Sorry I've been quiet ...

I was quiet for the month of February for a number of reasons – one was how busy I was with work, and struggling to find that balance of work / home life – another reason was that since the death of my grandfather, February has always been a dark month for me emotionally.  This year was particularly hard as it was the 10 year anniversary.

The month of March has begun on a high with some brilliant family news though, so the clouds are starting to lift.

Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP

I’ve used – and been a huge fan of – the Maxi-Cosi Opal in my car since J was 9 months old. At that point – and for many more months – he used the Opal rear facing. At 12.5kg he required an additional harness height on the Opal that indicated he had to turn forward facing. He was a tall 19 month old at that point.

The next stage up for J was a Group 2 carseat. These are available, but more commonly you will find a combination Group 1 & 2 carseat or a combination Group 2 & 3 carseat (there are seats available which are Group 1,2 & 3 but I’ve never used one of these) The Opal is a Group 0+ & 1 combination, meaning it is suitable from birth to 13kg rear facing, and to 18kg forward facing. Group 2 & 3 combination seats are for 15-36kg. As J grew taller I was concerned about the lack of further harness height adjustment I had – he had been using the top setting for a while, but it remained level with his shoulders for a long time.

Credit to www.goodeggsafety.com 

One evening, we were going through some junk from the cupboard in the front bedroom that we’re in the process of sorting out to put all of J’s stuff in there (at the moment he sleeps in that room and has his toys in there, but all his clothes are in his old room which is really annoying!) Anyway we found a set of scales so J wanted to know what they were for, and we ended up weighing him. I was astounded to realise my lanky little boy was 17kg! Despite looking so slight, he’s solid and at around 103cm tall while he’s not right at the top end of the percentile height wise for his age anymore, he has increased on the weight side. At that point I realised – even if the harness remained suitable for him for another however long, he was only 1kg away from being too heavy for the Opal anymore anyway!

As a big fan of Maxi-Cosi, given that all my previous carseats have been that brand and I’ve been very happy with them, I naturally looked to the Maxi-Cosi Collection for the Group 2/3 carseat.

There’s a wide variety, all within the ‘Rodi’ name – RodiFix, Rodi Air Protect, Rodi XP and Rodi SPS. The RodiFix was pointless for me – I don’t have IsoFix in my car, so it was an unnecessary addition to pay for. Rodi Air Protect, Rodi XP or Rodi SPS were all suitable for my car, but in the end I went for the XP purely because I could get it in Navy, as he’s always had black or red carseats before. (Ideally I’d love an Air Protect in Kids Choice Magic for him!)

It felt very strange the first time I placed the Rodi in the car and J climbed into it. You don’t put the seatbelt around the seat to anchor it into place and then use a harness for the child; the child and the seat are held using the three point seatbelt. With the Rodi you thread the diagonal belt through the red guide on the bottom of the headrest section and once this is adjusted correctly to lead that belt across the child’s shoulder (not cutting into the neck) the headrest is in the correct position as well. It’s simple to adjust – just grip the headrest section and you’ll feel a shaped piece with four grooves just right for your fingers to grab – lift it up and the headrest will now move up and down. Release it at the correct height and click it into place. The child in the seat, the seatbelt goes through the second red guide at the child’s hip for the lap belt to be hip to hip on the child, not across the soft part of their tummy. Out the guide on the other side and lock the seatbelt into place. I do take the slack out of the seatbelt even though I know in an accident the inertia would lock the belt – however I prefer to ensure the chances of him managing to wriggle out or move around too much are minimised from the start.

Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP User Manual pages 8 - 9

www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/child/rodi-xp/service.aspx

The first journey I found quite weird because I’m so used to him being in a carseat with a harness, and every time I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw him I just kept thinking how grown up he suddenly looked in his ‘big boy’ booster seat. We got to the shops and went into the supermarket – he told everyone he could that he was in a “big boy blue booster seat” and whether or not they all understood him they all nodded and he was very pleased with the overall reaction!

First time in the Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP going to the supermarket in my car

To be honest with you I’m still struggling with the idea of my baby boy now being in this carseat, but he tells me it is comfortable and he likes it, and he can see well out of the window so he is happy. I will be happier once I am a bit more used to the idea I think. The fact that it is so easy to install means I can easily move it between my car and my parents-in-laws car if I need to.  I rate this carseat and would say it is definitely worth the RRP for the amount of use you’ll get out of it.

On the way to Grandma & Grandad's House

To determine if the Maxi-Cosi Rodi XP is suitable for use in your vehicle please take the car to your local Maxi-Cosi retailer and ask for a carseat fitter trained member of staff to provide a physical fitting prior to purchase.

*** UPDATE ***

20.09.14

J continues to be very comfortable in his Maxi-Cosi RodiAP and has been dropping off to sleep a lot more often since travelling in this seat vs travelling in the RodiXP. I don’t know if this is co-incidence or if the seat is more comfortable – it certainly seems more thickly padded. With recline option as well he can get really comfy – I tend to recline it before he gets in and we set off on any journey that is going to take more than an hour. He’s not been carsick again since swapping to this model either.

