run out of womb

... learning how to be a mum from scratch

Friday, 1 July 2016

Review: Maxi-Cosi AxissFix -and i-Size explained


Getting my 15-month-old into his old stage 0 car seat had become one of the worst parts of my day. I mean, worse than an unscheduled 3am WAAAAAH wake up. I've never tried to shoehorn an caffeinated octopus into an Evian bottle, but I imagine it would be easier than the daily battle I was facing trying to get my planking, screaming baby to sit in a car seat for ten minutes.

It was still the right size for him - but he's super nosy (hey, I'm his mum; it was inevitable) and likes to see more than the grey back of a Ford Fiesta seat. The mirror wasn't cutting it anymore - there's only so long that someone can spend gazing at themselves. It was time for a new car seat.

But I wasn't ready to give up the superior safety of a rear-facing ride: I'll still commit to that car seat battle for long journeys. The Government recommends babies face rearward in cars up until 15 months, or as long as possible - this position protects their necks and heads if a car was in an accident.

So the Maxi-Cosi AxiisFix was the perfect solution: babes can ride forward or backward facing, and, best of all and the feature my own parents really like - with the flick of a simple switch, the whole seat swivels around 360 degrees so you can face the seat towards the outside. That means it's easy to put even a chunky babe in and out of the car, as you don't have to contort your body like Max Whitlock in Rio.

We went for the Triangle Flow beautiful turquoise colour - it is, as the practical parents about you will notice, the least-best at blending in those inevitable strawberry car bribes or muddy shoe marks, but is such a lovely colour I couldn't resist.. Black is boring. 

Another thing I love about the AxissFix is that it's one of the few car seats on the market that's approved for the new European standards, the i-Size regulations. 

I was as anti-Brexit as the next sane person, but just because we're leaving Europe we can still adopt their thorough safety checks. 

Still, I'd just got to grips with Isofix so had to do my research on i-Size - a new set of regulations that mean, eventually, all car seats will fit in all cars. The car and car seat both need Isofix, (the fitting system that attaches car seats directly to the frame of your car using connectors, rather than seat belts) and i-Size cuts the risk of you fitting your car seat incorrectly -which can be really dangerous.

i-Size-approved seats have been tested more vigorously - frontal and rear-impact AND side-impact tests, for example, and you pick one based on your baby's height rather than weight. There's no need to buy a new i-Size seat if you don't need a new car seat- the two types of regulation are running alongside each other for now - but given their improved safety checks, the AxissFix's i-Size approval gave me piece of mind.

Now we've been using the car a month, the seat-battles have cut right down: tiny man seems to find it comfortable - it's really padded and with good neck support: even when he's asleep, his head stays back on the chair, not slumped forward. I planned to keep the Axiss rear-facing for as long as possible, but when tiny man tantrums about it, I love having the option to turn it around. 

The seat was really easy to fit - clipping into the Isofix and having a top-tether that you just clip together like a hiking carabiner. Video here:
Another positive is that whilst the seat is spacious and expands to fit roughly a four-year-old, it's not huge at the base so doesn't take up more than one 'bum space' in the car's back seat. 

The only things I dislike about the AxissFix are: my Houdini-like baby can sometimes slip his arms out of the seatbelt, even though it's a five-point harness, tightened as much as possible. We're working on 'No!' to stop him doing so as I don't think any car seat would.. The other issue is I find the belts tricky to clip into the bottom unit sometimes: given it can be a battle, it would be nice if the two straps clipped together better before they go into the bottom part of the strap.

The AxissFix looks expensive - at around £375 - but that includes the built-in base, where other seats require you to buy a separate one. It also grows with the child, until they're 105cm long, so lasts a long while.

If you're hunting for a new car seat and have any questions about the AxissFix, ask below and I'll try to answer as quickly as poss.

* Item sent to ROOW for review - but rest assured we're seriosuly gobby and only rave about things we genuinely love.
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3 comments

  1. Hi, my baby has the same habit of planking. How have you managed with the same issue with the swivel seat. I really want one to save my back but not sure if I can shoehorn him in facing towards me!!

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  2. Mainly via distraction - OH WOW THERE'S A BIRD CAN YOU SEE IT? - But also food bribes.. banana biscuits in particular.. getting there! good luck and thanks for reading x

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  3. Would a baby taller than 87 cm still be able to ride rear facing or do they have to switch to forward at that point?

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