2nd time Moms - carseat question

wittyschaffy · August 2012

To preface, I am a nerd about researching big purchases so while this is WAY early, I want to be sure I do a good job of finding a good carseat. :-)

2nd time Moms - Here's my question. I'm not particularly interested in a whole travel system carseat and stroller deal. Our house is small, our garage is small, and I just don't really want to store a lot of unnecessary crap for this kid. I'm toying with the idea of *not* getting an infant bucket seat and just going with a convertible seat that will take this kid from infant seat to booster chair. I know that means possibly moving a sleeping baby around to get them in and out of the car and putting them into a stroller or carrier while we're out and about.

As a 2nd time Mom with the benefit of experience- would that have been too much of a pain? Should I just bite the bullet and look at a stand-alone bucket infant seat/carrier with an extra base for DH's car and then get another seat for when this kid outgrows the bucket?

SQuaid · August 2012

I will not buy another travel system as it was too bulky and I hated putting it in the car etc. I would definatley recommend buying a bucket seat though. Running into the drug store for diapers, you don't want to be unpluging lo and all the stuff. You want to just grab and go. Plus, I also found that light swinging in the bucket would put dh to sleep so I would often do that. I will be buying a cheap stroller where the bucket clips in with a little basket underneath. I think it would be way to hard not to have one, just my opinion.

onlymeggan · August 2012

Personally, I couldn't function without my travel system. I also have a back injury and a husband that doesn't have the same days off as me. I needed my travel system to be able to handle the baby and the diaper bag and all that without help. When he outgrew the bucket seat we got him a big boy car seat and I just have to move a shopping cart or his stroller by the car for when I get him out. If you are able to carry the baby and the bag without assistance then I don't see why you would need the travel system. Just my thoughts.

00jennifer00 · August 2012

I had the traditional bucket seat with #1 and he was too big for it at like 5mo. Total waste of money. So the next two times we bought just convertibles. I really didn't like that though because it was always rainy and wet and cold and yucky where we lived, and I thought the baby would be much more comfy if I could put them in the carseat inside and cover them with a fleece blanket to walk out. So I got a Graco SafeSeat35 with #4 (and actually got to use it for a few months with #3 before he outgrew the height limit). I have loved having it! She is 19mo and 31.5" and 24lbs. She still has 11lbs to go on the weight limit, but she's .5" from the height limit so I'm going to get her a Graco MyRide65 in the next month (we extended rear-face, so she'll still be backwards until probably around her 3rd birthday, and then this carseat will allow us to have her 5pt harnessed to 65lbs). I would never buy an infant seat with the 22lb weight limit again because it just doesn't last long. A lot of the newer ones go up so much further, and it's totally worth the money.

mrsmcdonald · August 2012

I hated my travel system stroller and sold it on craigslist. I would definitely get the bucket seat and a Snap and Go type stroller, instead of the travel system. That's what we'll be doing with #2.

Anne Mommy · August 2012

The hardest part for me was grocery shopping when I had DS. They can't sit up for quite a while, so if you need to take them places the bucket seat is great.

myszko · August 2012

I would definitely recommend the infant seat for the same reasons as PPs. We had the Graco Snugride 22 and the Snap n Go stroller. It was perfect and easy and didn't take up much room. You could skip the snap n go and just get a regular stroller with an adapter for your carseat. A tiny baby won't fit into most normal strollers, so it's nice to have a stroller you can use with the seat.

sucrets4 · August 2012

You don't need a travel system, since the strollers that come with them are usually not the greatest.

I loved my infant seat and would recommend getting one, but get a snap and go frame to go with it. It folds up TINY and does the same thing as a travel system stroller, well, except being a stroller. It holds the car seat well, though.

Also, you don't NEED a base to install the car seat, it's just way easier with one. If you don't plan on using your DH's car too much, skip the base and just learn how to strap the seat in without it.

LoveMyMen · August 2012

SQuaid:
I will not buy another travel system as it was too bulky and I hated putting it in the car etc. I would definatley recommend buying a bucket seat though. Running into the drug store for diapers, you don't want to be unpluging lo and all the stuff. You want to just grab and go. Plus, I also found that light swinging in the bucket would put dh to sleep so I would often do that. I will be buying a cheap stroller where the bucket clips in with a little basket underneath. I think it would be way to hard not to have one, just my opinion.

