Infant Car Seat Carriers

bloverde

Hi, I lurk around here some times, but have never posted. I have a question about baby wearing and infant car seats.

 Why do people act like I will be abusing my child and leaving a newborn on the floor or something for not using an infant car seat to carry them everywhere? My siblings are 10 years younger than me, and my family never had these. They are a relatively new invention, no? I plan to have a convertible car seat and wear my baby in the grocery store or other places. People keep bringing up what to do when I take them to places like the mall, which I never visit.

Am I delusional? I don't want a stroller the size of a small SUV and the carrier is practically as big as me. I'm not lugging that thing and 10lbs of baby around. They all keep saying "You'll see!" But I honestly cannot come up with a good situation where it will be impractical to wear baby and instead carry the huge carrier or push him/her in a stroller bigger than my subcompact. 

SilliRy

There was a post about this recently with some good advice. I love baby wearing, but I also think there are good reasons to have an infant seat. I used mine the most when DD was fast asleep--I could never have moved her from the car seat into a carrier without waking her--and I subscribe to the 'never wake a sleeping baby' philosophy usually! We also used it when we went to places like Panera for lunch--I could wear her, but it was easier to eat if I wasn't having to worry about dripping food on her head. Also, if you think you may ever need to try on clothes, you can't do that while baby wearing. I went out a couple of times during my maternity leave to shop for clothes to fit my new post-baby body and was also very thankful I had an infant seat for her!

You also don't have to get a travel system. I have one, and it is big, but it did the job when I needed it. You can get a snap 'n go stroller frame to put the infant seat into.  

That being said, I'm sure you can get by with the convertible seat...but I loved having the freedom to put her down when it worked better for me! 

sparkelz

You don?t ?have? to get an infant car seat but I do think that it is a nice convenience to have. I wear DD most of the time and have since she was tiny, however it is nice to have the infant carrier when she falls asleep in the car and we need to get out and go. My daughter is a light sleeper and does not transfer from one place to another without waking up so if she were asleep I would take the whole seat. Also we eat out a lot and until she was old enough to sit in a highchair it was nice to bring in her infant seat so that we could enjoy our meal without trying to hold or wear hear and eat one handed with her grabbing our fork J Also when she was littler she didn?t like to get in an out of her seat so if she was in her seat and happy it would work better to leave her in the seat and take it with us. I don?t think you would benefit from a travel system but maybe an infant carrier and snap N Go or other lightweight stroller. I am still using my infant carrier and DD is a year old and weighs 19lbs; I don?t carry it everywhere but if she is asleep or I am in a hurry it is nice to just grab the whole seat and go. My older daughter is 13 ? and I did not take her infant seat out of the car very often because it did not connect to a base, I can say it has been much easier this time around to be able to take the seat in and out easily. So it?s not necessary but there are many times when is nice?also some babies are not big fans of being worn and I would think that in that case an infant carrier would be really nice.

aliska

I never had an infant seat.  I don't understand why people want to carry an extra 20lbs along with baby.  I'd rather carry just my baby.  I'd say 95% of people have them.  When you go against the norm, people assume you are wrong/bad.  I got the same amout of grief about an infant seat as I did about having DD in a birth center.  Both turned out fine.  Go with your gut.  If you want to buy an infant seat later, there is no rule saying that you can't.

Temp123197812503460

I found them super useful for quick errands. When you want to run into somewhere to get something quickly it's pain to have to take LO out of the carseat, into the wrap, and then back into the seat again 5 min later. If you are doing up the straps correctly (meaning tightly) it takes a little bit to get them in there. Granted I have two LOs so having to do it twice is more work, but it's sooooo much easier for a quick errand.

memo9

We have an infant seat and rarely take it out of the car!  I don't think we have even taken it out this year at all, tbh.  I use a ring sling most of the time or a SSC if it is a long trip.

jandb2011

I have no intention of getting an infant car seat.  I had one with DS and while there are times they can be convienent, they are not neccesary.  When he was really little, I had a tendency to just carry or wear him everywhere.  By the time I really started to use it for things like appointments, or whatnot, it was too late.  He outgrew his infant seat (in height, not weight) by the time he was 4 mths old.

