I adore the Maxi-CosiMura Plus, for taking out in the car it just isn’t a practical option for me every time. For instance if I’m popping to the shops with Baby A, the Mura Plus chassis and the Folding Carrycot takes up all my boot space, so I’d have to put my shopping in the car itself.

It’s times like this that the Quinny Zapp comes into its own. I have a 2010 Limited Edition Black Zapp chassis and like all Zapp’s, it came as standard with the adaptors to use the Maxi-Cosi carseat with it. The original style Zapp isn’t suitable from birth and there isn’t a carrycot accessory for use with it, so the only way of using this product for a baby under six months is to use in combination with the carseat. Please Note: Original style Quinny Zapp is no longer offered for sale in the UK. 

Baby A travelling in style; Maxi-Cosi Pebble 2015 Denim Hearts with matching Footmuff
Used in combination with Quinny Zapp 2010 Limited Edition Black chassis

Included in the box with Quinny Zapp is the Zapp raincover, Zapp shopping basket and Zapp adaptors which are used for Maxi-Cosi carseats only – There is no carrycot option suitable for use on the Zapp chassis.

As I’ve probably mentioned before, I’m not a fan of babies being in carseats too much – they’re designed for safe car travel, not for baby to be crammed into all day every day, and Maxi-Cosi recommends no more than 2 hours in the carseat before baby is given the opportunity to lie flat, stretch about and generally wiggle freely for a minimum of 20 minutes. However sometimes, it is handy to attach the carseat to a chassis. It saves me struggling to carry the carseat for a start – my back doesn’t take kindly to carrying it too much; and it provides a smoother journey for baby, rather than the bouncing of the carseat being carried about.

The Quinny Zapp chassis folds down very compact and is incredibly lightweight, thus making it the ideal ‘car’ pushchair for me. I leave it in the boot and basically forget it is there. Those times I need it though it is invaluable.

With hard rubber compound wheels the Zapp is notorious for the ‘clunk clunk’ noise as you’re pushing it – every change in surface, every crack in the pavement, you can hear with this one; subtle and quiet it is not. However the three wheel design with front rotating swivel wheel (which can be locked if preferred) does make it lovely and smooth to push over smooth surfaces. If you’re in a shopping mall it’s like cutting through butter with a warm knife, and you can turn a full circle on a ten pence piece – if you’re off for a trek through the woods or live in an area with a lot of cobblestone streets, possibly not the wisest choice. You do have to be careful with the Zapp; it is very lightweight, so don’t try to go up or down curbs by tipping it onto the front wheel unit – again, I would say common sense dictates that you tip it onto the two back wheels to distribute the weight before attempting curbs, but it’s a habit I got into years ago when using the pushchair with J and perhaps not something everyone would automatically think of. Quinny do not recommend that you hang any items over this chassis, particularly because it is so lightweight there is a very real risk of additional weight, particularly over the hand grip connector bar, making the product tip. Again I will hold my hands up and say that I have hung a nappy bag over the handlebars many times, in fact when J was pushchair age I deliberately overloaded the Zapp without him in it to try and make it tip, and I failed to do so until I literally pulled on the weight hanging from the handlebars, but to err on the side of caution Quinny will advise you strongly against doing this. I hang bags on the chassis at my own discretion and when in use  I would not let go of the handlebars.

The Zapp has a small shopping basket which to be honest isn’t particularly useful for carrying much more than your raincover and perhaps a small drinks bottle, but hey we’re not talking about a pushchair designed for walking to the supermarket and doing your weekly shop with, we’re talking about a compact, lightweight run-around designed for convenience and ease of use.

The Zapp model I have is the 2010 model so it has three steps to fold / unfold – newer models have an additional fourth step to make it easier, but to be honest I’ve never had an issue. Despite not being used since J was three, when I got the Zapp chassis out of storage I gave it a thorough clean with furniture polish and a soft cloth and it was as good as new (Note: Do not use oil based lubricants to clean your chassis as they can leave sticky residue which can then attract more dirt and debris which causes friction, creating problems with fold / unfold action) I have developed quite a neat knack with my Zapp chassis of clicking button one, pressing button two and flicking the chassis outward snapping both side knuckles locked solid and bringing number 3 section up and into locked position in one fluid movement.

The Zapp chassis has left Brake Off pedal and a bright red right Brake On pedal. I’ve always found the brakes on the Zapp very strong and reliable, but sometimes the Brake Off doesn’t release the brakes the whole way and as you start walking you notice the pushchair feels heavier than normal and the rear wheels aren’t turning properly. Whenever this has happened I have just put the brakes back on again and then pressed the Brake Off pedal more definitely and it has resolved the issue.

As I have the raincover for  the carseat (compatible with Pebble Plus, Pebble and CabrioFix models) this makes the Pebble and Zapp combination very handy, as even in bad weather I can add the carseat and off we go with no fuss and I don’t have to worry about Baby A getting soggy. As a rule he falls asleep in the carseat the moment we drive anywhere, and being able to remove him from the car and get to where I’m going without disturbing him is a definite bonus for me. The other week Daddy P and I had an appointment at the bank – Baby A fell asleep in the carseat in the front room before we’d even got him into the car; we drove to the bank, put the carseat on the chassis and went in for our appointment, came out and popped into a couple of shops, returned to the car and put him back in and drove home and he only woke up when we parked up again at home, so he didn’t even notice we’d been out at all.