This exactly. The bucket seat is nice when you need to run errands or when it is cold outside.

sucrets4 · August 2012

00jennifer00:
I had the traditional bucket seat with #1 and he was too big for it at like 5mo. Total waste of money. So the next two times we bought just convertibles. I really didn't like that though because it was always rainy and wet and cold and yucky where we lived, and I thought the baby would be much more comfy if I could put them in the carseat inside and cover them with a fleece blanket to walk out. So I got a Graco SafeSeat35 with #4 (and actually got to use it for a few months with #3 before he outgrew the height limit). I have loved having it! She is 19mo and 31.5" and 24lbs. She still has 11lbs to go on the weight limit, but she's .5" from the height limit so I'm going to get her a Graco MyRide65 in the next month (we extended rear-face, so she'll still be backwards until probably around her 3rd birthday, and then this carseat will allow us to have her 5pt harnessed to 65lbs). I would never buy an infant seat with the 22lb weight limit again because it just doesn't last long. A lot of the newer ones go up so much further, and it's totally worth the money.

It doesn't matter what the height limit says, as long as her head is at least 1" from the top, it's safe to use. Legs don't count.

ebp913 · August 2012

I agree with what everyone else said. The convenience of the bucket seat is HUGE. I cannot imagine running errands or stopping in somewhere real quick and having to take your tiny baby in and out of the convertible. Another thing for us was that when you are out, you have a place to put the baby if no one is holding them.

We are still using out Chicco Keyfit 30 for our almost 10 month old but we are about to move her out - not because she is too big but because it's just too heavy and with me being pregnant I don't need to be hauling around 27 lbs of baby and car seat everyday. I am super sad though because as I said, the convenience is big! I would go with a seat that has a big height and weight limit so you can get the most use possible. Graco and Chicco both have hight height/weight limit seats.

lkm2006 · August 2012

We never use the travel system stroller, he much prefers the umbrella stroller. I am hoping as he gets older we will get more use out of it.

I would definitely get a bucket seat though. It's so easy to take a sleeping baby in a resturant or store, without the seat you would be stuck holding or carrying the baby.

jmayamama · August 2012

I never got the travel system and actually never even used the stand alone stroller that much because we got into baby wearing.

I would absolutely go with an infant seat though, vs straight to a convertible. There are going to be so many times where your baby will be insane because they haven't slept, then fall asleep as soon as you get in the car. The last thing I'd want to do is wake them up to pull them out of the carseat. My DS was never good at transferring from wherever he was sleeping to his pnp or crib.

LLBMom1113 · August 2012

Honestly, I couldn't have survived without the bucket carseat. Noah wasn't huge into being carried (I tried like 5 different carriers/material things...sigh). So I have no idea how I would've accomplished things like grocery shopping - short of putting everything I want to buy in the stroller? I could put the bucket in the top layer of the cart and the food in the bottom (our carts are two layered at our grocery stores - I wasn't putting him on the kid seat part at all

I didn't carry it a lot - it was heavy - but until he could sit up in a cart by himself it was lifesaving. I wouldn't do the travel system thing again. The stroller's been just okay. I prefer our BOB Revolution stroller for sure.

00jennifer00 · August 2012

sucrets4:

00jennifer00:
I had the traditional bucket seat with #1 and he was too big for it at like 5mo. Total waste of money. So the next two times we bought just convertibles. I really didn't like that though because it was always rainy and wet and cold and yucky where we lived, and I thought the baby would be much more comfy if I could put them in the carseat inside and cover them with a fleece blanket to walk out. So I got a Graco SafeSeat35 with #4 (and actually got to use it for a few months with #3 before he outgrew the height limit). I have loved having it! She is 19mo and 31.5" and 24lbs. She still has 11lbs to go on the weight limit, but she's .5" from the height limit so I'm going to get her a Graco MyRide65 in the next month (we extended rear-face, so she'll still be backwards until probably around her 3rd birthday, and then this carseat will allow us to have her 5pt harnessed to 65lbs). I would never buy an infant seat with the 22lb weight limit again because it just doesn't last long. A lot of the newer ones go up so much further, and it's totally worth the money.

It doesn't matter what the height limit says, as long as her head is at least 1" from the top, it's safe to use. Legs don't count.

That's good to know. I'll have to check it out next time we go somewhere and see where her head is. I know there isn't much slack left in the straps, so it's starting to be a pain to squeeze her in.