We already bought one convertable car seat for this LO, and we'll buy another one for DH's car, but definitely no infant seat.

Side note: I found it just as easy to unbuckle DS's convertable car seat and carry it and him in the house, if he fell asleep on the way home, as I did the infant carrier.

RunningGal900

I just gave up theminfant seatmand it was a sad day for me. I didn't leave DS in it all the time, but if he fell asleep, I left him in it. He slept great in it, but didn't do well being transferred from the seat to a carrier, so if we arrived at the store and he was asleep, he stayed in it. Also, for just popping into a store it was easier to click the seat into the Snap N Go, than take him in and out of the seat. I loved our infant seat and will miss it. I woke nt give anyone crap for not having one, but as much as I love wearing him, the convenience of the seat was well worth it to me.

blu-eyedwife

You'll be fine without an infant seat - we don't use it for any of the situations you're describing.  One of us wears him in the grocery store or other places.  And when I go to the mall, I either leave the baby with DH, or DH wears the baby.

My guy hates his carseat with the fury of 100 suns.  He wakes up the second the seat is removed, so we have to take him out anyway or he screams.  He likewise isn't a huge fan of the stroller

tokenhoser

We had an infant seat and a snap n go. Which is really easy to fit in any car and not bulky at all.

It was lovely for when he was sleeping. My baby fell asleep in the car all the time, and this way I didn't have to wake him. It was also handy for appointments I took him to alone - eye doc, chiro, hair, doctor. Sure, he could have been on the floor, but sometimes a stroller or car seat is safer and more sanitary.

You can do what you want, and obviously people live without them, but there just might be a reason it's a product the vast, vast majority of parents choose to use.

StefandTodd

tokenhoser:

We had an infant seat and a snap n go. Which is really easy to fit in any car and not bulky at all.

It was lovely for when he was sleeping. My baby fell asleep in the car all the time, and this way I didn't have to wake him. It was also handy for appointments I took him to alone - eye doc, chiro, hair, doctor. Sure, he could have been on the floor, but sometimes a stroller or car seat is safer and more sanitary.

You can do what you want, and obviously people live without them, but there just might be a reason it's a product the vast, vast majority of parents choose to use.

I agree with all of this.  I have thought many times how it was not a complete necessity, but I liked having it.  We moved him to a convertible at 4 months, and since we have it, I'll hold onto it to use for a second kiddo but I imagine we'll move to a convertible seat even earlier than 4 months next time.  My LO is SOOOO much happier in a convertible seat.  But, the infant seat was great for the first 2 months, I would say (to/from doctor visits, or when he was sleeping, for example).

marriedtoeric

aliska:

I never had an infant seat.  I don't understand why people want to carry an extra 20lbs along with baby.  I'd rather carry just my baby.  I'd say 95% of people have them.  When you go against the norm, people assume you are wrong/bad.  I got the same amout of grief about an infant seat as I did about having DD in a birth center.  Both turned out fine.  Go with your gut.  If you want to buy an infant seat later, there is no rule saying that you can't.

This 100%. Go with your gut.  I've never once regretted not having an infant seat. 

DZylstra

I didn't have an infant seat when my LO was born ... but got one b/c the way our car and convertible seat set up, it was impossible to get the angle right for my little baby. He was too small for the convertible (6 lbs at birth, 5 1/2 lbs leaving hospital). I wear him almost always and hate lugging him in the seat, especially grocery shopping, but it is super handy to let him sleep in! I am glad for the seat now, although at 6 months he is getting close to growing out of it! 

So I guess what I'm saying is just going with a convertible seat is fine as long as it fits in your car, and you don't mind the possibility of him waking during transfers