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2nd Trimester
bridgetleimk
member
Advice needed: skip the infant carrier???
bridgetleimk
member
I am looking into what car seat to get and was reading about how you can skip the infant carrier completely and use a convertible car seat from 5lbs up to sometimes 50lbs. And when the baby is not in the car, use a wrap or stroller rather than lugging around the huge and heavy infant carrier. My only concern is traveling and riding in rental cars. Also, my DH and I would both be carting around the baby in our cars so should we do one car with an infant carrier and another with the convertible? Does anyone have an opinion here?
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Re: Advice needed: skip the infant carrier???
Convertible seats do not fit infants as well as an infant only seat will. You could do this, but then you'd have to wake a sleeping baby many times to get him/her out of the car. Plus you would need to get two if you have two cars. If you get an infant seat, just buy an extra base for the other car, which is much cheaper than another seat.
This is what we did for my DS and it worked wonderfully.
This. It's also a hassel to try to hold the baby on you whenever you go into stores. It's so much easier to leave them in the carrier, with the flap zipped if they are asleep, and set that on the cart. Especially in the beginning. We had one instance where we went to a graduation and they did not allow carriers into the building and it a was a giant PITA to get him out, carry him and all of the stuff, and try to keep him warm while we parked a mile away and went into the building.
Plus, a lot of times if you are out at a restaurant or a friend's house and they need to nap, you can set them in the carrier and they are perfectly happy. There are also a lot of Mom's who use the carrier to help babies that have reflux instead of the bouncy chair because it sits them upright a little more. There are just soooo many more uses for the carrier than just as a carseat.
FWIW, once you do have the convertible car seat, which you will probably need later on anyway, you just take it with you whenever you travel. I've flown with mine.
It's really up to you, although I think most people really go for the convenience of having the infant carrier, especially right away. Infant carriers in the U.S. are pretty inexpensive, I've seen them for less than $100, you can buy an extra base for even less.
Things to consider- if you put the baby directly into the stroller before they have head control it needs to recline all the way, have a small 5 point harness, etc. They do have these, but it might limit what kind of stroller you want to use/buy.
Another is if you have a baby in the winter and you live somewhere cold. You can't use blankets under the harness in the car seat. So you would have to take the baby out and transport he/she to the stroller, etc. without making them cold. With an infant carrier, you can throw a blankets on them, keep them warm and sleeping without disturbing them.
I like the idea of being able to move baby around in the infant seat easily, so we will be buying an infant seat. I will be a SAHM and the baby will ride with me, or in my car as a family of 3 99% of the time. We plan on buying a Cosco Scenera (40 dollars at Wal-Mart) for in case of an emergency for DHs car. The Scenera is cheaper than buying another Chicco base, and that way it can serve as our backup/in case of emergency seat until baby is ready for a booster.
If baby was going to be spending equal amounts of time in each car I would definitely get the infant seat and two bases for easy transfers.
Breastfeeding and pregnant!
This is exactly what our plan is as well.
We debated this as well and eventually decided to go with the infant seat becuase I read it fit the baby better. Even though we are getting the infant seat I don't plan on using it to cart around the baby all that much. We have a bunch of different infant carriers (ergo, moby, sling) and I feel more comfortable doing that. Plus, I read a while back that the longer the baby is in the seat the lower their oxygen levels are, so I would just prefer to limit time outside the car.
Infant carriers are so much safer.... Plus, if you elect to go with a travel system, you can simply take your baby's carrier and click him/her into the stroller without disturbing them. I did some research and consumer reports rates the Chicco KeyFit 30 as the best infant car seat (safety, ease of use, etc). They run around 150, including the base and have lots of color options. Extra bases will run about 70. That's less expensive than 2 car seats. :-) PLUS, the mentioned above car seat will hold a baby from 4 to 30 pounds! That's a large range and the seat can be mounted rear facing then front facing. I picked up the seat to get a sense of weight and its around 12 pounds... not bad!! Good luck to you!
-Jen
I think you could make it work if you had to, but an infant seat is so much easier IMO. I imagine it would be difficult to get a floppy newborn in a big convertible seat, not to mention all the times the baby falls asleep in the car you probably wouldn't want to have to wake them up to put them in a wrap, etc.
Also, you really would need only one base if you are using an infant seat, you can always just use the seatbelt to buckle them into the other car if necessary.
I had to do that with my DS, it saved my sanity at night! I would just get the infant carrier that hold up to 35lbs, then when the baby hits the 1yr- 18mths mark get a convertible, because now its recommend that children stay rear-facing till age 2
We used the carrier for DD and I'm glad we did for the following reasons:
1. As PPs mentioned - convenience and the sleeping factor. You don't even need a base for the carrier so you can get away with 1 base and just use a seatbelt in another car if needed.
2. Baby size - my daughter weighed 6lbs at birth and she needed bolstering in the carrier so that she fit safely (we had to do a fit test so she could be discharged). If you have to do the fit test, you would also need to bring the convertible into the hospital. In reality, she probably would not have fit in a convertible safely for probably at least a month.
