Is it crazy to skip the Infant carseats in favour of Convertibles?

Manada

We have a long way to go in this pregnancy, but the one piece of baby gear we're stuck on is the car seat question for twins.
We drive a Kia Rondo (the smaller 5-seat version that doesn't have the 3rd row of seats), and my partner (@healz413) is very tall and needs all the legroom we can get. I'm also suffering major sticker shock at the price of car seats. We're in Canada, so the prices range from anywhere from $30-$150 more per seat compared to US prices for the same seats.

I remember when my younger brother and sister were small (they're 10 and 12 years younger than me), we found the bucket seats to be more of a PITA after the babies weren't newborn size anymore. That said, we have indoor parking and live in a building, so maybe it's more worth it to have them already buckled in from the house?

My estimates are that infants seats will run us about $150 each minimum, plus at least $60 to buy a double snap n go stroller used. We also hear that the infant seats will take up more forward room in the car, impacting H's legroom perhaps?

What do you think? I searched here and baby center but it seems like the opinions are split....

Ylvelill

I picked option one. However if you can get one from a friend you trust great.

I wouldn't bet on a convertible with twins, they can't hold the littlest of the babies. We are getting ones that will hold 4lbs to be on the safe side.

You could always wait until they are born to see how big they are

bumpuser924057

I voted 1, but if you can make 3 happen, go for it. Either way, the ability to buckle them in and carry them both in their seats is priceless in those first few months. If you're really tight on space, you can buckle the one behind the taller person without a base - it's not as convenient, but it's a decent compromise.

mer313131

I have a friend who skipped infant seats and went straight to convertibles and she was very happy with the setup. However, she lives in Southern CA where the weather is always temperate. I can't imagine lugging newborns during the winter in and out of convertibles and into strollers/carriers. With DD, she would sleep in the car and then we would bring her into the house still sleeping. It was nice not to have to wrangle her out of the car.

2momsinCA

We are in a similar situation- we have small cars and we are tall people so pushing the front seats forward very far to accommodate the infant seats is not something we are happy about. However, it seems that the bucket seats are overall more convenient for carrying and safer for the tiny twins and if we only do it for 6 months or so we can handle pushing our front seats forward and being cramped. We also plan to get the city mini gt double. However, we don't want to use that type of stroller straight away when they are so small. We managed to get two used britax b-safes in great (virtually un-used) condition from friends and then we bought a used britax b-ready with the second seat attachment off craigslist (b-safes sadly don't fit in the snap and go). We are going to use that stroller while they are still small and then transition to the convertible seats and city mini when they get a bit bigger.

Ylvelill

Are the rear facing convertible seats really that much smaller than the infant seats?

Manada

Haha! okay - so far the poll and responses are sending a clear message    I'll be interested to see if any other opinions/experiences pop up overnight (because I'm in 1st tri and I go to bed at 8:30pm these days.......) --- but message received!   I will stop being stubborn and will apologize to H. for starting to convince her that skipping the buckets might be the only way to go.....

@2momsinCA - because we're in Canada we're actually ordering the stroller soon so we can pick it up when we visit H's family in the states this month.  It is way earlier than we would normally order, but those strollers are $700 Cdn (!!!! Seriously!) so we can't resist getting the 2013 at the sale price even if we have to pick it up.   I'm sad that I am pretty sure Transport Canada won't let us do the same for the car seats.....      They have really good resale value here though, craigslist is full of people looking for them used.

pinkmickey24

My boys are 10 months and they are still in their infant seats. Honestly, I am dreading the convertible car seat only because of figuring out the logistics of getting them in and out of the house. We use the double snap and go with the car seats and we have not had a problem with it. If space for car seats in your vehicle seems like it maybe a problem, you can go to Babies R Us and try the car seats in your vehicle. We found for our vehicle the only one that fitted properly was the Graco Snugride 30. So you can always test out the various car seats in your vehicle to see which one is your best fit. It has been nice when it is raining, cold, or just nasty out to just be able to lift the seat of the base and quickly get in the house. 

