Britax DUALFIX Review

We have been reviewing the DUALFIX car seat from Britax for a good month or more now and I'm really excited to share my experience with you all.

Having Hypermobility Syndrome is hard enough at the best of times but dealing with the extra relaxin hormone from pregnancy, I really suffered after Bee was born in November.

The biggest problem I had was taking the baby car seat carrier I had in and out of Rockets pre-school as not only was it heavy, it also involved me awkwardly trying to navigate the think corridors of pegs, coats and other people trying to pass - as well as an energetic 3 year old! I was in alot of pain and also pulling my shoulder out of its joint regularly. This made me not even want to venture out and left me with constant flare ups on top of having to deal with a newborn.

When Britax sent me the DUALFIX as part of the Mumbassador scheme I was desperately excited to try it! Its a fabulous design of smooth curves - my immediate thought was how it looked like something out of Men In Black!

Its an extremely heavy seat as it needs to weigh a lot for the swivel action. I had to wait til my husband got home so he could install it, but that was relatively easy as it pops straight into the ISOfix slots in the car. (The ONLY thing I am sad about is that it can't go in the front as it needs the ISOfix, but that isn't the seats fault!)

Having  seat that you can place baby in facing the door is simply amazing for me, especially after struggling sideways with our past seat. All you have to do is secure little one in the comfortable 5 point harness then press the button located behind the seat and swivel the seat with your right hand and you will hear it click into place... easy!

I think its great that it comes with a recline feature, although this can only be used when the seat is rear facing. I find the recline very comfortable for Bee.

Also, the rotate feature means you can completely turn the seat round (obviously not whilst the car is driving) but if you needed to you could access baby easily from the back seat.

Now when I drop Rocket off at Preschool it takes me seconds to remove Bee safely and I have the freedom of carrying him in with me which is so much easier!

Of course I have only had rear facing experience with Bee so far but I will update the review as he moves to forward facing.

Although this seat is on the more costly side, I would really recommend it for anyone that has joint problems like I do, it really does give you that extra help you need as a parent with chronic pain  - plus the smiles you get from your baby as you put them in facing you is heart warming!

The fact that it suits up to 4 years old also makes it a worthwhile investment.

Visit the BRITAX website and you can find them on TWITTER and FACEBOOK.

Some facts about the DUALFIX -

• Rearward facing from birth to 18 kg allows you to keep your child rearward facing even longer. Choose rearward facing or forward facing for your child from 9 - 18kg – offers you the choice of position that best fits you and your child 
• 5-point safety harness with one-pull adjustment distributes the impact forces out across the strong bones of the body and into the seat, plus it allows you to perfectly adjust the harness to your child’s size and keep them secure in the seat no matter what collision you have
• 360° seat rotation makes it easy to move the seat between rearward and forward facing without re-installing and also place your child in and out from the side
• ISOFIX system allows direct connection to the car’s ISOFIX anchorage points for a simple and safe installation
• Multiple recline positions allow a comfortable sleeping position for your child that you can adjust without disturbing them
• Newborn insert provides extra comfort and support for your baby
• Height-adjustable headrest and harness with easy singlehanded adjustment allows the seat to grow with your child without the need to remove and re-thread the harness
• Deep, softly padded full side wings provide optimum Side Impact Protection for your child along the entire seat
• Performance chest pads reduce your child’s forward movement and energy that occurs in the event of an impact
• Installation indicators confirm the seat is installed correctly
• Quick-remove washable cover eliminates the need to remove the harness when washing the cover, therefore ensuring the harness is always installed correctly
• Belly pad for your child’s comfort
• Softly padded cover keeps your child comfortable in their seat
• Rearward facing from birth to 18 kg allows you to keep your child rearward facing even longer. Choose rearward facing or forward facing for your child from 9 - 18kg – offers you the choice of position that best fits you and your child

Group 0+ & 10 – 18kg(≈ Birth – 4y)

	H	W	D	Weight
	78 cm	45 cm	53 cm	14,7 kg

23 Week scare, starting the 24th Week and Pain!

I have been a bit quiet on the blogging front recently and that's because I have been struggling.. but now I have 10 minutes I'm making myself write it down so I don't forget!

Rocket this week :)

When I was just over 23 weeks I was having cramps accompanied with backache for 3 days on and off but it wasn't regular like contractions, however nothing I did or how I moved stopped them and the fact it was with back pain and having previously gone premature I was terrified. So after the 3rd day I called the labour ward and they told me to come in and get checked.

Baby was moving fine, hes a good strong mover in there and the midwife was shocked how hard he kicked her when she had the monitor on for just being 23 weeks!
 My temperature, urine and everything was fine and the doctor came in and had a chat. It was the scariest chat ever as she had to tell me that if baby did come now they wouldn't do anything to save him.. not til 3 days later when I would hit 24 weeks.. I was then scared as I wanted to know my cervix was closed..

Which it was *massive sigh of relief*, however she said this didn't mean that I wouldn't go into labour at anytime, just that the cramps I had been having hadn't done anything to dialate my cervix - that was a blessing. Off I went home.

When I reached 24 weeks I was so happy, its a big milestone for me. I have alot of anxiety with this pregnancy and now knowing he is considered 'viable' if he was to be born he would have a chance and every week I go from not on is another milestone for my silly anxiety (which I am seeing a midwife councillor about still..)

My HMS has been awful, to the point where waiting the 2 hours for my Glucose Tolerance Test was almost too much and the back pain was so strong I was on the verge of tears. Its really hard as this little baby is wanted sooo much but the pain I'm experiencing is making me feel bad about everything.

I had a bad pregnancy with Rocket, I do remember that but it wasn't til much later (29-30 weeks) that the pain was getting too much and this time 24 weeks seems very early. I have my crutches for when I'm bad but I don't think it's SPD, just the HMS flared up.

Heat bags and paracetamols are all I can do at the moment as my cocodamol makes me feel unwell during pregnancy so I try not to take it until its really really bad.

On a good note my little man is wriggling alot and this morning he was woken by the hoover going, that made me laugh!! and Rocket has been taking about when baby comes and that makes me smile :) I adore my boys and cannot wait to see them together!