At four years and 2 months old he is approximately 107cm. I haven’t weighed him in a while so I don’t know how much he’s put on recently but he remains a very slender build. 

*** These views are entirely my own. I am not paid to write this material and do so in my own time.***

Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix #Facts

Did you know as well as doubling up as a rocker, your Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix holds the harness out of your way to make it as easy as possible to get baby into the seat?

Extend the harness to maximum length.
Tuck each shoulder harness strap behind the silver hooks on either side of the carseat.

At the top of the crotch pad is a hook ....

Use this hook to hold the crotch pad forward around the tensioner housing unit

Carseat harness is well out of the way and ready for baby to be placed in with minimum fuss

Vauxhall Corsa - Definitely a Family Friendly small car

I’m  very impressed with the Vauxhall Corsa. For such a small car I have never had an issue fitting a variety of carseats in it.

Nanan used a Maxi-Cosi FamilyFix base with Maxi-Cosi Pebble carseat, fitted with IsoFix, when J was little. When he grew out of the Pebble, he used the Maxi-Cosi Pearl on the FamilyFix base. When the 2wayFix base and 2wayPearl was launched, allowing ERF to 105cm, we successfully fitted that instead. (in ERF position with no loss of front seat passenger space)

Maxi-Cosi 2wayFix base with 2wayPearl in RF position fitted to Vauxhall Corsa 2012

Yesterday she came to visit and take J out for the day but she had been unable to bring her carseat with her. Instead, I did a physical fit of our Maxi-Cosi Opal in the car instead, and it was not only a good fit but it was remarkably easy to fit – I remember it being a lot more awkward with my old car (a VW Polo) and I always put that down to the size of the car but the Corsa is considered a small car and it was easy to fit.

Maxi-Cosi Opal fitted to Vauxhall Corsa 2012

With the imminent arrival of the newest family member just weeks away, Nanan wanted to take the Maxi-Cosi EasyBase 2 and Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix home with her in order to deliver to the parents-to-be in advance of baby arriving. The easiest way of transporting both items in her car was for me to fit them, which I did – and again, another great fitting. It’s simple and straightforward with the EasyBase 2 and CabrioFix combination anyway, that’s why I had it for J, but it was so quick and easy to do in the Corsa.


Well done, Vauxhall – this small car is definitely family-friendly!

Vauxhall Corsa - A Family Friendly small car. I've never had an issue with fitting any carseat I've tried.

Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix #Facts

Did you know your Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix carseat can be used as a rocker for baby? The carry handle has three locked position - upright (for carrying and car travel); mid-point and lower. The lower position locks the seat still in order to get baby in and out easily without the seat moving and the mid-point allows the shapes base of the carseat shell to rock baby.

Carry handle in upright position. When using Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix in the car the carry handle should always be upright.

Carry handle in mid-position. In this position the carseat will rock on the curved base of the carseat shell.

Carry handle in lower position. In this position the carseat is locked still, making it easier to get baby in and out.

As the teddy bear in this video does not weigh anything like a new-born baby weight it does look like quite extreme rocking - Having used this feature with a real baby in the seat when J was younger I can confirm it is not so extreme when using in this way!

Remember the guidelines from Maxi-Cosi is that baby is not in the carseat continuously for more than 2 hours at a time.

2wayFix & 2wayPearl in Vauxhall Insignia

J often goes out in the car with his grandparents (my parents). Up til now they have been using the Maxi Cosi FamilyFix base. Initially this was in combination with his CabrioFix carseat or their Pebble, and then in combination with their Pearl carseat. We are currently using the new Maxi Cosi 2wayFix base in combination with the 2wayPearl. This combination can be used from six months to fifteen months rear facing. From fifteen months you can forward face the carseat until 105cm (approx. 4 yrs old) or you can continue using the seat rearfacing until 105cm. Under new iSize legislation the requirement is mandatory that the child is rearfacing until 15 months – Maxi Cosi recommend til at least two years. My point of view is that if it can be used rearfacing til 105cm, and we know this is the safest option for travel for children, why not use it?

Grumpa has a Vauxhall Insignia. This is a long, large size family car. The 2wayFix base fits well into the rear seat without any adjustment required for the front seat passenger. The 2wayFix base is longer from front to back of the seat than the FamilyFix base but in this vehicle that does not make a difference. There is no under floor storage in this vehicle, but remember to remove the floor mats and have the front support leg directly against the floor of the vehicle. The 2wayPearl fitted rear facing on the base nicely and there was a good hand gap between the back of the carseat and the back of the vehicle passenger seat in front, even when the 2wayPearl was reclined. The 2wayFix base and 2wayPearl combination is very easy to fit and provides audible noises and green / red light indicators to show correct fitting.  Grumpa likes this feature of the product as it gives him confidence that he has fitted it properly.