24karat

I'd go with buckets for the convenience factor. DH is tall (over 6') and we can manage with two buckets and a convertible in our sedan. It's not comfortable for him, but it works if we absolutely need it to and our van isn't available. There just aren't a lot of options for maximizing leg room until the kiddos are out of rear facing seats. If you have a store near you that allows you to "test" seats you may want to do that. How much room is taken depends on the specific seat, its base, and recline.

You'll also want to factor in how small the convertible you choose goes. Will it be safe for a preemie if you have tiny babies?

KatieGummow

I did the infant car seats that accommodate 4 pounders in case the boys were premature and had a low birth weight. They still aren't here so I have no experience to offer you. GL!

carrotcake06

Buckets all day long. I'm dreading the switch the convertibles and hoping to put it off until they can stand/walk. I can't wrap my head around the logistics of getting them both to the car along w a bag and whatever else I have.

As for the height issue, a rf convertible impinges on the front seat just as much, if not more, than a bucket.

TheDairyQueenx3

In our case, the day our boys were released from the NICU I had to run and buy newborn seats as they were just way to tiny for the convertibles. The convertibles we have say they go down to 4 pounds but to see a 4 pound baby in them... Well the hospital wasn't comfortable and nor was I when I went to strap them in. So I went and got the cheap maxi cosi infant seats and still at almost 5 months we love them. The convertibles we will use for age 1 to 3 RF. My DH is quite tall too but he gets by ok with these The nurses had to help me switch out our seats last minute but we are happy.

ETA: just a thought too if you do go for just convertibles will you always have someone with you when you do get them out of the car? Or a place to put the other baby as you get one or the other in/out of the seats?

macchiatto

Option 1 for sure!! With twins, the logistics can be so tricky and I think the infant seats are worth their weight in gold, especially when you're on your own with them. 

Btw we drive a Kia Rondo, too! Same 5-seater version you have. 

macchiatto

Ylvelill said:

Are the rear facing convertible seats really that much smaller than the infant seats?

Nope, not usually.

We had TrueFits with a removable head rest that you don't have to put on till the babies hit 22 lbs (by which point you can have them more upright so they take up less room front to back). They are a good option, though they only go to 35 lbs RF which can be a problem if you have heavier LOs and want to RF past 2.

Still though, I have seen threads like this a number of times over the 6 years I've been on this board, and I've only seen a small handful of MoMs who said going straight to convertibles worked out well for them.

24karat

Forgot to add...unless your babies grow super fast, you'll get more than a few months out of the infant seats. DD outgrew hers by height around her first birthday. My twins are 8mos and still fit theirs easily. I'm dreading the switch...things are so much easier with the buckets.

healz413

Yay, I win! Thanks everyone for so much helpful feedback. @Manada had almost convinced me on the convertibles, but I think part of me was still a believer in the infant car seats and a snap n go stroller. I feel happy now.

ceechie

Im the lone rider with option 2!!! I think you'll get into a rhythm with convertables and it won't be so bad. You'll figure out how to take them in and out with your stroller or baby wearing.
Dh and I struggled with what to do also. Dh hates infant seats. We ended up with infant seats bc we had to have access to our 3rd row for our big kids. Now that we're switching to convertables, that's our biggest problem.

Manada

@ceechie‌ - after my dearest @healz413's "I win!" Post right above yours I may now feel a special affection for you and the fact that you voted for my original side

(Although I suspect we will still end up
lugging around the buckets. I can't argue with the logic that putting handles on little babies may be easier...)

macchiatto

MrsLee04 said:

I wouldn't say it's so much crazy as it is foolish.  I think with twins skipping infant seats is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.  With twins, it should always be your goal to make your life easier, not harder.

Words to live by! 

Ylvelill

Manada said:

I can't argue with the logic that putting handles on little babies may be easier...