I just wanted to add that I am an avid baby wearer, and if we're going in somewhere for more than like 5 second (like dropping something off at the post office, or returning library books), I always hold or wear the baby until they are older, probably close to a year. Then I'll start leaving them in the carseat for bigger stuff (like groceries or walking around the mall) if they're asleep. But I still found the bucket seat extremely useful, especially after going without for 2 kids.

Elocin · August 2012

We didn't get a travel system, but used a snap & go instead. It was perfect. We do have a full sized stroller, and I wish we had just gotten a good umbrella instead. Once we transitioned from the infant carrier to the convertible, we just put her the front of the carriages when we were out at stores.

5dogs · August 2012

FWIW, some hospitals will not release a baby who does not have a bucket seat. One of the hospitals my old OB delivered at would NOT allow a newborn to go home in a convertible seat.

That said, we originally wanted to just do a convertible and be done with it. I'm very glad we got the bucket. We did not buy another base as we usually used my car and on the rare occassion we needed to switch cars, the seatbelt guides on the seat worked just fine and felt just as secure.

We did not get an official travel system. I bought the Chicco Keyfit as a stand-alone seat and used a snap and go for for the first few months - very happy with it. Then we moved over to the Uppa Baby Vista's snap and go system and then eventually the stroller.

jinnymb · August 2012

I agree with everyone and if you are not convinced here is why I needed the infant seat.

My DS1 is a runner and several times I had to sit down the seat and chase him. I don't know how old your child is but this was a huge help to me. Plus I did classes with DS1 so I just brought the baby in his seat and sat him down, so he stayed sleeping. I did wear him a lot but still used the infant seat plenty!!

Multi-tasking is much easier with the infant seat and I could only use it for DS2 for 6 months, but still worth it's weight in gold!!!

Get a snap and go, if you aren't into the travel system.

magel050485 · August 2012

SQuaid:
I will not buy another travel system as it was too bulky and I hated putting it in the car etc. I would definatley recommend buying a bucket seat though. Running into the drug store for diapers, you don't want to be unpluging lo and all the stuff. You want to just grab and go. Plus, I also found that light swinging in the bucket would put dh to sleep so I would often do that. I will be buying a cheap stroller where the bucket clips in with a little basket underneath. I think it would be way to hard not to have one, just my opinion.

Ditto this. You can buy the infant seat seperate from the travel system and just get the seat plus however many bases you need. We got a travel system and never used our travel system stroller with the carseat- I would wear him if he was awake or put the whole bucket seat in the cart. We only use that stroller for walks to the park or pool where we aer packing lunches or swim suits and need the extra storage.

ann_jeremiah · August 2012

I've definitely get an infant carrier seat. DS outgrew his around 8 months, but he was way heavy for me to carry him in it anyway. By then he could sit up well in a shopping cart too.

drewiekc · August 2012

We did not have a travel system either, but I loved the bucket seat. We moved DD out of it at 6m, but it was very useful in the beginning. You will be out and about with baby, and you may not always want to bring along a stroller. Like at doctors appointments, the grocery store, etc. It's also nice to have somewhere for them to lay when you are over at someone's house. Definitely worth it.

smurf605 · August 2012

I highly recommend the infant carseat. My DS is 14 mo and still using it in my DH's car. I switched to a convertible about 5 mo ago in my car, because he was getting too heavy to carry for me. He's getting close to being too tall (our manual says 1" from top of carseat for his head), so we purchased a convertible for DH's car but we are so sad about losing the infant carseat, since it is so nice to not wake a sleeping baby - especially when running errands, etc. We have a bumbleride flyer stroller. It is pretty lightweight and has plenty of features. We still use the carseat adapter on our stroller on occasion when we are running errands during nap time. Depending on if you are planning on additional children and the timing, it may not be an extra car seat if you don't have to buy an additional convertible for #2.

smurf605 · August 2012

Just noticed you were from Minnesota (me too!). Another reason that you will want a infant carrier, is that you can dress the baby for indoors and then just cover the car seat when it is cold out. I'm hoping for a warm April 2013, but you never know in MN! It is not a good idea to put a baby in a carseat with bulky clothing (jackets), because you can't get the straps tight enough on his or her body. We have a fleece cover that we just put over the carseat and it is really slick.

MJL113 · August 2012

The bucket is so useful/helpful when they are small. Being able to pull it out carry it and put it down places (ie store) made life a million times easier.

