Infant directly in stroller rather than carseat in stroller...

strawberryfields30 · February 2013

I was thinking of buying one of the car seats that grow with baby, like this one:

https://www.target.com/p/graco-smartseat-all-in-one-car-seat-rosin/-/A-13516953

This carseat wouldn't rest in a stroller though. Do/did any of you put your baby directly in the stroller? At a reclined position or anything? What are your thoughts on this?

ShellBear+ · February 2013

Well I am a ftm so I have not done it but I know that our britax b-agile can be used alone from birth since the seat reclines almost flat. I think here are plenty of strollers that can be used from infancy, just check the specifications. It would have to recline all the way or close to it. You may just need to use a blanket or infant insert to make it more secure.

strawberryfields30 · February 2013

Perfect, thanks!

ellewoodsSC · February 2013

So what you want is to use a convertible seat from the beginning. Keep in mind that many convertible seats do not safely support a newborn because of their harness design and upright angle, so if you choose to go that route, make sure you thoroughly investigate independent reviews and articles as to whether that seat is appropriate to use with a newborn, no matter what the manufacturer suggests. Car-seat.org site has some wonderful reviews and information.

If you do end up skipping the infant seat, you will have to unstrap and pull out your likely sleeping newborn from the convertible carseat and then either place them in a carrier or put them in stroller that will allow for complete and flat recline or those that come with a bassinet option. Most babies will need to have good head and trunk control before they can sit directly in a more upright stroller, which is often around 4 months and older.

Advantages of having an infant seat is that the baby can remain sleeping anyplace and anytime and still easily travel with you where ever you go. This helps when you are running short errands and don't have to strap in and unbuckle in and out every time or if you are trying to enjoy a rare meal out or don't want to wake your cranky infant when the only place they readily fall asleep is the car.

keg · February 2013

You can, but overall, using an infant car seat first makes your life much easier. Do you want to wake up your baby to transfer them multiple times per errand (car to stroller back to car to home), or what if you decide to stop multiple locations? If they are in an infant seat they can keep on sleeping plus it's just much easier to unsnap a car seat from a base and go than unstrap, restrap, unstrap, restrap, etc. Using infant seats and snap n go stroller kept me sane for the first few months!

=Lee=B · February 2013

I very much considered doing the same but eventually realized it would be well worth the price of an infant car seat for even a few months of easy transitions in and out of the car. We have our car seat in the middle and it seems all the harder to get a tiny floppy baby in/out of the seat...especially when I expect her to be asleep most transitions!

I also took into account the weather...it will still be cold/snowy here and I don't want to buckle baby into seat in a puffy snow suit (deemed not safe) so the infant seat allows baby to be strapped in and covered appropriately..otheriwse I'd have to undress baby in car and buckle her in and then cover her.

I don't expect to use the infant bucket for longer than a few months before switching to a good backfacing convertible but it still seemed like a worthwhile purchase.

That said, if you do need to save money and really don't want to use an infant bucket you can make it work you'll just need to strategize and buy an appropriate stroller (though that alone may be an added cost more than an infant seat)!

kristen218 · February 2013

You absolutely can do it. We have the Uppa Vista and use the infant insert a lot. We do have an infant seat however it mainly stays in the car. There are times when the infant seat is nice to have for errands but our DD is never in that for more then 2 hours or we take her out. Do whatever works for you and your LO!

Rosebud2587 · February 2013

As everyone said, you can put a newborn in a stroller, just make sure it is reclined all the way.

However, I would stay far far away from the smart seat all in one. It is big, bulky, heavy, and just over all does not make a great seat. I would suggest a My Size 70/Size4Me 70/ Headwise 70 if you want a Graco. It has the tallest shell on the market and rear faces to 40 lbs. The Maxi Cosi Pria is another good seat that works well for newborn-toddler.

TX-Bride · February 2013

That's what I am planning to do, go with a stroller that has a bassinet. Babies are not supposed to be in car seat all the time, I have been told by several friends who are in medical industry (one of them makes baby helmets and knows a lot about baby anatomy) that car seat is only good for commuting.

jess9802 · February 2013

We skipped the infant car seat and used a convertible car seat in the car and the Moby wrap and our City Mini stroller (with a JJ Cole infant body pillow) everywhere else right from the beginning. It was fine. DS transitioned well to and from the car seat and if he woke up would quickly fall back asleep. The only time I wish we'd had an infant car seat is for eating out before DS was big enough to sit in a high chair, but even that was not a huge deal for us.

ateach · February 2013

I felt just the same as you before I had baby but decided to get the infant seat just in case. I am so glad I did. While I still move her into her bassinet stroller for any long trip I really appreciate having the infant seat. It is winter here and it is so much nicer getting her cozy in her seat before walking out to the cold car. Also if I am running into a store for 5 minutes it seems crazy to unbuckle and buckle a sleeping baby. Finally pp is right about restaurants. Unless they have room to accommodate the whole stroller having a baby in there would be tricky. I just try to be careful about the amount of time she spends in the seat and take her out Anytime I will be out more than 20 minutes or so.

penguingrrl · February 2013

You can definitely use a convertible seat from the beginning. Just do your research because some (britax in particular) don't have low enough bottom harness slots to properly fit a newborn, so you want to be careful what you choose. Some kids sleep well in the infant bucket and it's convenient, but my older two *hated* the infant seat so we never took it out of the car anyway. The screamed nonstop in the car until we moved them to a convertible seat, so we never used it as a carrier. My son actually does like the infant seat (possibly because we bought a new one that has better padding) so we do use it as a carrier.

That said, the graco smartseat isn't a great seat. I would look at the diono radian, the graco size4me70, graco myride and first years true fit over the smartseat. The concept of the smartseat was great, but it doesn't have the longevity other convertibles have due to having a shorter shell than many other seats. It's definitely not worth its relatively high price tag.

strawberryfields30 · February 2013

Exactly! That is why I want a convertible, pay for one carseat and carry the baby in the wrap. I know it will be a bit of a pain while running errands and such but I would like to go this route.

myluckypig · February 2013

Don't let other people scare you, if you don't get an infant seat you will be fine. I did not have an infant seat and I really had no issues. When they are so little that they sleep all the time they usually fall back asleep pretty easily. I also did not run errands all day, every day (especially during the early months), so the occasional wake up during transfer was no big deal.

We don't have fancy strollers either. Both my graco single and graco double recline back *almost* flat and he layed in those fine in the early months.

I agree with other people saying the seat you mentioned has its drawbacks. We have the graco myride and we love it! In fact, both my kids have one.

I would say if you are the kind of person that wants to leave home every day doing multiple errands, you will probably be better off with the infant seat. However, it is totally up to you!

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