Those of you who have researched convertible car seats or already have one...help?

MJN9510 · March 2011

So, i am looking into the convertible car seat and cant tell if they have bases or not. Right now, with our infant carrier we have 3 bases for it because I drop DD off at the babysitters and dh pickes her up. We have the 3rd just for convenience if my mom has her or someone else in the family so DH and I dont have to keep removing ours from your vehicles. I really need that same convenience for at least 2 bases with a convertible car seat, but everywhere I look online, I cant tell if the bases are removeable or not. Does anyone know? I dont know what to do if I they arent because that will mean i need to buy 2 of the convertible car seats and they are expensive.

Also, if you havent already purchased the convertible seat or if you havent started using it yet....when are you going to do so. The infant carrier will still work for DD since she is only 15 pounds and 26 inches. I am trying to decide if i should make the transition now or wait until she truly outgrows the infant carrier.

TIA

Rach7170 · March 2011

The convertible carseats do not have a removable base. They are strapped into the car as a whole.

I personally hated having an infant seat. It was bulky and I hated not being able to cuddle him in the stores. Also he wanted to be out of it all the time.

If your DD likes to sleep in the seat then I would stay with the infant seat since you don't have to wake her up, otherwise I LOVE my convertible seat.

anvloveskme · March 2011

The only convertible seat with a base that I know of is the one that I purchased: Graco Smart Seat. We are very happy with it. The extra bases are around $100 each, so they are quite a bit more spendy than the ones for the infant seat. DD seems very comfy in it and it can stay rear facing for up to 40 lbs which is great. It also converts into a booster, so as long as it stays fairly clean and we aren't involved in an accident, I may never need to get her another seat. Here is a link to the seat and the base:

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4360517

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4360516

jaxmom1 · March 2011

Graco came out with a convertible car seat this year that does have a base. However the extra base is very expensive ($100 or so) and I can't imagine lugging a heavy convertible car seat from car to car.

https://www.gracobaby.com/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=1770991

ames71 · March 2011

Rach7170:
The convertible carseats do not have a removable base. They are strapped into the car as a whole.
I personally hated having an infant seat. It was bulky and I hated not being able to cuddle him in the stores. Also he wanted to be out of it all the time.
If your DD likes to sleep in the seat then I would stay with the infant seat since you don't have to wake her up, otherwise I LOVE my convertible seat.

Exactly this. DS has been in a convertible seat since week one in my car (DH has an infant seat in his truck because that's the only kind that would fit).

amg16 · March 2011

Ladies your suggestions were a big help to me as well. Thank you.

drewiekc · March 2011

For $100-ish you can get a pretty decent "secondary" convertible car seat. We bought a Britax Marathon as our primary seat, and I just ordered a First Years True Fit Convertible seat for our other car off Amazon. Even if it had a removable base, I cant imagine dragging a bulky seat in and out of the car every time we went somewhere!

SuperCuteBenz · March 2011

We are still using the infant seat for DS, and you will have to pry it from my hands when its time to switch.

I have a car seat obsession, so I have researched pretty much every seat on the market. The only convertible with a base is the Graco Smart Seat. Personally, I wouldn't get it. You can get 3 decently priced seats for less than you would spend on that seat and the bases. I also don't understand lugging around a convertible seat.

I own 3 Britax seats. I love them, but I only purchased them because I got them all on super clearance. Otherwise, I would have gone with something else.

You can see a list of recommended seats (with pros/cons) on www.carseatblog.org.

anvloveskme · March 2011

We went with the Graco with the extra base because I do about 85% of the pick up and drop off, but it was nice to have the option of DH having the base in his car, rather than buying a whole other seat or having to switch cars, so we don't install, uninstall it regularly at this point. In the future, I will probably also get a base for our in home day care provider. It is really easy to click the seat in and out, so with BRU discounts, we end up with the equivilent of three carseats for $390

Mrs.Handy · March 2011

I would keep your infant seat for a little longer. As long as you can stand carrying it and your LO hasn't outgrown the height/weight limits

I miss ours sometimes, but it was too heavy to carry around so we switched to a Britax Marathon 70. It's nice, but I miss being able to pop DS sleeping out of the car easily.

Mt2G1012 · March 2011

DH drops DD off and I pick her up from daycare. It sounds like we're going to have to get 2 seats. Are these easy to install that he could leave it at daycare and I could put it in my car when I pick up, or too difficult?

kerribear1717 · March 2011

Yeah I think the point with the convertable car seat is you don't really remove it. You remove the kid. I'm already starting to just take DS out of his seat when we have to go to a store or smething. But we do about 95% of baby travel in my car.

SuperCuteBenz · March 2011

heatherm818:
DH drops DD off and I pick her up from daycare. It sounds like we're going to have to get 2 seats. Are these easy to install that he could leave it at daycare and I could put it in my car when I pick up, or too difficult?

I can install my Britax seat correctly in about 3 minutes. However, not all seats are that easy to install. Plus, once your seat is in correctly, I wouldn't want to be taking it in and out every single day.

Angela814 · March 2011

We have 4 convertible seats. Our most recent purchase was the Sunshine Kids Radian. We also have 2 Britax seats, the Roundabout and Marathon, both from about 4 years ago. The Roundabout isn't big enough to ERF which is the reason we bought the Radian. The last seat we have is the First Years True Fit, which my sister has in her car as an extra seat.

MJN9510 · March 2011

Wow, thanks for all the great info ladies. This helps me a lot! i will probably keep her in her infant seat for a little while longer, but just want to be prepared for the next step.

jbosworth · March 2011

neece28:
I really need that same convenience for at least 2 bases with a convertible car seat, but everywhere I look online, I cant tell if the bases are removeable or not. Does anyone know? I dont know what to do if I they arent because that will mean i need to buy 2 of the convertible car seats and they are expensive.

Graco just came out with a convertible seat with a base. It is the Graco Smart all in one carseat. And you can have it until your LO is 100 lbs. if you go to gracobaby.com you can see a video on it. I've seen some great reviews on it. We will be in need of a convertible soon too and this is on the top of our list.

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Those of you who have researched convertible car seats or already have one...help?

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