We had and I'd recommend the graco snug ride 35. Holds up to 35 lbs and 30 inches. At a year DS is still in it although I rarely pull the bucket out.

The graco snap and go. Light, easy fold, big basket underneath. https://www.amazon.com/Graco-SnugRider-Infant-Stroller-Frame/dp/B0007KMUH4

The grace snug glider. We got this instead of a swing. It folds flat and lived under a couch when not in use. DS loved the bucket so this was just easy. https://www.amazon.com/SnugGlider-Infant-Seat-Swing-Frame/dp/B000M4K4BY

watermellens · August 2012

wittyschaffy:

2nd time Moms - Here's my question. I'm not particularly interested in a whole travel system carseat and stroller deal. Our house is small, our garage is small, and I just don't really want to store a lot of unnecessary crap for this kid. I'm toying with the idea of *not* getting an infant bucket seat and just going with a convertible seat that will take this kid from infant seat to booster chair. I know that means possibly moving a sleeping baby around to get them in and out of the car and putting them into a stroller or carrier while we're out and about.
As a 2nd time Mom with the benefit of experience- would that have been too much of a pain? Should I just bite the bullet and look at a stand-alone bucket infant seat/carrier with an extra base for DH's car and then get another seat for when this kid outgrows the bucket?

In my opinion, that would be a mistake. DS fell asleep in the car every time he got strapped in for months and to wake him when getting him out (and it always waked him) would have been awful. I can also think of many times when we were out and he got tired and I'd put him in the car seat and he'd fall asleep in it. Then I'd just have to pop it in the base when we got to the car and he'd stay asleep.

DH and I each had a base in our cars. We didn't have a "travel system" but we did have an infant car seat and stroller that matched - the car seat snapped in the stroller. We used it all the time.

KYmama9286 · August 2012

I would absolutely get a pumpkin seat with my primary reason being safety- if you have even an average sized baby (let alone a baby on the smaller side) the convertible seats aren't really meant for an infant that small. While the convertible seats will tell you that they can have a child down to 5lbs or something its just not a reality- when an infant is rear facing in a seat (which they should be until at least 2 years old...but thats for a different post lol) the shoulder harness straps need to be at or below shoulder height. For a slouchy small newborn many convertible seats won't have slats to lower the should straps low enough to be at or below the shoulders. I also don't feel like a big convertible seat would really hold a child in/be as comfortable for a newborn since even in the rear facing position most don't recline as much as a pumpkin seat does causing their heads to slump forward when they sleep (which for newborns is generally every time they are in the car seat). I would be concerned about breathing issues in a newborn. I've come to learn that car seats weight/height max/mins are really ridiculous- like the seats that work for a child up to 100lbs....99% of kids would far out grow the seat in the length requirements before they reach 100lbs, so yes it technically holds a child that size it's really not ideal or meant for it if that makes any sense.

My view on car seats is while it sucks to have to fork out the money for multiple seats it's really not that big of an expense when you consider it is something you use everyday (sometimes multiple times a day) and it keeps your child safe! You definitely don't *need* a travel system (though it is convenient and there are travel systems that aren't the big huge strollers that you see) and if you want to minimize I would get just a stand alone pumpkin seat and base then move to a convertible when ready. My DD has consistently been big for her age 75th percentile and up and she can technically still fit in her pumpkin seat at almost 9 months old, granted we switched to convertible already just because I was sick of lugging it but she definitely could have stayed in it longer and our seat is a basic 22lb weight max. Now a days you can get ones with a 32lb weight max which your infant will outgrow length wise before weight.

epona3 · August 2012

I also hate clutter, and tried to be as minimalist as possible, but I really couldn't have done it without the bucket seat. She was in it until she was about 8 mo - she got too tall for it before she outgrew the weight.

It was soooo nice when she was sleeping to just pick her up and not wake her, or if there's bad weather, she wasn't exposed.

We never got another base, though. We had the Chicco seat, and you could use it without a base (it buckles in pretty easily.) I think most bucket seats are like this. For the few times she rode in DHs car, we're glad we didn't buy another base.

46 · August 2012

I don't think I would ever want to live without a bucket seat. We have the Chicco Keyfit 30 and it lasted us until our first was about 11 months old. We also used it with our BOB stroller all the time. It was nice to have the convenience of not having to wake up a sleeping baby or uncover a warm, snuggly baby when the weather outside is cold.

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