STMs/Car Seat Experts

this decaf life · October 2012

Sorry I know I've seen carseat questions all over the place but there's no one list of advice compiled [at least not that I know of]

I just got this one - Safety 1st but I just realized it's only good up to 35 pounds

https://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-OnBoard-Infant-Decatur/dp/B006ZISRN8/ref=sr_1_17?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1349886855&sr=1-17&keywords=safety+1st+carseat

Should I have gone with a convertible car seat like this one -

https://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Complete-Convertible-Marshall/dp/B004EBUX9Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1349886855&sr=1-2&keywords=safety+1st+carseat

Is there a reason to get an infant specific car seat or should I have gone with a convertible?

ASmallWonder · October 2012

That's a usual weight limit for an infant seat and your kid is almost definitely going to outgrow it by height before weight. Whether or not you go with a convertible from the start is your call but the infant seats are great for mobility. Unclick and bring it with you to stores, restaurants, friends houses, etc. You can't do that stuff with a convertible.

526SadieSadie · October 2012

I highly recommend the infant carrier, it's SOOOO much easier and worth the additional expense. Livi would always fall asleep in the car and it was fantastic to be able to just pop the seat out of the base and not wake her up to get her inside. I miss the infant carrier - ours only went to 22 pounds and she outgrew it weeks ago.

smurf605 · October 2012

I also prefer the infant carrier. We had the Chicco key fit for infancy and moved DS to a Britax boulavard when he outgrew the height on the infant seat. We will reuse the Chicco for the new babe.

Angela814 · October 2012

That's the exact infant seat I decided on after all my research. I prefer the ease of the infant bucket seat for the first few months. That way you don't have to take a sleeping baby in and out of the carseat. I also wanted a seat that would last at least a year so we could make it through baby's first winter in the infant seat. Covering up baby with blankets is much easier than dealing with the convertible seats. Winter coats aren't safe in the carseat. I have big babies, so I need a 32" height limit to make it to 1 year. I was looking at the Safety 1st and the Graco Snugride 35. DD2 and I tried out both seats, and I liked the Safety 1st better. DD2 was 30 lbs and 36" at 2 years. She was too tall for both seats but didn't look all that squished when she sat in them.

You'll need a convertible seat later, but I'd wait until you actually need it to buy one. Most carseats expire after 6 years. The convertible I have on my list now is the Graco My Size 70/Size4Me.

synchrosally · October 2012

DS was in his infant seat until nearly a year. Carrying a sleeping baby into the house is MUCH easier done in an infant seat! He will be RF in his convertible until probably 3 or longer (his Britax anyway, he outgrew his stupid Eddie Bauer already).

Ajmm84 · October 2012

Everybody said it! I agree that the infant carrier is great until they outgrow it, my stroller came with the carrier and the base, and it worked great to be able to unclick them from the car and bring them in the house sleeping, or click them into the stroller and be on my way. Once my son outgrew it, I bought the Safety 1st seat as well, very similar to what you posted, only it is good up until 100 lbs, and it works great for rear and forward facing. I got it at Babies R Us and I used a 20% off coupon I got in the mail: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11364122

We can now use the infant carrier for when the new baby arrives, and all is well! Good luck, hope everyone's input has helped!

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Wild_flower25 · October 2012

You definitely want an infant seat, but I wouldn't worry about the weight limit because you are not going to want to carry that thing past the baby being about 20 lbs. At that point you'll just want a convertible seat.

saturdaynightdoubletree · October 2012

elmoali:
That's a usual weight limit for an infant seat and your kid is almost definitely going to outgrow it by height before weight. Whether or not you go with a convertible from the start is your call but the infant seats are great for mobility. Unclick and bring it with you to stores, restaurants, friends houses, etc. You can't do that stuff with a convertible.

This. Infant seats are pure convenience for running errands, napping babies, going out to dinner, running through the rain, etc. Once you outgrow the infant car seat I would highly recommend looking into a very versatile convertible seat so that you aren't purchasing car seat after car seat after car seat. My recommendations would be Diono Radian RXT or Evenflo Symphony65 e3 because they both can be used with newborns and RFing for a while longer than most other seats, then can be used FFing, and as a harnessed booster as well as a seat belt positioned booster -- so in the long run you're buying a quality seat to last through the years vs. researching and spending more money on a RFing seat, FFing seat, booster, etc.