3. C-section - after my c/s, I had a lot of back problems. I would have had difficulty maneuvering myself to strap DD in. I also would not have been able to carry her for long periods either.
I also bought the Snap and Go so I didn't really carry the carrier very much so it was super easy for me.
I wouldn't skip having an infant carrier. It makes life way more easier. We bought the travel system with DS and it just made moving a sleeping baby from the car to the stroller easier. Even if he isn't sleeping it still was much better then having to strap him in a carseat just to strap him in a stroller. Plus you can use it in the shopping cart. Just buy an extra base for both cars.
I actually was sad when DS grew out of his. It sucks having to wake up a sleeping child.
Posting from an Android sorry for any errors
I wanted to do this DS but the hospital would not release us without an infant car seat, no matter the weight possibilities of the convertible car seat. I thought it was odd, but all the hospitals in my area do this. So first call them. We ended up borrowing the one my brother used for his son, and we used it for a few months. One seat, two bases in each car. It was very helpful.
This was the biggie for us last time. Putting baby in freezing carseat, standing out in the cold/rain with tiny baby while getting him in/out- neither are any fun. That alone makes it pretty worth it, IMO.
All this. I can't imagine giving up the convenience of not having to wake a sleeping baby. To me it's worth the extra cost of an infant carrier (and they're not that expensive, anyway). Plus, if you have two kids within a few years of each other, you'll need two carseats anyway, so you can reuse the infant seat.
Please don't put the carrier ON the seat of the cart! It's not safe!
To the OP-I would definitely recommend getting an infant carrier. I don't know where you live, but where I live it gets icy, snowy, and very slippery. I love using my moby wrap, but I take the baby into the store in the carrier then transfer to the wrap inside. If I slipped and fell, I'd rather the baby be in his/her seat which would take the brunt of the fall, then if I slipped and fell forward and landed on the baby.
It really is very convenient when baby is sleeping to leave them in the carseat. Our kids were in the carrier over a year because they were all on the smaller side. My youngest, just hit 20lbs at her 18 month well-check! She could have still been in the carrier, but she was more comfortable in a convertible. And even though I like baby wearing, it was nice in the beginning to leave them asleep if we went to the mall and transfer the carseat to the stroller rather than waking them in the process of moving them.
Next to the booster seat, the infant carrier is the easiest of the seats to move to someone else's car. Go with the "bucket" for starters and be done with it. There are so many benefits those first 6mo or so to having one especially when they FINALLY fall asleep you don't want to wake them by taking them out of the seat which would happen with a convertible. Also, it's a lot easier to carry the carseat into the store and place it on a cart than it is to attempt to hold baby while doing your shopping especially as they get heavier.
No one ever said you need to purchase the most expensive carrier out there, just go with the one that you can afford. All of them have to pass safety guidelines then when it comes time for the convertible, get one that goes to a heavier weight/size then you won't be buying four overall and instead just purchasing three. (infant, convertible, front facing, booster..)
This is what we have done with 1,2, &3 and it works.
Stanley Oct, 2006
McKenna Feb, 2008
Evelyn July, 2009
Baby Boy Oct, 2011
I (now) have 2 children with #3 on the way and when I made the decision to skip the infant carrier, many thought I was nuts. Here's why I made the choice:
1. Yes, you pay more up front for two convertible car seats, however, they will be a purchase you will have to make anyway. You will really get a long life out of them. My son is turning 5, and we've only just had to replace both seats at once-- but were able to use the second for my daughter. Also, I think it is more environmentally responsible-- but that isn't a concern for all, of course.
2. My hubby and I are both tall people. I knew that the likelyhood of having an above average sized baby was greater and that the baby would've likely outgrown the carseat quicker. Again, a waste of money and time having to shop twice. (infact, at the time my son was born, infant carriers only held babies up to 20 lbs I think. Some were 25 lbs. I would've had to replace when my son was 3 months old!)
3. I hated the idea of lugging the carrier. I loved being able to move the kids in and out of the car-- and as for waking a sleeping baby, they get used to their environment. My kids can still be moved without waking while sleeping. My daughter can be moved from place to place a number of times! When I grocery shopped, I wore my son in a Bjorn or my husband tagged along and we used our stroller which fully reclined. Winter got a little tricky with all the cold weather clothes. We usually chose to dress him in a bunting and/ cover with blankets when going to/from car.
I am a SAHM, however, so I didn't have daycare runs/etc to consider. There is a little more planning in this method, I think (esp. in the winter months) but it is possible if you are looking to save resources.
Funny enough, I am questioning if I still want to go this route with baby #3, which is why I'm back on the boards!
good luck with deciding!
I am going to be different here and say that we are planning on just getting a convertible seat. Our reasons are:
- We live right in the city and usually take transit. We drive our car once, maybe twice a week. Since the baby won't be in the car very much at all, we can't really justify the expense of buying a carrier and a convertible.
- Where we live we have very mild winters and we park underground anyways.
Also, on a funny note, I am not sure we would be able to get a bulky carrier in and out of our backseat easily - parking space is at a premium here, and our parking spot is so tight, we can't open our doors all the way (even with our small car!)