L-R: Vauxhall Insignia / J rearfacing in 2wayPearl / Grumpa demonstrates front passenger leg room

When it came to putting J into the carseat we encountered some difficulty. J is on the top end of the scale for using this product, he is 3.5yrs old, 101cm and 15.5kg. The difficulty encountered was not because of the carseat – it was due to the steep slope of the roof of the Insignia, which minimised space for being able to get J into the 2wayPearl in rearfacing position. It made it awkward, but not impossible, and he was quickly in the seat and comfortable. He immediately crossed his legs in front of him, as a child of his age will naturally do.

When we were out in the car, he was high enough to see out the rear window, so he was waving at the people in the vehicles behind us and thoroughly enjoyed a night time cruise through town enjoying looking at the Christmas lights out the window. People seem to think that rearfacing is more likely to make the child carsick – if you find your child suffers carsickness, try using sun visors over the side windows so they can only see out the rear window, as this is less likely to confuse the brain. J has enough space in this seat to be comfortable and safe while rearfacing and when he became bored of looking out the rear window he had a magazine to read and then played with his Leappad for a while, both of which fitted on his lap probably better than if he’d been forward facing, as the angle of the seat made it less likely to slip off his lap. He remained well entertained throughout the journey. I am really impressed with this base and carseat combination. 

These views are entirely my own. I am not paid to write this material and do so in my own time.

Extended Rear Facing (ERF) Explained

As ex-ambulance control staff, currently working in the nursery industry and a mum as well, I know too well the importance of carseat safety. I’m carseat fitter trained and take great care each time to ensure that J is secured properly in his carseat. I take the seat out of the car to clean it and re-fit it once a month to ensure it is working as it should be and is correctly installed. One of my pet hates are people ignorant of the dangers of an incorrect carseat fitting in their vehicle, incorrect use of the carseat harness (too loose) or people who are so desperate for their child to go into a forward facing carseat as soon as possible.

Rearfacing is safest. Extended rear facing (known as ERF) has been around for ages, but it’s only in the last few years that it has come to the UK and is becoming more common. Due to the fact a baby and toddler has such a large, heavy head in comparison with the rest of their body, plus the fact their neck and spinal muscles are less developed than an adults, means that in an impact in a rear facing carseat they will be pressed into the seat and the force distributed across their shoulders. In a forward facing carseat, an impact will cause their head to snap forward, putting extreme stress on their neck and spinal muscles, which in some cases can be fatal.

The head of a baby / small child is much larger & heavier than that of an adult

As one of the biggest carseat manufacturers, Maxi Cosi noted the growing public call for ERF seats and became heavily involved with a project for the next stage of carseat safety standard. Currently, all European carseats have to meet ECE R44-04. This is an amended standard of the previous one, and not a lot changed. In reality, to meet this standard, a carseat is not put through its paces particularly well. For instance, there is no rollover test or side impact test before the seat can be awarded this standard. Maxi Cosi, on the other hand, have been exceeding the standard for quite a while by producing carseats which go above and beyond the standard – but of course there is no additional award or standard that can be given, so their carseats wear the same standard ECE badge as a cheap £20 carseat that barely meets standard. As a parent, how are you meant to know which is the best option? Especially in these times of everyone being financially stretched, it’s easy to see why parents do buy cheap carseats – after all, if they all meet the standard, the only difference is the price, right? It may come as a shock to many to learn that this is not the case. In fact, you could compare it to the difference between a supermarket value brand food and the finest range.

Maxi Cosi’s involvement in developing the next stage of carseat safety standard has allowed them to put forward their own ideals for what a carseat should be tested to before it is sold and considered an optimum safety carseat. This standard is called iSize. This new standard changes what criteria the product has to meet. Currently, the Maxi Cosi 2wayFix base when used in combination with the 2wayPearl is the only iSize approved carseat unit.

Under the current standard, your standard Group 1 carseat is suitable from 9-18kg. As a guideline, the age “approx. 9 months – 3.5yrs” is added. Many people don’t see the weight as being the important bit, even though it is the vital information in this statement. They ignore the “approx.” and as soon as their child is nine months old they rush them into a forward facing carseat, whether or not they are the minimum 9kg weight. To discourage this, the new iSize standard states that when using an iSize seat the child remains rearfacing til 15 months, regardless of height or weight. This is because it is not until 15 months that their neck muscles are developed enough to limit damage in an impact. Maxi Cosi recommends when using an iSize seat that the child is rearfacing til 2 years. In a Maxi Cosi 2wayPearl (used in combination with 2wayFix base) the seat can be forward faced at 15 months or you can continue to use it rearfacing until 105cm (approx 4 yrs) 

My son J has always been very tall – as a baby he was very long. He outgrew his CabrioFix carseat at nine months old due to his height, but he was nowhere near 9kg; which is why we then got him an Opal, and he remained rearfacing til he was almost 19 months. I don’t have IsoFix in my car, so it takes some option out of selecting a suitable carseat, but both my parents cars have IsoFix and so our 2wayFix and 2wayPearl product testing is carried out using their vehicles.