Let's talk... Infant Car Seats

NikMck06 · December 2011

FTM here... wondering what the advantages/disadvantages are to purchasing an infant car seat carrier (Chicco KeyFit30, etc) vs. a stationary car seat that will grow with the child over time?

I don't plan on buying a travel system. If I get a carrier model, then I will just buy the base that goes with it but knowing the baby will outgrow the carrier & we'll have to purchase a different car seat. So I'm wondering if we should just do that up front instead? Will that be a hassle to get the baby in & out of on a daily basis?

What are your plans for car seats?

BetsyDavis · December 2011

Infant ones are nice because you don't have to remove baby to get in and out of the car when going places. That in it's self is nice when you have a fussy baby that finally fell asleep in the car. Also it comes in hand when at the mall because you can lock the carseat in the stroller and block baby completely from strangers. Only bad part is they get heavy as baby gets older. My LO just hit 5 months today and I'm starting to struggle carrying her in it. My FI has no problems though.

dotty188 · December 2011

I loved the fact that if DD was sleeping I could just pop the car seat out and carry her in that while I ran my errands. DD didn't get her "big girl" car seat until she was 8 or 9 months so I got a lot of use out of my Chicco. This time around, I plan on doing the same thing.

My suggestion, go into BRU, BBB or whatever is near you and try it out. See if you like the fact that you can carry baby around without actually carring baby. Each person is different, GL!

katmacwv · December 2011

DD was a big baby and outgrew the infant seat by about 6 months (when the Graco weight limit was 22 lbs). However, I was glad I had it. She was born in Sept and during that winter, it was nice to transport her all snuggly and warm inside her carrier into daycare. Taking the infant seat in and leaving it under her crib allowed any of us to pick her up since DH, MIL and my mother all had bases installed in their cars. Plus, the infant carrier attached to most shopping carts which made trips to the grocery store much easier (before DD could sit up on her own). The carrier is, however, heavy enough with a baby inside that you don't want to lug it very far.

COLobster · December 2011

Could you get by without the infant carrier? Yes. But it's very handy those first few months when they fall asleep every time you get in the car. After about 6 - 7 months I started using it more as a stationary in-the-car carseat, but it was still nice to be able to pull it out when we needed it.

ToastieSimons · December 2011

It depends on your child. DS HATED the infant seat. So despite having a travel system we stopped using the infant seat at 6 weeks. He was a much happier baby in a convertible seat. We do plan on using it again for this baby and if they hate it just as much we'll probably just ditch it for another convertible seat.

Discordia1030 · December 2011

Having a bucket seat is a blessing when you arrive somewhere and your baby is sleeping. Or its cold out. You don't have to remove them from their seat and expose them to the cold, or inadvertently wake them up no matter how much you try not to.

They do get heavy though, as LO gets older. We switched to our convertible carseat when DS was about 7-8m old, but then again, he's always been in the 90th+ percentiles.

doxgirl · December 2011

We kept DS in the infant seat until his 1st birthday. We have the Keyfit 30. I loved not having to get him in and out of the seat when carrying him in the house, which comes in handy when napping. I didn't get a travel system, but did get the snap 'n go, which I loved. It was so lightweight. We will be using the same infant seat with this LO.

NikMck06 · December 2011

Thanks for the input, ladies! I think I'm pretty much sold on the Chicco KeyFit30 but just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything... those carriers do look like they would be heavy! I guess that's good for toning my arms though, right?? haha

PregNerd · December 2011

We have no plans to get a bucket seat. IMO a convertible seat makes more financial sense. I understand why some people like/love them and that is awesome. It's whatever works best for you.

We would much rather just buy the one seat, and spend the extra money on either a carrier or a nicer stroller. I also know that I am a klutz and would likely bruise the crap out of my legs and jostle the kid all to heck while carrying a bucket seat.

emberlee3 · December 2011

I liked having the infant seat because we had multiple bases for different cars, and the snap-n-go stroller frame, so I could just pop the seat into the stroller at the mall or whatever. I didn't use it as a carrier all that much except when he was really tiny and fell asleep in the car all the time. It was nice if we were going to visit family or friends to just let him stay asleep as long as he liked. I did not have a travel system, but the snap-n-go is a cheap and useful option.

amberleeb · December 2011

NikMck06:
Thanks for the input, ladies! I think I'm pretty much sold on the Chicco KeyFit30 but just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything... those carriers do look like they would be heavy! I guess that's good for toning my arms though, right?? haha

Make sure you look at the weight of the car seat without the baby in it. I am pretty sure that is the seat that weighs 16.4 lbs without the baby in it. The Graco Snugride has just as good of safety ratings and only weighs 7 lbs without the baby in it.

katbike · December 2011

I've heard that the systems that go up to 65lbs are less comfortable for newborns and so it may tend to make them more fussy?

