Convertible car seats

M+K=3 · April 2009

Are you planning to only use a convertible carseat? If so, how does this work when they are an infant and you have to carry them everywhere. Seems like you need something else to get them out of the car and into the stroller? Or do you just lift them out of one and into the other?

JCM083009 · April 2009

That is one of the reasons I am not doing a convertible for the infant stage. More importantly though, infant seats are the safest anyway.

5dogs · April 2009

We keep going back & forth as to whether we'll be convertible only or not (one of the cars will have the Britax only). My godkids were in convertibles only and it wasn't that difficult to move them from the car seat to the stroller or sling, even when they were sleeping.

Temp534591562502098 · April 2009

lol no you just have to lift them out of the carseat and into the stroller or cart if you are going to a store. My guess is that many people also have a sling or harness of some sort if they want??

b.heather · April 2009

Check out what Baby Bargains has to say about convertible carseats. When it comes to money I'm tighter then a tick's a** (as my DH likes to say) but I still opted for a traditional infant carseat for safety reasons.

sam19 · April 2009

I will be getting the True Fit convertible car seat. You can remove the top part so it's easier to get the proper angle to rear face. I plan on getting a sling and other carriers for when I want to take the child out of the carseat. I Hate bulky infant car seats and carrying them around. To put them in a stroller, you just take the baby out of a carseat and place it into a stroller. Most strollers have a reclining back so an infant car seat isn't really necessary to have with a stroller.

gizmo909 · April 2009

We considered only doing a convertible, but then changed our minds for several reasons.

1. Infant car seats are safer for an infant than convertible. A friend of mine actually delivered at a hospital that did not allow the baby to go home in a convertible... it had to be an infant car seat because of this.

2. If you have a convertible, then you will have to wake a sleeping baby every time you put them in and out of the car seat.

3. You can't put an infant directly into some strollers. In that case you would need another infant carrier to transfer them into. That just seems like too much work to me.

GL!

sam19 · April 2009

I also wanted to state that infant car seats are NOT any safer than a convertible car seat as long as they are installed properly and you get the right angle for the car seat. Just like an infant car seat. I suggest having a certified car seat technician install it for you.

WildHorseFeathers · April 2009

I'm doing only covertible cart seats. As DH & I both will be working my mom will be watching baby and she will have a travel system and we will have one too. DH will also have a carrier/carseat to pick up LO when he can after work. I love th fact that you can just snap the seat into the base for the car and then unsnap and snap onto the stroller, best part is stroller can continue use after baby grows!

BlairWaldorf · April 2009

I have a friend that used a Britax convertible from day one.

She simply pulls the babe out & puts her in a carrier or sling. No biggie.

JCM083009 · April 2009

WildHorseFeathers:
I'm doing only covertible cart seats. As DH & I both will be working my mom will be watching baby and she will have a travel system and we will have one too. DH will also have a carrier/carseat to pick up LO when he can after work. I love th fact that you can just snap the seat into the base for the car and then unsnap and snap onto the stroller, best part is stroller can continue use after baby grows!

It sounds like you're NOT using a convertible car seat at all...

sam19 · April 2009

WildHorseFeathers:
I'm doing only covertible cart seats. As DH & I both will be working my mom will be watching baby and she will have a travel system and we will have one too. DH will also have a carrier/carseat to pick up LO when he can after work. I love th fact that you can just snap the seat into the base for the car and then unsnap and snap onto the stroller, best part is stroller can continue use after baby grows!

Um....convertible car seats do NOT latch into travel systems. Only an infant car seat of the same brand can fit into the stroller. If you have a convertible car seat, you will probably rarely remove it from your car.

sam19 · April 2009

gizmo909:

We considered only doing a convertible, but then changed our minds for several reasons.

1. Infant car seats are safer for an infant than convertible. A friend of mine actually delivered at a hospital that did not allow the baby to go home in a convertible... it had to be an infant car seat because of this. Infant car seats are not any safer than convertible. As long as convertibles are installed properly and at the right angle, then they are just as safe. Like I said previously, have a car seat technician install it and it will be just as good.

2. If you have a convertible, then you will have to wake a sleeping baby every time you put them in and out of the car seat. The baby does not always wake up when you take them out. And usually when the baby does wake up, they fall right back asleep. I'm saying this from experience as a nanny to an infant in a convert. car seat. All baby's are different but taking them out doesn't always mean waking them up.

3. You can't put an infant directly into some strollers. In that case you would need another infant carrier to transfer them into. That just seems like too much work to me. Any stroller that reclines can have an infant put directly into it. All strollers that accomodate a carseat recline. Thus, you would not need another infant carrier or another stroller. It's only work if you let it be.

GL!

In the end, OP, you just need to way the benefits vs. the issues. Decide what is best for you. You will also save quite a bit of money going with a convertible from the beginning

Mrs.Teddy · April 2009

Infant carseats are safer then convertible for newborns, especially if you have a small baby (5 or 6lbs). The head of carseat safety at our hopistal strongly discouraged them for this reason. Baby just doesn't fit as well, also its not reclined enough and baby can lean forward & block off their own airway.

Although we are all having summer.early fall babies. They will still be infants in the winter. No babies under 1 year should have a thick jacket/snowsuit on when buckled into a safety seat (carrier or convertible) as the jacket is so much bigger then the baby the baby is not strapped in securly enough. Also baby can overheat if overbundled in your heated car. The carried allows you to buckle baby in wearing an outfit/sleeper then to use eaither the cuddle bag or carseat cover or just blankets when outside and to remove them when it the warm car.

It really is reccomended by safety experts that babies first go in the infant carrier. Followed by the convertible if required to allow them to be rear facign for at elast a year despite their weight.

katie6688 · April 2009

Sounds like this issue is big deal for most people- very strong opinions! After much thought and research we are getting a Britax convertible and a regular stroller that accomodates infants. Both will be safe if the baby is over 5lbs, and I expect her to be. ;-)

If I am going grocery shopping or anything I will take her out of the car seat and put her in the baby bjorn. GL with your decision!

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