PandasMama0626 · October 2012

an infant carrier is essential! My DD spent a lot of time in hers. It was one of the only places we could put her to fall asleep sometimes or calm her down. Our first one for DD only went to 35 lbs too. We traded it at toys r us and got a 25% discount on a new convertible seat when she started to outgrow her infant seat. Its just so much easier to get baby in a carrier before you get to the car, just click them in place, and away you go. Its also nice when they fall asleep and you don't even have to take them out of the car seat, just bring them inside and let them sleep where they are.

Angela814 · October 2012

saturdaynightdoubletree:
This. Infant seats are pure convenience for running errands, napping babies, going out to dinner, running through the rain, etc. Once you outgrow the infant car seat I would highly recommend looking into a very versatile convertible seat so that you aren't purchasing car seat after car seat after car seat. My recommendations would be Diono Radian RXT or Evenflo Symphony65 e3 because they both can be used with newborns and RFing for a while longer than most other seats, then can be used FFing, and as a harnessed booster as well as a seat belt positioned booster -- so in the long run you're buying a quality seat to last through the years vs. researching and spending more money on a RFing seat, FFing seat, booster, etc.

I agree with most of this. Once you are past the infant seat, you'll want to get a good convertible seat with a high height limit/tall shell. Personally, I wouldn't worry about getting something that converts to a booster. A lot of the all in one seats aren't particularly great. They're passable in each mode. (For instance, the Radian was just redesigned to also be a booster, but they didn't increase the height of the seat, so it will still get outgrown at the same time as the harness.) Get a good dedicated convertible seat and then a good dedicated booster seat when the time comes. A good high back booster is <$100.

You probably already know this though since you have older kids.

KYmama9286 · October 2012

We have the same infant seat and DD still fits in it just fine at 10.5 months old (she is about 20lbs- she is just above average in height and weight percentiles also). I would go with that infant seat and then upgrade to a convertible later when the baby outgrows the seat. As pp said, most babies outgrow the height much faster than the weight- my 2.5 year old isnt even close to 35lbs lol

Infant seats are better for newborns and smaller infants than a convertible seat- while convertible seats might say that they can hold a child as small as 5 or 6lbs in reality a baby that size would not fit appropriately. Many times the lowest setting for the straps can't go low enough to be at or below the shoulder (which is where the strap should be when a child is rear-facing). Infant seats are just easier for a variety of other reasons in addition to being a better fit for a smaller infant.

jgoetz1 · October 2012

smurf605:
I also prefer the infant carrier. We had the Chicco key fit for infancy and moved DS to a Britax boulavard when he outgrew the height on the infant seat. We will reuse the Chicco for the new babe.

Same here. We loved the Chicco infant seat. So easy and convenient for when DD was sleeping. I've read that infant seats are more secure than convertible seats when they are very young too.

Kingston54 · October 2012

I love our infant seat because it was so easy to click him in and unclick and take him in places. Plus it clicked into the stroller. And if he fell asleep in the car, we could just bring him right in the house without disruption, loosen the straps a little and let him sleep!

If you're buying a convertible car seat, I'd look for something with a high limit for extended rear facing!

Halen0804 · October 2012

smurf605:
I also prefer the infant carrier. We had the Chicco key fit for infancy and moved DS to a Britax boulavard when he outgrew the height on the infant seat. We will reuse the Chicco for the new babe.

This. I love the Chicco. A lot of people I know also really liked the Britax. I find that both brands are very user friendly and worth the money. They last well for multiple kids.

synchrosally · October 2012

Just wanted to emphasize what everyone else said. Make sure the convertible you eventually get has a high height limit, not just weight. We were only looking at weight, so when we got one that was RF to 45 lbs we thought we were in the money (Eddie Bauer). Turns out its RF height limit is only 32 inches. WTAF? DS was 32 inches at a year when we bought our seat! Our Britax on the other hand is RF to 45 lbs and 42 inches! So, unfortunately we broke down and FF DS in the Eddie Bauer at 28 months (5 inches longer than the height limit, but I was not turning him sooner because the height limit made no sense to me considering his head is WELL below the shell still!).

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