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madladybride
member
Do I really need an infant car seat, too?
madladybride
member
Ok, I'm registering for our 1st child and I used the baby bargains book. It says that I need BOTH and infant car seat and a convertible. I'm just wondering if people did purchase both or just the convertible?
(My big fear is that we will have a small baby and s/he won't fit into the car seat and we will need to buy another one before we are allowed to go home.) Also, our friend with 3 kids said that an infant car seat was a waste of money and I "won't be going anywhere with the kid" the first few weeks or so... She has also had 9-10 pound babies.
Thanks!
Edited for spelling...
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Do I really need an infant car seat, too?
We bought the KeyFit 30 infant seat 1st & here's my main 2 reasons:
1) Convertible seats look too big for a newborn (IMO)
2) Convertible seats don't recline & lay the baby back like an infant car seat does. With the lack of head control, I prefered him laying back in the infant seat to sitting at a slight angle
Also, you WILL be taking the baby to a select few places: home from the hospital & to doctor visits (1 a day or 2 after discharge, 1 at 2wks old, 1 at 1 month old, etc).
Dylan is just getting ready to grow out of the infant seat (due to height, not weight). I feel much better about putting him in a convertible car seat now than I would have coming home from the hospital. Here's a picture of him in his car seat the day we brought him home (8lbs):
Ditto this!
Annabelle was born 7 weeks early and we purchased the KeyFit 30 infant car seat for her. In the NICU they did an Carseat test. Basically making sure the baby could tolerate being in the carseat. The Chicco Brand we bought has a suggested weight of 4lbs-23lbs. I'm glad because Annabelle came home weighing 4lbs 8oz.
I had an 8 pound baby, and she got BIG in 3 months. Yes she did outgrow the infant seat (or should I say it got too big for me to carry her in it) at 3-4 months, but I would still get one. This is my second, and I am buying an infant bucket seat, even though I have 2 convertibles already. They way they are positioned is safer, I think.
The first time, I sold my bucket seat right away, and used that for the convertible seat. For #2, I am buying a used seat (from someone I know, so no accidents and it's within the expiration date and has the manual) and save some money, then sell it if #2 outgrows it quickly.
While convertable car seats can legally carry an infant, they are nearly as convenient as an infant carrier. (In my opinion.)
While you may not go many places in the first few weeks, you'll certainly need to go places before your LO can sit up on their own. (Grocery Store, Doctor's Office, Restaurants, etc.) Having an infant carrier really helps in those situations. It is also nice not having to wake LO up to take them in and out of the seat, especially if you have a fussy or gassy LO and use the car to help them fall asleep!
The infant seat is just more of a convenience IMO. We had friends that got 2 convertible seats for their cars before their DD was born and then bought an infant seat about 2 weeks after she was born because it was just easier. I liked that if John fell asleep on a car ride, I could keep him in the seat *and asleep* once we reached our destination. There were entire trips to the mall that he slept right through, if I had to get him out of the seat and into a stroller he would have woken up. We also went to many events/parties where he fell asleep on the way there and stayed asleep for an hour or so once we got there because we were able to keep him in the seat and just bring him in. We have the snap-n-go for the Graco Snugride 32 and it was great, very compact and fit down aisles really well. We still use the infant seat in my car, our 2nd car, but he got too heavy months ago for me to carry him so we bought one convertible car seat for our SUV and just keep the infant seat in my car permanently. This way we didn't have to buy two pricey convertible seats at the same time.
Agree with PPs - you want it for the convenience.
The sleeping thing is huge. My DS is about to outgrow the infant seat length wise and I am totally dreading when he falls asleep in the car and we have to wake him to go into the store/friend's house/daycare, etc.
We mostly keep in the infant seat in the car now and carry him to and from, since it is heavy to lug around now.
And - IMO - you'll go plenty of places when your LO is a few weeks old. (At least, I did! I'd go crazy staying in the house all day, everyday!)
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I'd absolutely get an infant seat. Convertibles are fine, but infants are not only more convenient when they are itty bitty but there is no reason to put a itty baby in a huge convertible seat. You want the protection around them and the head supports etc. My child is 20#'s at 6mo, so rather big. I still use the convertible, but carrying it sucks. As long as their heads are 1 inch or more below the top you're fine to use the convertible seat.
I was out with dc the day after I got out of the hospital and pretty much never stopped going out. I think it's silly to think you won't go anywhere. Plus, you don't want to be physically carrying the child everywhere for the first 3-4 months and you will go out within that time frame. If DC is sleeping, you just grab the seat and go in, if you have a convertible seat then you must pick them up and chances are wake them up.
I'd definitely get an infant seat.
miscarriage on 11/26/09 at 5w6d
Yes. Infant bucket seats are safer for smaller babies. Convenience aside the infant seat is the safest way for a newborn to ride in a car. It's actually NOT safe/healthy to lug your kid around in the carseat all of the time though- ideally they should only be in the carseat when they are in the car. You can google for the variety of reasons why.
DD remained in the infant carseat until she was 16 months old, like KRMI didn't tote her around in the seat, but used it like a convertible carseat at that age. I bought her convertible seat when we was only like 4 months old and I wish I had waited- because all carseats have a "born on" date and can only be used for a certain number of years safely- so essentially my DD's Britax Marathon had a year tick off it's lifespan before being used.
DS is 6 months and I am ordering him a convertible seat because he's a chunker, but I also have the original Snugride, now there are more infant seats w/ higher weight limits.
We moved LO to convertible carseats when he was 7 months, but my mom still has the infant seat in her car (Graco Snugride 32). The infant seat was good for grocery shopping, taking walks, etc. Also, you're not supposed to have coats in the carseat, so it was good to put him in his seat and put a blanket around him BEFORE leave the house.
I say, get a infant seat, even if you only use it for a few months.
Totally redundant by now but just to chime in....Absofreakinglutely!! I would have died without one. You go to a lot of doctor appts in the beginning....since he fell asleep in the car getting him out of a convertible seat and waking him would have been disastrous.
Also when I got our convertible seat (put him in it around 7-8 months) I looked at it and really would not feel secure putting a small infant in it.
I went back and forth between the Chicco regular keyfit and the keyfit 30. I ended up getting the regular one and it was a good thing. By the time the kid is 20 pounds (plus the 7-8 pound seat) you will be throwing your back out trying to haul it around and will be ready to switch over to a convertible.
I wore my baby a lot later, but sometimes they don't like it. Just keep that in mind. DD didn't really like it until she was 4 months. I was doing it right, tried different carriers, went to babywearing meetings. She didn't like it until she was a few months older. Just be prepared for the unexpected : ) Sometimes they don't like to go with what we "plan"
My big thing about leaving a baby in the carrier too much is that they can get Plagiocephaly aka Flat head syndrome from too much time spent in the infant carrier (or in a swing or bouncy seat, laying on their backs in the crib, etc.)
https://www.flatheadprevention.org/prevention/
I would definitely get an infant seat. My DD was 9+ lbs at birth and outgrew her infant seat at 4 or so months, but it was still so nice to have her in the carrier for that time. First of all, you will be going places because newborns have to go the dr at one week, two weeks, a month, two months, and you will have at least one PP check-up.
Secondly, you will love the convenience of the carrier when you need to go grocery shopping etc. It was unfortunate when my DD outgrew her infant seat because she was not yet able to sit unassisted, so I had to put her in the stroller vs just plopping her in the shopping cart to go shopping. I totally loved the ease of carrying her around in the infant carrier.