Car seat craziness!

whimsy515 · December 2013

Help me mommas! I've begun doing my registry. I've read a lot of contradicting articles and what not on car seats. I'm obviously new to this, so forgive my stupidity. Are there car seats that "grow with" baby? Or do I have to buy an infant, and then shortly after buy a regular car seat? I know about booster seats, and that's it. How long will I use an infant car seat? I'm reading that I may use it for 2 years, which would be great, but I'm also seeing that people only used it for a few months. I'm so confused! Is there anything you highly recommend? I can't spend a fortune, but obviously safety first. I'm going crazy!

mirdamae03 · December 2013

I'm a big fan of Britax. We got DS1 an infant car seat (Safety 1st) and really liked it, so we'll probably use it for a little while with DS2. When he outgrew the infant one (maybe around 10 months/year) we bought the Britax Boulevard. Those seats can be used from birth through toddler years. I don't have any experience using it RF with an infant though.

ETA: the infant seats are great because you can just take the carrier out and put it in grocery carts, etc. It's especially nice for sleeping babies

RedInLove · December 2013

We plan on getting an infant carrier that will snap on to whatever stroller we pick. Then we'll switch to a toddler seat. Like the PP said, we want the ease of just taking the infant carrier out of the vehicle when the baby is so small and will probably be sleeping a lot. I think it will make it much easier to carry such a small baby that way, anyway. We'll get a 2nd base to it for DH's car, and then when we switch to a toddler seat, we'll get one full seat for each vehicle.

whimsy515 · December 2013

You guys are great! There's just so much out there, I needed to hear from other moms. Thank you!!!
:x

iadanza · December 2013

How long your child will stay in an infant seat will largely depend on how big or small your child is. My son is around 10 percentile for height and weight (he's quite small) and just within the past month (at 14 months old) grew out of his infant seat.

I personally like the infant seat for the same reason people above stated, that is is nice to be able to take your sleeping baby out of the car without waking him/her. It's also nice to bring into restaurants and let your baby sleep in while you're eating.

dragossoul84 · December 2013

The infant seat is super convient but its not a have to that being said you can get some pretty cheap

NorthernGal248 · December 2013

I am planning on using a carseat that will be staying in the car the whole time because I cannot lug a huge carseat around. We are going to have a nice stroller that I can place the baby in, and when not using the stroller I am planning on baby wearing. We have decided to go with the Combi Cocoorro Lightweight Convertible Car Seat because it is fairly small and safe.

It's up to you what you use, don't let anyone bully you into thinking one is safe and one is not. EACH carseat must meet the safety guide lines.

Edit - I wanted to add that this car seat starts out at 5 pounds.

pistolpackinmomma · December 2013

DS outgrew his infant seat at 6-7 months. It depends on the kid though. I've known some who have still been within limits at a year or even two. I preferred the infant seat so that I could move him from car to house/store if he were sleeping without waking him. The convertible seat we got cannot be used from the start (or maybe it can just with out the angle adjuster, not sure but we need the adjuster to fit it in my car) so we need an infant seat but the convertible should allow him to remain rear facing longer than other seats.

caballo718 · December 2013

I did tons of research about this today and settled in the chicco keyfit 30. Baby bargains rated it very well. They also recommend Britax and Peg Perego equally as good.

Empireceo · December 2013

I loved the Britax travel system until DS was about 6 months old, then switched to the Britax Marathon. New Baby will use the baby seat we still have.

rainydayluck · December 2013

For DD we had a convertible car seat only, no infant one and it worked out fine. This time someone gave us their infant one (don't worry it wasn't some stranger so we know the history and we checked the expiration date) because their LO grew out of it so fast.

buggywhips · December 2013

Infant seats make everything so much easier but are definitely not necessary. We switched M when he turned one, but he was still well within the limits...We just never carried him in it any more since it was so great at that point. I'll probably be getting another for this baby...now with 2 i need all the convenience I can get.

mrt · December 2013

We never had an infant seat and i liked it that way. It's about preference though, both are safe. I'm fairly certain most carseats(infant and convertible) don't start until 5 lbs, so if your baby is smaller than that you, d have a problem either way.

alphalyrae · December 2013

We aren't bothering with an infant seat. When we considered one, we had settled on the Keyfit 30 by Chicco. Instead we were gifted for christmas a Nextfit by Chicco from MIL and FIL. It starts at 5 pounds and goes up to 65 pounds and it fits in the backseat of my car which is obviously the key.

runningyogimama · December 2013

We only used the infant seat for 7 months (because DD was over it, not because she outgrew it), but I can't imagine not having it those first few months! I wouldn't have wanted to wake a sleeping baby by taking her our of the car seat rather than just snapping the car seat out! We have the Graco snug ride (classic, I think? 22 lb limit) and it wasn't too bad to carry and we will use it again.

starskristen79 · December 2013

I also second Britax, particularly for the convertible seat, which we moved into at 10 months and will use for several years. I feel that is where you should splurge.

As for an infant seat, I vote for a not-too-expensive one, with my only requirement being a strap in the front for tightening on the fly. Most people have their seats way too loose, and the strap makes it easier to achieve a good fit.

Crazijewel · December 2013

We had a Graco Snugride and then about 8 months later upgraded to a Britax Roundabout. I love love love Britax. It is definitely more convenient to use the infant at first. You will not want to wake that sleeping baby getting him/her out of the seat.

Xath · December 2013

Whatever seat you decide to go with, take your car to the baby store and try them out first. Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us have floor models, and techs can help you install a demo in your car to make sure that it fits. I already had my seat when I bought a new car, so I took my seat with me to the dealership to make sure that it fit in the 2 cars I had narrowed down. Even though the Prius V and the Mazda 5 are about the same size, my seat did not fit in the Prius at all because of the angle of the back seats. I wouldn't have been able to drive safely with the seats pushed so far forward.

The bucket seats are definitely a convenience factor. I loved my Chicco KeyFit with my son because I could just take him everywhere and not have to worry about waking him if he fell asleep. The Chicco is the only seat (or was at the time IIRC) that's rated to take a 4lb baby, so if your family delivers small that may be a consideration.

danabsd · December 2013

You can absolutely go straight to a convertible seat but I would not personally. I loved having an infant seat that clicked into the stroller. If I had to wake the baby everytime we needed to get in and out of the car we probably would never have left the house. We switched around 8 months. I don't consider it a waste because we'll be using it for this baby and hopefully one more.

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