I do enjoy that visual

LucyRicardo3

with my recent singleton boy, I scored a deal on his infant carrier by waiting for last year's colors/fabric patterns to be phased out and they mark them down. I stalked Albee and a few other sites until I found one in my budget.
I just recently sold my twins' (bright pink color) infant carriers to a local very reputable consignment store. In the states, at least, they typically sell them for about half of full retail, but you need to double check that the manufacture date won't expire during the time you anticipate using them. They also bought my DSNG and will sell it for about half retail or even less.

One thing I didn't see mentioned above, is that in the slight chance that your babies need  extra care at birth, as it seems more common with multiples (but not always),---- the special care nursery may require a car seat test to be able to come home.  My girls had to pass this, as well as my recent little guy, and there is no way a convertible would work in that scenario. Hopefully that won't even be an issue for you, but I'd hate for you to be completely unaware of that scenario.

ceechie

Manada said:

@ceechie‌ - after my dearest @healz413's "I win!" Post right above yours I may now feel a special affection for you and the fact that you voted for my original side

(Although I suspect we will still end up
lugging around the buckets. I can't argue with the logic that putting handles on little babies may be easier...)

Haha babies should always come with handles.
@AshB62‌ - that's exactly what dh had planed for us when I got pregnant. Then we saw that extra little heart beat and we were forced into my minivan. No 4 seats across

4legsRbest

AshB62 said:

We skipped the bucket seats. I also drive a Kia Rondo and had to fit 3 across. There was no way to do that with bucket seats, and a new car just wasn't in the budget. We have Combi Coccoros. They are very compact. They are as narrow as the Diono Radians, but have a shorter shell. They have infant inserts and can be used for babies as small as 4 lbs. The only time I have really missed the convenience of a bucket seat is at restaurants. We've just always tried to go at less busy times and to places that are roomy enough to accommodate our stroller. The boys can now sit in high chairs, which has made that easier. You get used to taking them in and out of the car seat.

We have the Combi Twinsport SBS stroller. Both sides lay completely flat and have an infant boot. We've been using it since the boys were newborns.

Edit: Grammar

This 100%. I loathed the infant seat with my singleton DS. We will go convertible with infant inserts from day 1. I have ZERO plans to take them out alone. I get hives just thinking about it.

nebrasskagal

Keep in mind multiples are often early and a bit smaller. I picked out car seats that I wanted but the min weight in them was 5 lbs. my twins were born at 32 weeks and we needed to go with a car seat that could handle 4 lb babies.

Stephanie2167

Infant seats for sure. I'm already wondering how in the heck I'm going to get the girls into daycare myself when they start to get too heavy to carry them in the seats.

A few things to think about: 1) How would you take them into a store? DH and I usually take two carts and each has one baby in the cart (or Sams Club carts can fit two infant seats in the basket) 2) Carry them into daycare (if you work)?

We have the Baby Jogger City Mini double and I wanted to try it out last weekend and the girls wanted nothing to do with it this early (almost 4 months). They prefer their infant seat and snap n go stroller.

raraavis28

Buckets. I can't imagine trying to do it any other way.

macchiatto

Also, here is a list from a trusted resource of recommended seats for preemies and multiples; seats that are a safer bet in case your babies are (as is likely) on the smaller side. There are seats that claim to fit babies as small as 5 lbs but the bottom harness slots are actually too high to fit most newborns (let alone smaller-than-average newborns) safely.

https://carseatblog.com/9813/recommended-carseats-for-preemies-multiples-carseatblogs-list-of-best-bets/

amy1007

I have 2 graco 22 infant seats my twins used u can have?!

daisy19782011

It sure is nice to go out to dinner occasionally with MH while the girls sleep away in their carrier

JTA2426

nebrasskagal said:

Keep in mind multiples are often early and a bit smaller. I picked out car seats that I wanted but the min weight in them was 5 lbs. my twins were born at 32 weeks and we needed to go with a car seat that could handle 4 lb babies.

This.

Felicity86

One other point: we have the city mini GT, and it says not to use before a certain point (6 months, maybe?). We didn't wait that long, but it would have never worked in the early months. The straps would have been huge, plus there's no head/neck support.

Felicity86

Also, I see DSNGs on craigslist all the time for under $20.