I don't still have the links for that info - but it definitely made me change my mind and want an infant to 35lb seat!

Though I'm not sure about the 'travel system' stuff.

I'm not sure I'll really use it - I don't want to lug the baby around for a while in the carrier!

So most likely we will buy 2 seats 1 for infant to 35 and then the next step to 65!

Then we will get a stroller that is a little more heavy duty!

NikMck06 · December 2011

amberleeb:
NikMck06:
Thanks for the input, ladies! I think I'm pretty much sold on the Chicco KeyFit30 but just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything... those carriers do look like they would be heavy! I guess that's good for toning my arms though, right?? haha
Make sure you look at the weight of the car seat without the baby in it. I am pretty sure that is the seat that weighs 16.4 lbs without the baby in it. The Graco Snugride has just as good of safety ratings and only weighs 7 lbs without the baby in it.

Oh wow! That is a huge difference in weight. Will definitely be checking into that... Thanks for the tip

MissButters · December 2011

I was looking at the Chico KeyFit 30, but have opted to go with the Britax-B-safe instead. We do plan on using it with the Britax B-agile stroller. I think the weight of the B-safe (without the base) is just a little less than 10 pounds. Also, Consumer Reports says that the weight of the Keyfit 30 carrier itself (not including the base) is 9 pounds.

Marcilene1 · December 2011

IMO infant car seats are a waste. I had one for DD, but hated lugging that bulky thing around. I think I took it out like twice. I never had a problem with taking her out and putting her into a sling or other carrier while she was asleep. She might have woken up a tiny bit, but fell right back to sleep as soon as I started moving. Also, where are you going to take the car seat? They are not meant to be put on top of shopping carts and babies are not meant to sleep in them for an extended time without the base (the angle makes it hard for them to breathe).

bg1166 · December 2011

This is our first and we don't want an infant car seat but when you leave the hospital on all the shows I watch the nurses put the baby in the car seat in the room and then they walk them out to the car. What do you do if you don't have an infant car seat?

sam19 · December 2011

If you go with a convertible then make sure it's compatible with a small baby. Most are but I know there are some that are better than others. We use the TrueFit and loved it. The ONLY reason we used an infant carrier is because I had my daughter in the fall/winter and I liked to use a cover on the car seat so I didn't have to put her in a coat.

sam19 · December 2011

bg1166:
This is our first and we don't want an infant car seat but when you leave the hospital on all the shows I watch the nurses put the baby in the car seat in the room and then they walk them out to the car. What do you do if you don't have an infant car seat?

They wheeled me out to our car while I held her and just watched me put her in the seat. Most nurses aren't allowed to put a baby in the car seat for liability reasons anyways.

Draba123 · December 2011

We had to go out and buy an infant carrier rated for babies 4+lbs because DS was less than 5lbs when we brought him home from the hospital.

But yeah, I loved having the infant seat. So much easier than taking a young baby in an out of a carseat. And it's nice having somewhere for the baby to sit... now that my son is in a convertable carseat, I have no where to put him when I go to the chiropractor. One of the receptionists ends up having to hold him because he doesn't walk or stand by himself yet and I don't want him crawling all over the place while the chiropractor is working on my back. So much easier when he could just stay in the carseat.

AliciaS1411 · December 2011

We're going with an infant carrier. My main reasoning is because I don't want to wake the baby when we get somewhere to put in the stroller. We're getting the Britax Chaperone Carseat and the B-ready stroller. We registered for a Chico stationary car seat for 6 months and up.

jl&jl · December 2011

bg1166:
This is our first and we don't want an infant car seat but when you leave the hospital on all the shows I watch the nurses put the baby in the car seat in the room and then they walk them out to the car. What do you do if you don't have an infant car seat?

We only had a convertible. The nurses walked out to check to make sure we were good to go. It was a non issue.

jl&jl · December 2011

we just used a convertible car seat (which went from 5 pounds and up) for reasons that include: babies outgrow infant seats well before a year (less for landfill/less $$), they're uncomfortable to carry and not good for your back and posture, babies shouldn't spend time sleeping in that position for developmental reasons, people are more likely to touch your baby in the infant car seat opposed to being strapped to mama's chest (which we wore him wherever we went). plus as an added bonus, our little guy learned to be transferred and still stay asleep from square one...which we can still do that today. others say they can't live without them, but we never felt we needed one. it's a personal preference, for sure, those were just our reasons. do what feels right for you.

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