I think I am going to go with a convertible car seat, the Britax marathon in fact. However, I think one of the cool things about the infant car seat is you can use them as a carrier. So, for those who have gone the convertible route, what did use for a carrier? Did you just use a front carrier like the baby bjorn? Another work around is the bassinet carrier for the pram strollers but as my other post indficates I am looking for a lightweight stroller so that's not an option.
Re: What do U for a carier if U don't do an infant car seat?
I put head support in my stroller and used it from the time DD was a month old. I also used a moby wrap a lot. I wish I would've gone with the ergo instead though. I had a Snugli and DD liked it once she had enough head control to face out, but it hurt my back after a while and only goes up to 25 lbs. She hated it facing in.
I did use a infant car seat as well and found it very helpful for to put DD in for the grocery store (I had trouble bending all the way to the bottom shelf with the Moby) and most of the restaurants I went to had special slings to put infant car seats on. Plus I could get DD in and out of the car without waking her up.
Mr. & Mrs. as of May 23, 2009
Parents to Baby Jack as of March 4, 2010
and Bobbi Claire June 7, 2012
I would suggest not getting the Marathon right off the bat. A.) It doesn't work well AT ALL for newborns and
it expires 6 years from the date of manufacture, so I would suggest getting the most use out of an infant seat, then buying a convertible.
My DD is almost 23 months old and she is still on the lowest setting for straps. So, can you image how ill fitting that would be on an infant?
I will find you some pics....
Here you go:
https://community.babycenter.com/post/a12994095/newborn_in_convertible_car_seat?
My DD didn't fit properly in the Marathon or her Roundabout until almost 4 months. She was 7lbs 6 oz at birth, and she was 15 lbs at 4 months.
In addition to the fit comments about a convertible car seat, unless you have a very large car it is hard to get the sufficient recline in a rear-facing convertible for a newborn. You might be able to do it, but unless you have a huge backseat you usually have to put the car seat behind the passenger seat and move it all the way forward to get the needed recline.
That being said we are getting the Beco Butterfly II carrier. It is very similar to the Ergo, but isn't as bulky and you don't need a separate insert for a newborn.