Infant carrier or just a car seat?

katie4253 · December 2010

I am not sure. I know nothing about babies, but I feel like the carriers aren't as sturdy looking as actual car seats.

Travel Systems like this also seem intriguing.

krissymac · December 2010

Very debateable topic. I also know nothing about babies. The travel system you linked to will only hold a baby up to 22 lbs. So that is a lot of money to spend for just a short time. I'm going to see if my SIL will let us borrow her travel system, they picked out a Chicco one that holds baby up to 32 lbs. Her LO will be about 11 months when ours is born, so I'm banking on her fattening up a bit yet! If not, I have another good friend whose baby will be exactly a year when ours is born and he's already growing out of his travel system - and she said we could borrow hers already.

I have heard if you go with the car seat right away, to make sure it can be rear and forward facing as well as recline enough for newborns.

Just stuff I have heard, we've done NO research yet...

momtojake · December 2010

we have a chicco travel system from Jake that we plan on using again. I loved having a carrier. When baby is sleeping you don't have to take them in/out of the car seat you can just lift the carrier out and leave them sleeping peacefully.

katie4253 · December 2010

krissymac:
Very debateable topic. I also know nothing about babies. The travel system you linked to will only hold a baby up to 22 lbs. So that is a lot of money to spend for just a short time. I'm going to see if my SIL will let us borrow her travel system, they picked out a Chicco one that holds baby up to 32 lbs. Her LO will be about 11 months when ours is born, so I'm banking on her fattening up a bit yet! If not, I have another good friend whose baby will be exactly a year when ours is born and he's already growing out of his travel system - and she said we could borrow hers already.
I have heard if you go with the car seat right away, to make sure it can be rear and forward facing as well as recline enough for newborns.
Just stuff I have heard, we've done NO research yet...

The car seat is 22 lbs. The stroller is 50lbs.

goteamgo · December 2010

I used the heck out of the infant carseat (the other one you linked to is a convertible carseat, by contrast). The infant carseat that lifts out to become a carrier is indispensable for visiting other houses and grocery shopping. I found carriers (Moby, Ergo) to be a gigantic pain for shopping, so I preferred to pop the carrier in (never ON) the cart.

Many babies also sleep well in the car. Being able to lift out the carrier keeps them sleeping. No way not to wake them in the convertible.

I moved James to a convertible at 6 months, due to him hitting the height max. Many babies use the infant carseat much longer. I'd recommend the Graco Snugride or the Chicco Keyfit.

I hated the bulkiness of the travel system we borrowed. Hated it. This time, we'll do an infant carseat with a snap n' go stroller frame. Then a convertible carseat when ready (Britax Marathon), along with a nice umbrella stroller (Maclaren Quest) or double stroller, since we'll have two.

So, yes- I recommend the infant carseat at first.

katie4253 · December 2010

momtojake:
we have a chicco travel system from Jake that we plan on using again. I loved having a carrier. When baby is sleeping you don't have to take them in/out of the car seat you can just lift the carrier out and leave them sleeping peacefully.

This is what I told H. Again, as little as I know about babies, H knows 100 times less. He thinks that taking a baby who is sleeping out of a car seat will not be a big deal. I beg to differ.

cajunrunner · December 2010

we've been looking at travel systems, my SIL had one that they used and loved (sadly she already gave it to another friend). It just seems like a better deal to get a stroller and carrier in a package and they're just as safe I hear. Of course we'll do a lot more research before making a hard decision.

Erin&Rod · December 2010

We also have a Chicco Tavel System and we liked it. We used the travel system car seat until DS was 9-10 months and then bought a car seat. We still used the stoller until DS was 2. When they are newborns up until 6-7 months they almost always fall asleep in the car. If you have a portable car seat, you can take them in and out of the car without waking them up and let them stay asleep while in their stoller or wherever you are. The travel system is really convenient for the first year.

JamTamP · December 2010

Hi .. I've been obsessing about this lately and have decided on a travel system (since these normally just have clip in car seats, so they offer the best of both worlds). I've asked a bunch of people and things to consider include:

- how you'll use it. I don't own a car in Hong Kong but take taxis a lot, so my preference is something that makes it easy to put into a taxi if I'm on my own. I won't be looking to having a car seat left in a car;

- ease of fold down (into car boots or airplanes);

- front and rear facing options of the stroller seats;

- some have carrycot/bassinets that double as moses baskets, they have to enable young babies to lie flat;

- weight (car seats usually up to 30 or so pounds, and strollers usually up to 50 pounds).

It's been tricky to do the research online since there aren't many comparisons that check criteria against different brands. My shortlist at the moment includes the Quinny Zapp (no storage included), Peg Pereno, Bugaboo, Chicco Cortina and possibly an Orbit.

I also want to find out more about the Concord. I should probably mention that lots of new models are coming out in January/March.

Hope this helps

katie4253 · December 2010

JamTamP:
Hi .. I've been obsessing about this lately and have decided on a travel system (since these normally just have clip in car seats, so they offer the best of both worlds). I've asked a bunch of people and things to consider include:
- how you'll use it. I don't own a car in Hong Kong but take taxis a lot, so my preference is something that makes it easy to put into a taxi if I'm on my own. I won't be looking to having a car seat left in a car;
- ease of fold down (into car boots or airplanes);
- front and rear facing options of the stroller seats;
- some have carrycot/bassinets that double as moses baskets, they have to enable young babies to lie flat;
- weight (car seats usually up to 30 or so pounds, and strollers usually up to 50 pounds).
It's been tricky to do the research online since there aren't many comparisons that check criteria against different brands. My shortlist at the moment includes the Quinny Zapp (no storage included), Peg Pereno, Bugaboo, Chicco Cortina and possibly an Orbit.
I also want to find out more about the Concord. I should probably mention that lots of new models are coming out in January/March.