The Pebble carseat has memory buttons on it, which means when you’re using it in combination with a Maxi-Cosi or Quinny chassis you can press the buttons and they’ll stay depressed until you lift it off the chassis – meaning you can do this one handed which is dead handy. When putting the carseat onto the chassis there is an audible ‘click’ noise when it is correctly positioned and locked in place, which is reassuring and gives confidence that you’ve got it all set up properly.

I’ll continue to use the Zapp combined with the Pebble in this way until Baby A is too big for the Pebble, when I’ll put the Zapp fabric back into the chassis and use that instead. It doesn’t have a recline or parent facing option, so it isn’t suitable for children under six months old, but it remains for me the ideal ‘car’ pushchair as the addition of the seat fabric and sun canopy makes little difference to the overall size of the pushchair when folded. You can also get a Zapp travel bag which keeps the product neat and tidy and can be used for the standard Zapp or the Zapp Xtra 2 model and which makes it easier to carry as well (the bag as a carry handle)

 Peace N Love

Mummy P

“The Carseat - Maxi-Cosi Pebble & EasyBase2”

When I was pregnant with J, I chose a Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix carseat in Tango Red (2010 Collection) and a Maxi-Cosi EasyBase2 (since my car didn’t have IsoFix, but I wanted the convenience of a base). I had the carseat with an Ecru colour summer cover (that’s cream to you and me) and a matching Tango Red Footmuff for the colder weather. My review for this can be found here.

This time around, though my car (updated since then) doesn’t have IsoFix, I decided to get a new carseat. The Maxi-Cosi Pebble can also be used on the EasyBase2, so I chose this model, and after much deliberation I decided to go for the 2015 Limited Edition Denim Hearts colour. Once again, I have a summer cover (Cool Grey) and matching Denim Hearts Footmuff for the colder weather. I love the fact that Maxi-Cosi do carseat footmuffs for the infant carrier carseats, as you can be confident that baby is warm enough without risking their safety; the harness goes into the Footmuff, allowing you to tension it correctly around baby, then zips up over the top of the harness. You should never put a child into their carseat wearing a winter coat or snowsuit, as this will prevent the harness being correctly tensioned to keep them safe in the event of an impact. I love the Denim Hearts design because it’s great for boys or girls – a stonewash denim blue colour, with soft grey trim and bright orange details along with cream colour hearts stitched into the fabric. The headhugger for the Pebble is in soft grey fabric (it feels like t shirt material)

The Pebble is a Group 0+ carseat, which means its suitable from birth to 13kg under R44-04 standard (for rear facing use only).  The EasyBase2 is suitable for use with Pebble or CabrioFix carseat models. As this was previously used in my old car, I had to re-confirm suitability for the base in my existing car, and as there is a fake floor I contacted Toyota to discuss with them. The Pebble is FAA approved for use on board aircraft, and is suitable for babies from birth to 13kg. (Note: Baby becomes too tall for continued use of the carseat if their head crowns over the top of the carseat shell)

The Pebble handlebar should always be locked in the upright position for use in the car, as it forms a rollcage around baby in the event of a rollover accident, and it also distributes the force of a side impact across the bar, rather than jolting baby. As well as that, it has two other settings – the second of the settings is at the halfway point, meaning easy access to baby but the shape of the carseat itself allows for the carseat to be rocked; the third setting is right down, again allowing easy access to baby but this one preventing the carseat from rocking at all.

The Pebble has memory buttons, which means when you use it in combination with a Maxi-Cosi or Quinny chassis you can push the buttons and they’ll remain unlocked to make it easier for you to lift off the chassis. Remember though if you do use your carseat on a chassis the recommendation is that baby remains in the carseat for a maximum of 2 hours before having a minimum of 20 minutes out of the seat to allow them to lie flat / wriggle freely / stretch out. I like the convenience of the carseat being able to go on the chassis I use, but I only use it this way for quick journeys, if I’m planning on being out for a long time then I would have an alternative from-birth option available. Likewise, if your car journey is going to be more than 2 hours you should plan for stops along the way to allow baby some time out of the carseat.

The Pebble has an integral sun canopy which is stowed away under the lip of rubber around the edge of the seat to keep it safe. When you want it, just peel back the rubber and pull out the sun canopy, then use the hooks to attach it onto the carry handle.

The Pebble has a circular headhugger which can be easily adjusted from small to large size as required for the best fit of your baby; The lumbar support cushion keeps the seat size small for newborns but can be removed once required to provide more space for baby. The harness has innovative stay-open design which makes it much easier to get baby in and out of the carseat.

The quality of this product is apparent – the fabric is good quality, it is well designed with lovely finishing touches and it feels and looks like a product of high standard. You can be confident of the safety of the carseat, and added to this the ease of use, whether fitting with 3 point seatbelt or using a base, and the fact it can be easily added to a wide range of chassis for use as part of your travel system, and I think this product is an all round winner.