It's illegal and extremely dangerous to put a rear-facing infant car seat in the front passenger seat if your car is fitted with an airbag. For an autumn baby, you will be looking for an average-sized or bigger carrycot. It is highly likely that the baby will use the carrycot during the whole autumn and winter, so you will need enough space to accommodate your growing baby wrapped in warm clothes and footmuff. Because of the possibility of snow and cold wind, I would recommend a bigger hood or an elevated apron. Alternatively, to extend the hood, you could get an additional shade, hood extension or a sun visor accessory. If you have a car, you must have a baby car seat. Your baby must always go in their seat, including when you bring them home from the hospital. cardigans, wool or cotton rather than nylon, and light rather than heavy – several light layers of clothing are best for keeping your baby warm The apron is a functional accessory, and you are going to need it (not only) in winter. Thanks to creating shade and protecting the child not only against the cold, the apron comes in handy during the whole year, including some summer days.

The canopy of the carrycot, the seat unit, and even the car seat is for sure an important detail to look at. The rule applying to the carrycot canopy is that it's always better to have more of it (and not to use it) than to get less (and struggle with not-protective-enough sun coverage). sheets to cover the mattress – you need at least 4 because they need to be changed often; fitted sheets make life easier but can be quite expensive, so you could use pieces of old sheet I would consider getting a carrycot suitable (and certified) for overnight sleeping if you do overnight stays a lot with your child - no matter if it's visiting friends, family, or on trips. Otherwise, the feature is not really a thing I would use at home, where a normal crib is present. 0+ Carrycots usable instead of car seats (Car seat / carrycot hybrids) Some brands, such as Stokke, Mutsy, Cam, Inglesina offer the carrycot, the seat unit, and the chassis separately so that you can put together any combination you want. Chance is, if you ask for it, the manufacturer of your chosen stroller system may be able to provide you with only the carrycot part with the stroller frame, so it is worth asking if you really need that. Because the carrycot is generally used only for a few months anyway and usually doesn't get worn out much, a second-hand pram with only the carrycot attachment (and no seat) may be a relatively safe, budget-friendly, and eco-friendly option too. Do not use pillows and duvets – they're not safe for babies less than a year old because of the risk of suffocation. Duvets can also make your baby too hot.As I already hinted in the previous part - the total size (length, width) doesn't equal to the size of the mattress (= the inner measurements ~ length and width of the carrycot). Quite often, the difference is remarkable. Be aware of some Polish and other, predominantly cheaper brands, as they usually use in their descriptions the larger number to get your attention. The measurement is often taken over the top of the carrycot, in some cases even over the outer 'shell', while in reality, the dimensions of the mattress are considerably smaller. If you consider the real measurements of the mattress important, I would advise you to get it out of the carrycot and take the measures for yourself.

The fold and unfold can be managed with one hand at a push, holding a baby in the other – gold dust for any new parent of two – and there’s no need to unclip the seats to do so. All you need to do is release a clip on either side of the buggy while making sure that the seats are in an upright position. Some carrycots have a safety mechanism to keep them fixed in the car, and therefore, they may be used instead of the Group 0+ car seats. Such carrycots provide maximum comfort for a child as the baby lies flat instead of sitting arched in the car seat, but unfortunately, the degree of safety is lower, which will mainly be evident in a serious accident. So far, none of the carrycots proved to be extremely safe, so they should be used more for occasional, short journeys only.

What are the key features?

If you're borrowing a crib or a cot, or using one that's been used by another of your children, you should ideally buy a new mattress. It is highly unlikely that a baby born in spring will need a carrycot over the following winter. In spring and summer, the baby will still be tiny, so the inner dimensions of the carrycot are not that important for such a baby. You should focus on a quality seat unit, in this case, much more. The depth of the carrycot is not too significant unless you need to use a footmuff or feel like buying an extra mattress. The depth of the carrycot doesn't add to the overall comfort for the baby - a shallower carrycot actually may provide a better view. The stroller systems with a 2in1 seat and carrycot in one part are usually quite shallow and, therefore, more suitable for spring/summer, but acceptable in winter too - with the right protective accessories. The mattress Prams give your baby a lot of space to sit and lie comfortably, but they take up a lot of space and are hard to use on public transport.

The ventilation, as well as the apron, are function-wise closely related to the hood, and thus deserve more attention. Ventilation Another - and a rather good - approach is to choose the stroller system with a seat unit you like and just survive any carrycot that' fits it for those first few months, no matter how large or functional it i In the end, unlike the carrycot, you will use the seat unit for much longer, and most of the disadvantages of the carrycot are bearable or easily resolved anyway. The most common system for moving the carrycot is a handle that is either integrated into the hood or situated just above the hood. Such a handle offers the most stable and most comfortable manipulation. There are also carrycots featuring side straps, but because you have to hold onto and balance two objects in one hand, this system is slightly less comfortable (although still manageable). The third, rather rare option involves using fixed attachments on the side of the carrycot, where you have to use both hands, which makes the manipulation even less comfortable. The most common way of **providing airflow is through the hood*. It could be a zip-open mesh panel, a closable viewing window with a net, or a fabric part that you can pull aside, opening a mesh section. It is, however, an advantage if the hood can be fully covered even - as opposed to the situations where there is a mesh-only panel, which could be a problem when you need to extend the hood in cold weather without bringing extra cold air into the carrycot. Having said that, even a mesh panel is always better than having no means of extending the hood at all.For the first few months, you'll need a crib, carrycot or Moses basket (a light, portable bassinet). Your baby needs to sleep somewhere that's safe, warm and not too far from you. There is a number of ways of providing ventilation to the carrycot. It is always beneficial if some kind of special ventilation system is present, but of course, you can live without it 😉 Baby nests are not suitable for your baby to sleep in when you're not there because of the danger of suffocation.

you still prefer to use the carrycot for your summer baby throughout winter, go for the inner length of 75-77 cm minimum. That's because you will need to accommodate your growing baby as well as the winter footmuff._ An excellent alternative for your summer baby is also a stroller with either a soft carrycot, a cocoon, or at least some head hugger. This option is not too costly and saves some storage space later since you don't need to find space for the full-sized carrycot that is not in use anymore. The seat unit is usually more open and better ventilated than the carrycot, and therefore more appropriate for hot summer days.It won’t take a full supermarket shop, but should easily contain book bags, handbags and midweek pints of milk. The Nipper also comes with a large, effective rain cover as standard, which our tester found easy to use even in the most unexpected of downpours. How safe is the buggy?