Quinny Dreami Carrycot

If you are pregnant, then you must still wear a seat belt while in the front or rear seat of any vehicle. To fit the strap as comfortably, cross it over the breast bone and between the breasts with the lap belt crossing the thighs and not your bump. The strap should transverse the pelvis rather than the bump. Tighten the belt as much as possible.

In some medical circumstances it is possible you may be exempt, although pregnancy is normally an exception in itself. It is up to your Doctor to authorise exemption. Click here for information on exemptions.

Get the “Buckle Up For Baby And You” leaflet here.

The Law Surrounding Children In Cars

In essence, all children under 135cm tall or under the age of 12 in front or rear seats must wear the correct child restraint for their weight with a few exceptions. This also applies to overseas visitors and their cars while travelling in this country. If this is a hire car, then seats should be booked in advance with the rental company.

Exceptions are limited and differ slightly depending on whether the child is over or under three years of age.

1. In a licensed hire car or taxi if the correct restraint is unavailable they may only travel in the rear seat; if over three they should wear the adult belt and if under three, they can be unrestrained as the adult belt would work at all.

2. In a genuine emergency, and over a short distance, a child over three years may travel in the rear using an adult seat belt. This does NOT apply to children under three, regular trips or those planned in advance.

3. When there is only room to fit two child restraints on the rear seat, and, if the front seat is already occupied, a child over three may use an adult belt (lap only or full). If the front seat is empty, they must use this and the correct child restraint for their age.

4. If the vehicle has no rear seat belts as is common with older vehicles, a child over three may travel unrestrained.

Download a copy of the “Seat Belts And Child Restraints” leaflet as it also provides current UK laws on child seat belts and who is responsible for ensuring a child is secured in a vehicle.

Although the Quinny Zapp pushchair is not compatible with the Quinny Dreami Carrycot, it is with the Maxi Cosi Cabrio car seat (including adaptors) and is included here because of its popularity.

The Quinny Zapp pushchair, is suitable from 6 months to 4 years old or upto 18kg/40lbs. This pushchair is a forward facing  5-point harness model that has lockable linked braked swivel wheels.

Comes with a raincover and a removable cover that is handwashable. The handle height is 106.5 cm and the easy fold lightweight aluminium alloy frame makes the Quinny Zapp pushchair weigh in at only 8.8kg. Folded, the size is 69 x 29 x 30cm.

Sleek and attractive design, the Quinny Zapp pushchair is ideal for travelling on planes, trains and car. Complies with BS 7409.

Independent customer review follows, click the link for Quinny Zapp Pushchair and see the original and more reviews!

 

“I bought one of these the other day as our second Quinny Zapp. Not because the other one had broken (it’s going strong after eight months of heavy use) but because I’m selling our big pushchair and replacing it with one of these.

The Quinny Zapp has served us incredibly well. We used it as a travel system when my son was tiny, and then as a pushchair when he grew out of his Maxi-Cosi car seat. If you have one of these, there really is no need to buy a big pushchair: my mother insisted, bought us one, and we used it twice because it was easier to use the Quinny.

So, the good points:
It folds up to be tiny: I believe Quinny are marketing the Zapp as the world’s smallest-folding pushchair. It fits in the boot of a Fiat Seicento with ample room to spare; with the big pushchair I had to fold the seat down and had room for nothing else.

It’s light and comfortable to push, and can be pushed one-handed. The turning circle is tiny, so no more reversing out of a lift. The handles are just the right height for me, and I’m average height. It folds up easily, although it does take a couple of practices before you get the hang of it.

Not only is it comfortable for me, but it’s comfortable for my son, too. We don’t battle to get him into the pushchair, but he’ll quite happily sit in it and watch the world go by. The shoulder straps are nicely padded, and he sleeps well in it.

A Maxi-Cosi Pebble or CabrioFix infant car seat just clicks down into the adapters, which meant that we could get a newborn baby out of the car and around town without waking him up.

Storage space-wise, Quinny have FINALLY added a shopping basket as an optional extra. You can’t fit too much into it, but it’s better than the previous model. It also beats trying to carry a baby in a sling and all your shopping.

Lastly, the style: People see this buggy and comment on how stylish it is, and ask where I got it from. It’s particularly impressive with the car seat on, but still very smart in both the old and the new colour combinations.

There are also a few little niggles that I’ve adjusted to:
You can’t hang anything heavy on the handlebars. This matters less with the addition of the shopping basket, and I get around it by taking the bare minimum of baby stuff with me in a Skip Hop Pronto Change Mat Black.

The seat doesn’t recline. This hasn’t been a problem for us: my son is happy to sleep upright and still looks comfortable. However, if you want a pushchair that reclines, this isn’t for you.

Getting the car seat on and off and folding the pushchair both require practise. If you’re going to use one of these as a travel system from birth, it’s a good idea to get to grips with it before the baby is born. ”

So, in conclusion: it’s a great pushchair and a great travel system. You really don’t need anything more than this and a Maxi-Cosi car seat, and it was worth every penny for the fantastic quality and design.

If you are buying a baby travel system, you should know that these may, or may not contain everything you would expect. Some only include the pushchair and a car seat with adapters so yes; technically they are a travel system. However, you also want something where your newborn can lie flat; you need something like the Quinny Dreami carrycot. The Dreami is a good quality carrycot with covers that will turn a Quinny Buzz or Speedi pushchair into a complete travel system with the Maxi Cosi car seat.

Both the car seat and the Quinny Dreami carrycot will simply click on and off the pushchair structure so baby doesn’t need to be disturbed making the system very practicable.

Do you need a complete travel system? Maybe, maybe not. Rather depends on your lifestyle. If you don’t drive you may appreciate getting the Quinny Dreami carrycot, particularly if you live in an upstairs flat and don’t want to take the pushchair upstairs all the time! If you drive all the time and only walk from the car to the shop then the Maxi Cosi car seat may be useful so you don’t have to wake baby.

Personally, I believe a lightweight travel system is really useful as it will last baby safely from birth to around four, not one-year-old like some cheap systems. The Quinny Zapp pushchair (not compatible with the Dreami carrycot) as well as the Buzz and Speedi are lightweight bases with automatic folding and are very popular pushchairs.