Review of Minnie Moo Maxi Medo Toddler Car Seat Cover

Photo showing the Minnie Moo Maxi Medo
on a Britax Two Way Elite Extended
Rear facing Car Seat. Dolly seems comfy in the seat.

I was so pleased when the Minnie Moo Maxi Medo car seat cover arrived in the post. It was gorgeous! I absolutely love polka dots so I was over the moon to now be able to have a polka dot car seat for my daughter!

Amanda (the founder of The Minnie Moo Company) and I had both been unsure about whether or not the cover would fit my daughter’s Britax car seat as it had never been tried on a Britax Group 1 extended rear facing car seat before. I was hoping for the best and I’m pleased to say it did fit!
Photo showing the Minnie Moo Maxi Medo
on a Britax Two Way Elite Extended
Rear facing Car Seat

To be honest although the cover fitted the body of the seat – the sides of the cover were too big. My rear facing seat has narrower sides than the usual forward facing car seat so this meant there was too much excess fabric at the sides of the seat. To fix this I did some quick alterations by sewing some pretty elasticated lace on to the back and bottom of the cover and this kept the cover in place and stopped it falling off the car seat.  In the future I will have to cut a couple of slits in the fabric to allow the car seat to be used forward facing but that will not be for a couple of years yet. Now I understand that it is not ideal for you to have to alter your seat cover yourself but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I was just delighted to be able to turn my boring black car seat into a vibrant polka dotted one.  Also I tried to sew my own seat cover for my daughter’s first car seat and it never got finished as it was so difficult trying to make a pattern that would fit the seat properly.

Photo showing the alterations I made to the Minnie Moo
Maxi Medo to make it comfortably fit a Britax Two Way Elite
Extended Rear facing Car Seat
I am very grateful to Amanda that I can buy a cover ready made and she has done such a good job of making the cover a universal fit. There are bound to be some car seats that her covers will not fit but as they can organise a refund for you then you don’t have anything to worry about. I have looked through the Minnie Moo website but couldn’t find any returns policy on there but when you look on the Minnie Moo Amazon shop it says that you should contact anna (at) minniemoo.co.uk to sort out refunds. If you have any other questions regards Minnie Moo then you can always contact Amanda using the address hello (at) minniemoo.co.uk.
Photo showing the alterations I made to the Minnie Moo
Maxi Medo to make it comfortably fit a Britax Two Way Elite
Extended Rear facing Car Seat

The seat I have for my daughter is a Britax Two Way Elite Extended Rear Facing Car Seat. I bought it when she was just over a year old and it is designed to be used rear facing until she is 25kg or approx 4 years.  I spent a long time searching out the right car seat to fit in my car and when I found it unfortunately it was only available in black.  (I would have loved a polka dot one or flowery designed one) When you look at buying a forward facing car seat in the UK you have lots of choice of models, colours and designs but when you try to buy an extended rear facing car seat you have very little choice of models, let alone seat cover designs. As soon as I read that Rear Facing Group 1 car seats are 5 times safer in a frontal collision than a forward facing car seat I knew I wanted my daughter to rear face for as long as possible.  If you would like to find out more information on extended rear facing and the car seats available please visit the ‘Rearfacing’ website. I purchased mine online from the website ‘InCarSafetyCentre’ and they were so helpful.

Photo showing the Minnie Moo Maxi Medo
on a Britax Two Way Elite Extended
Rear facing Car Seat.
Right, to get back to the Minnie Moo car seat cover. It came packaged in a plastic pouch / bag that fastens with poppers. You could prevent the bag being sent to landfill by re-using it and keeping receipts or paperwork in it (like I do).

 

Photo showing the packaging for the
Minnie Moo Maxi Medo

 

The cover just slips on top of your original car seat cover and the elasticated sides keep it in place. The cover is slightly padded which is nice and it makes it that much more comfortable for your little one.
Photo showing the Minnie Moo Maxi Medo
on a Britax Two Way Elite Extended
Rear facing Car Seat.
When I first took the cover out of the bag I thought I was sent a faulty one as the holes for the straps were not cut.  I had a look at the site to see if I was supposed to cut the holes myself and it didn’t tell you anywhere that you did so after debating whether or not to cut the holes myself or email Amanda I decided to do it myself. . . mostly because I was too impatient to have to wait for a replacement! I wanted to put the gorgeous cover on my daughter’s seat straight away.
Photo showing the uncut strap holes on the
Minnie Moo Maxi Medo.
In the end I re-read the packaging and it says ‘You cut the relevant strap holes and thread them through’. It was my fault I didn’t spot that sooner but I do think it would be a good idea to state on the website that you have to cut the holes yourself.  That way you would know before you purchase the product or before it arrives. It was quite fiddley trying to cut the holes neatly and it took me quite a while to do it. I couldn’t get them to look very professional either, which was a real shame. I personally think it would be better if the covers were sent with the holes pre-cut.
Photo showing the uncut strap holes on the
Minnie Moo Maxi Medo
 The cover is made from a lovely material that is made from natural fibres that haven’t been dyed with strong chemical solutions or heavily bleached. The material has gone through 3 special processes to make it smooth and soft. The polka dot design has then been printed to a high standard so that it can be washed over and over again. The covers have all undergone Flammability, Chemical and Durability tests and have passed to British Industry Standards.
Photo showing the label of the
Minnie Moo Maxi Medo
The Minnie Moo Company sell car seat covers to fit infant Group 0 car seats with a 3 point harness and Toddler Group 1 car seats with a 3 point or 5 point harness.  The seat cover is machine washable so if  it gets dirty you just have to pop it in the washing machine. I haven’t yet had to wash mine as is still looks as clean as when I first put it on a few months ago. One suggestion I read on the site was to take the car seat cover on holiday with you as then when you rent a car with a child’s car seat you can put the cover on the rental seat and be safe in the knowledge that your child is sitting on a clean seat. Also it says that the cover is great in the situation where your child is sick in the car seat as you can just remove the Minnie Moo cover leaving the original car seat cover on the seat to get you home with.  Excellent ideas!
Photo showing the Minnie Moo Maxi Medo
on a Britax Two Way Elite Extended
Rear facing Car Seat

The Toddler Car Seat Covers cost £24.90 with a £3.90 delivery charge. I think they are great value for money when you consider the work that has gone into designing and making them. Plus I love the fact that the cotton cover will help to stop my daughter overheating in her car seat in the summer months.  The Toddler car seat covers are available in a black and white cow print, a brown and white cow print and the polka dot design that I received.  The group 0 (first stage infant car seat) covers are available in the same fabrics but they cost £33.90 plus the £3.90 P+P as they also come with a really innovative hood /sunshade that attaches to the carrying handle. These car seat covers are also perfect for revamping old or second hand car seats. If you know the car seat you are using has not been in any previous accidents but the cover is just bit dated or tatty why not buy one of these Minnie Moo covers to put over the top and Hey Presto…a good as new car seat ! The covers are superb quality and I have no problems recommending them to you.

Minnie Moo are always adding new products to their range. If they are open to suggestions… I’d love to see harness pads to match the covers and liners. Besides the seat covers that I have already mentioned they also sell fitted pushchair liners, Duvet sets and Baby Blankets.

The Minnie Moo company was started back in 2007 by new mum Amanda. She had found that her little boy Ben always got too hot in his car seat, especially whilst on holiday in Spain and she thought that a cotton car seat cover that could be easily removed and washed would be a good idea. You can read the full story of The Minnie Moo Company by clicking here.
The Minnie Moo Company is on Facebook , Twitter and Ebay.

If you would like to visit the Minnie Moo Company website please click here

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