Hope this helps

Chicco Cortina is the one I just threw on my BRU registry to remember it. I liked the features a lot. Thanks for taking the time to post this!

Structenggal · December 2010

krissymac:
Very debateable topic. I also know nothing about babies. The travel system you linked to will only hold a baby up to 22 lbs. So that is a lot of money to spend for just a short time. I'm going to see if my SIL will let us borrow her travel system, they picked out a Chicco one that holds baby up to 32 lbs. Her LO will be about 11 months when ours is born, so I'm banking on her fattening up a bit yet! If not, I have another good friend whose baby will be exactly a year when ours is born and he's already growing out of his travel system - and she said we could borrow hers already.
I have heard if you go with the car seat right away, to make sure it can be rear and forward facing as well as recline enough for newborns.
Just stuff I have heard, we've done NO research yet...

We have the Chicco travel system and love it. However, I will point out that in addition to the weight limit, there is a height limit. DS sized out of his infant seat in length long before weight. (he's 29" and 21lbs now and I think the height limit is 29").

lcunningham · December 2010

We used our infant carrier until 13 months and DS could still fit in it today as it was a snugride 32, but he was ready to see the world!

Highly recommend an infant carrier based on the pps.

GracieLou Freebush · December 2010

I'm sure it's different for everyone based on lifestyle. I think travel systems are humongous. Going to NYC a couple weeks ago just solidified my desire to have a more compact and LIGHT stroller.

I plan to get the BJ City Mini with the Graco carseat adapter. I definitely want the infant seat (we're planning on the Graco Snugride 32-- excellent reviews) b/c you can take the baby in and out of the car w/o issue while it's sleeping which my mom friends say is huge. I'll get a Britax convertible car seat for when baby gets too big and/or heavy for the infant seat.

MouseInLux · December 2010

We're getting a second hand bugaboo frog and will use it with the maxi-cosi cabriofix to start with

it's like a snap and go but also is a stroller. I like the fact that I can take the baby around in the infant seat but will probably use a wrap for a lot of shopping etc because I'm verry wary of the 2 hour max limit for infant carriers!

mainemommy · December 2010

MouseInLux:
verry wary of the 2 hour max limit for infant carriers!

Ive never heard of this for anyone but preemies but I may be missing something.

My kids loved their car rides, they always slept. Some nights they wouldnt sleep I would ride around till they did & then pop their seat into the crib until they woke up.

It was more age than anything that had us move them to convertable carseats because at 11 months the carrier isnt really necessary.

kjr · December 2010

I will definitely be using an infant carrier again - if nor for anything else, for the grocery shopping. You can't sit your infant in a cart, and I didn't always want to get my babies out of their seats and wake them up to put them in a sling. The infant carrier just makes some situations so much more convenient!

BetsyDavis · December 2010

Just to let people know as a second time mom. More then likely you will out grow the seat before the weight limit. We have the Chicco keyfit 22 because the 32 is heavier and my sister and a few friends have them and all of them were in convertibles before their kids even hit 20 lbs. Most babies I know were in convertible seats before they hit the weight limit on the infant seat because they seem to be more comfortable and they are easier to get in and out of when they are bigger. So unless you plan on keeping and carrying around your baby in the seat as long as you can and possibly up to a year or more I would suggest saving money and going with the lower weight limit. But that is just my 2 cents worth.

MouseInLux · December 2010

mainemommy:
MouseInLux:
verry wary of the 2 hour max limit for infant carriers!
Ive never heard of this for anyone but preemies but I may be missing something.
My kids loved their car rides, they always slept. Some nights they wouldnt sleep I would ride around till they did & then pop their seat into the crib until they woke up.
It was more age than anything that had us move them to convertable carseats because at 11 months the carrier isnt really necessary.

Here we are advised to only keep a child in an infant carrier (car seat) for 2 hours, this is due to the pressure that the position apparently puts on their spines.

soontobemrsdavis · December 2010

We have both. I purchased the Graco Snugrider on super sale at Target for $35. https://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugRider-Stroller-Frame-Infant/dp/B003NTQUUY It is the Snap and go and Infant seat together. I also have a Britax Boulevard CS, again super sale for $140(normally 350ish). We may have two cars(older car needs some repairs) by the time the baby comes so we may end up using both car seats at the same time.

After reading baby bargains and considering our area it didn't make sense to get the big travel system. So we will use the snugrider until the baby outgrows it and then move on to a regular stroller(stokke is my dream stroller).

Everything I have read says an infant carrier is a great item, so I am hoping our baby will like being in it as well.

asnowracer · December 2010

We have the Graco metrolite, so we could use the carrier (loved!) and click it into the stroller and when the baby outgrows the carrier (we stopped lugging it around about 6 months) we could use the stroller by itself.

Buying the Snap and Go stroller for the snugride seemed like a waste to me because you could only use it as long as you used the carrier.

The metrolite is still my fav stroller for times that I need storage (mall, park, vacation) because it has an under compartment and is still lighter than the chicco.

Want a personalized experience?

Infant carrier or just a car seat?

Re: Infant carrier or just a car seat?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards