Infant Car Seat Confusion

beachmamaNY · April 2014

I have been reading reviews on here, and am on bedrest with contractions, and I guess overanalyzing things with all this free time, so thanks in advance for any advice.

We registered for (and received) the Maxi Cosi Mico AP. I was looking for a lighter car seat (it weights only 8.6 lbs). Compared to other car seats, this only holds babies to 22 lbs. However, I can't really envision myself carrying much more than 30 lbs around anyway, so was okay with that.

Other friends have suggested I consider the Nuna Pipa (not a lot of reviews on here for that seat). This is even lighter - 7.7 lbs, and can hold babies up to 32 lbs.

Now the Cybex Aton 2 (similar style to Nuna Pipa, and cheaper) just came out with very high ratings. It weights 9 lbs and holds babies up to 35 lbs.

I think Cybex Aton 2 and Maxi Cosi Mico AP are same price, Nuna Pipa is more.

What would you do?

AKB090609 · April 2014

Stick with what you have, I'm sure it will get the job done for as long as you want to carry a baby in a car seat. Weight wise my DD could still be in the infant seat at 18 months, but she was much happier in a more upright seat by 8 months.

kmc84 · April 2014

There are no safety ratings. All seats pass the same testing. As long as you use the seat correctly, it fits your child, and it's installed properly, it's safe

the seat you already have is fine!

JKTTC1 · April 2014

I had the Chicco 22lbs car seat with DS and thought maybe we should swap for the 30lb but ended up in a Britax convertible by 7-8 months anyway because he HATED the infant seat!

This time we have the britax chaperone 30lb but I doubt we will use it to that weight limit anyway. DS was 25.5 lbs at his one year.

slwprincess · April 2014

I made the mistake of going with a smaller infant seat with my first b/c it was lighter but DS outgrew it length wise at 8 mos- much sooner than I was ready to give up the convenience. No you won't be carrying it around much after baby gets heavy- but it's nice to be able to move a sleeping baby inside without waking. Otherwise you just put the baby in/out like a regular car seat and leave it in the car.

LittleFish1 · April 2014

We stopped using our infant seat just before she reached 20 pounds. Do miss as others have said, moving LO inside with the carseat and not waking her, however she was 14months old at that point. Don't know the seats you are asking about, however Car Seats for the Littles is an excellent resource (group on Facebook) ... joim and learn a ton since you probably have a fair amout of time on your hands right now. Preselect your next convertible seat choices.... the groups reccomended seat link: csftl.org/recommended-seats/

If you join the FB group, you can ask, or access their files where they review the seats in more detail.

Best wishes!

LyndseylovesHugh · April 2014

I think a lot of kids out grow seats height wise before weight, what length will your LO outgrow the seat you have? We had the Graco Snugride 35 and even at almost 19 months my DD is no where near outgrowing that seat. Even though she would still fit in it to this day, we switched her to a convertible seat at about 8 months because she really hated being in the bucket and was much happier once she was sitting up right. I think this is typical of a lot of kids, so chances are the one you already have will be just fine.

hollygb22 · April 2014

We had the chicco keyfit 30. She outgrew it in height at 12 months.

Honestly, I wish I had one with a taller height limit. I loved the infant carrier for the convenience. I do daycare drop off and DH picks up and it was so much easier to have a base in each car vs. 2 convertible seats.

Angela814 · April 2014

The height limit is definitely more important than the weight limit. DD1 outgrew our original Snugride (22 lb, 29" limit) by height at 6 months but was only 18.5 lbs. I really missed the convenience of the infant seat in the middle of winter.

When that seat expired, we got a higher weight/height limit seat for DD3. She's still in her Safety 1st OnBoard Air (35 lb, 32") limit at 1 year. She's 21 lbs and 31.5" (>99% for height). We don't always take the seat out of the car anymore, but it's nice to have the option when she falls asleep or it's snowing again like today.

If you or DH is tall, you might want a seat with a higher height limit. Otherwise the one you have is probably fine.

fsumom · April 2014

Honestly, I had light carseat with DD (Graco) and when she was 4 months old, she was too heavy to carry in it. We ended up switching her to a convertible seat. Close to 8lbs or close to 9lbs isn't going to matter a whole lot when you are trying to haul around a baby in it.

BBColt78 · April 2014

My three year old weighs 28lbs exactly. The weight is typically not a problem for most. Now don't get me wrong, my girl is tiny for her age, but 35lbs is quite a bit.

KikiCohen · April 2014

I would keep what you have. Like others have said, sometimes kids hate the infant seats and you'll save your sanity by switching to a convertible before they reach the limits. Also, most kids outgrow the seat's height limit before the weight limit anyway.

goodgalpal · April 2014

If I had not been given an infant/bucket seat, I would have just gone with a convertible seat right away. I don't like infant seats very much.

=Lee=B · April 2014

Weight doesn't mean much. The height difference on most seats is not substantial so they will outgrow by height before weight (in most cases).

My daughter was in a convertible seat by 5months because she HATED the recline and back curve on the infant bucket seat. It was torture for her...we switched and she became a happy traveller.

Our seat only went to 22lbs but we didn't even make it to that due to her dislike of the seat.

I would keep what you have and start research for an awesome convertible for later on.

beachmamaNY · April 2014

Thank you all for the great advice. I kept what I have.

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