Traditional car seat vs all in one?

CantoDeAmor259 · September 2014

What are you ladies thinking on the subject? I had the traditional with my other two. But being able to keep baby in the seat is appealing especially with the cold weather (Wisconsin here). But I love buying one and done! In your opinion what are the pros and cons for each?

Btw, sorry if this was posted before. I looked but couldn't find a post.

Sahara6971 · September 2014

Do you mean no infant carrier? I am in WI too and I would never get by without the infant carrier. I love my Chicco.

CantoDeAmor259 · September 2014

Yes sorry, infant carrier! I had such a mind blank on the name haha.

He wants to just buy and all in one, this is his first so he hasn't had to go through the infant stage before.

jennjilljo · September 2014

Infant seat was important to meabs will be again. I am not about waking a sleeping infant to go in the house or in the store.

bhjones1980 · September 2014

Nope nope nope

the infant carrier is a must, those NBs sleep a lot and transfering it to the car to the house to the stroller without waking up the baby is PRICELESS!

AshleySparkle720 · September 2014

Minnesota girl here. Were doing a convertible one purely because of ratings. I mean really even with ice on the sidewalks and driveways how much are you going to be walking outside with a newborn? Plus, with being due in February our winters usually end late Feb/ early March so to DH and I it made sense to go convertible. I'm gonna use like an ergo or Moby or something to that effect when transporting from car to home/store/daycare etc.

Sahara6971 · September 2014

Yeah, imagine having to carry a newborn out to your cold car and put them in a cold seat. Then, what if they fall asleep and you want to bring them in somewhere. Plus then you are relying on either a wrap/carrier or a stroller if you go in to a store or anything.

michelle142 · September 2014

The convenience of the infant carrier is hard to look past. I'm in WI as well and it's nice, especially in winter, to be able to just "grab & go" so to speak.

With the advances in convertible car seats now, we will likely be just 2 and done in terms of seats. Since they make convertibles that go from RF to FF to booster.

We have a Chicco KeyFit30 infant seat which DS used and #2 will also use. DS is in a convertible and we will buy another once #2 outgrows the Chicco.

krispy83 · September 2014

I love having a separate infant carrier. So much easier to put the baby in the seat inside the house and carry the seat to the car, rather than trying to put an infant in the carseat in the car.

DS is in a convertible carseat right now that will last him until he needs a booster, and it wasn't terribly expensive, so I don't mind the extra cost. Most of the all-in-one (infant-toddler-booster) seats I've seen are really pricey, so I figure the cost will wind up being about the same in the end.

If you're on FB, the group Car Seats for the Littles is a great resource to decide on seats - there are several techs on there and they can help you determine which is the best option for you. They helped me tremendously when I was deciding on a convertible seat for my DS.

DBJackson25 · September 2014

I am in WI too so I'm following

Angeldcf · September 2014

North Texas here. We did the Chicco KeyFit 30 so he was rear-facing until around 18 months (got too tall). We then bought the Graco Nautilus 3 in 1 for the remainder. During infancy, it was so nice to put him in the Chicco while inside then just snap the seat in the base and unsnap when we arrived.

You may be interested in the new 4-in-1s as those weren't available a few years ago.

Sahara6971 · September 2014

AshleySparkle720 said:

Minnesota girl here. Were doing a convertible one purely because of ratings. I mean really even with ice on the sidewalks and driveways how much are you going to be walking outside with a newborn? Plus, with being due in February our winters usually end late Feb/ early March so to DH and I it made sense to go convertible. I'm gonna use like an ergo or Moby or something to that effect when transporting from car to home/store/daycare etc.

You are going to wish you got a carrier! Say you have to go to a Dr's appointment or something. When you come out, that seat is going to be so cold for a newborn. And you never want to wake a sleeping newborn. Just lookin' out for you girl

chickyclg · September 2014

We are for sure going to have infant car seats, I couldn't imagine getting 2 babies in and out of the car without them. I'm not too worried about the winter time mostly because winter in our part of Tx is a joke. Watch now that I said that it will snow this year. I watched my SIL try to do a convertible only and that only lasted a couple of weeks, and then she bought a infant car seat. We will just buy a convertible later unless someone gets it off of our registry of course.

agm04 · September 2014

michelle142 said:
We have a Chicco KeyFit30 infant seat which DS used and #2 will also use. DS is in a convertible and we will buy another once #2 outgrows the Chicco.

This is the seat I plan on getting, but I'm a little confused about how many bases to buy. I figure we at least need one in each of our cars (mine and DH's). But do we also buy for nanny and grandma if they will be keeping the baby a lot? It seems like moving the base would be annoying and I'd worry about safety. Thoughts?

Sahara6971 · September 2014

agm04 The keyfit base is super easy to move from car to car. I would get 2 (at most).

chickyclg · September 2014

agm04 said:

michelle142 said:
We have a Chicco KeyFit30 infant seat which DS used and #2 will also use. DS is in a convertible and we will buy another once #2 outgrows the Chicco.

This is the seat I plan on getting, but I'm a little confused about how many bases to buy. I figure we at least need one in each of our cars (mine and DH's). But do we also buy for nanny and grandma if they will be keeping the baby a lot? It seems like moving the base would be annoying and I'd worry about safety. Thoughts?

We are getting extra bases for DHs truck of course and my moms because they will be going over there a lot.

michelle142 · September 2014

agm04 said:

michelle142 said:
We have a Chicco KeyFit30 infant seat which DS used and #2 will also use. DS is in a convertible and we will buy another once #2 outgrows the Chicco.

This is the seat I plan on getting, but I'm a little confused about how many bases to buy. I figure we at least need one in each of our cars (mine and DH's). But do we also buy for nanny and grandma if they will be keeping the baby a lot? It seems like moving the base would be annoying and I'd worry about safety. Thoughts?

2 should be fine. One for your car and one for DH's car. The seat can also be belted into a car without a base.

agm04 · September 2014

Thanks yall, very helpful!

ConstanceGoodspeed · September 2014

We went straight to a convertible; we own the Graco Smartseat.

I live in the city so we only use the car maaaybe once a week. We had no need for an infant seat.

mels823 · September 2014

Glad you posted this question! My husband and I were just discussing this. I'm a FTM, but I think we will get the infant car seat, mostly for the reasons everyone else is saying, such as not waking the baby, etc. From how I see it, we will just have to buy something else in the future once the baby is too big for the infant car seat, right? So basically, if you plan on using the infant car seat, you still plan on needing a different one in the future, correct?

deux · September 2014

We had an infant seat for DS and it hardly left the car. Lugging a car seat/pushing a stroller always seemed like such a hassle compared to just popping him in a carrier (where, if he had woken up, he'd fall right back to sleep). Two free hands, could nurse without interrupting anything. Babies also aren't meant to spend long periods of time in car seats; it scrunches them up in a C shape which is protective in a wreck, but diminishes lung capacity to some degree. They're car transport devices, not nap stations.

But I also live in a warm climate and don't have to worry about sticking an infant in a cold seat. That would make an infant seat more valuable. Also, even though convertibles are rated for infants, some don't actually provide a great fit. For a preemie or small infant, an infant carrier is probably safer. So even besides the (relative) convenience of being able to carry the seat around, there are some reasons to go for an infant seat.

michelle142 · September 2014

mels823 said:

Glad you posted this question! My husband and I were just discussing this. I'm a FTM, but I think we will get the infant car seat, mostly for the reasons everyone else is saying, such as not waking the baby, etc. From how I see it, we will just have to buy something else in the future once the baby is too big for the infant car seat, right? So basically, if you plan on using the infant car seat, you still plan on needing a different one in the future, correct?

Yes. If you plan to use an infant seat, you will also need a convertible seat at some point. Either when LO hits the height/weight limits of the infant seat, or (in most cases) before that. We switched DS to a convertible RF at about 8 months.

schnitz9 · September 2014

We've registered for the Uppa Mesa and the Diono which they say can be used up until they no longer need a carseat as it becomes a booster too. I never imagined not having an infant carseat. I wouldn't want to wake a sleeping baby to put them in a stroller and like PP have said I like the fact that you can put the baby in the carseat in the house first. I would be too scared leaning over in a car.

Beth.1212 · September 2014

Infant seat all the way! I was so sad when DS outgrew his. I loved the convenience! I don't care that he's 25ish lbs, if he still fit in his infant seat, we'd still use it for him.

natsgirl12 · September 2014

Regarding bases...your seat will come with one. Try installing the base and seat in your cars before buying others. We have a maxi-cosi infant seat (which hasn't expired, so we will use again with our new baby) and it really didn't work in our car with the base. So we never used the base. We just did the seatbelt install, which is easy and felt more secure to me anyway. You may want to do that instead of bases if you don't like the way the seat installs with the base. Also, if others are going to have the baby you can just teach them how to do the seatbelt install. Or give them the base you aren't using.

natsgirl12 · September 2014

Also, don't buy car seats too early. It's nice to get them as shower gifts...til you realize they have expiration dates. If you are starting with an infant carrier, hold off on buying the convertible seat til you need it so that the expiration doesn't come before you're finished with the seat. Plus, new seats are always coming out and you may like a different seat by the time your LO needs the convertible. Or your kid may be a giant (like mine) and you need a seat that can accommodate crazy heights.

lilybug319 · September 2014

Get the infant seat. It will make your life soooo much easier.

cls78 · September 2014

I was going to get the all in one, but it is really big for a infant. I put 2 chicco key fit 30's on layaway at babies r us for my twins. Even on sale they were still pricey (about $300 for both with tax), but hopefully I can resale them when I am done with them.

natsgirl12 · September 2014

cls78 said:
I was going to get the all in one, but it is really big for a infant. I put 2 chicco key fit 30's on layaway at babies r us for my twins. Even on sale they were still pricey (about $300 for both with tax), but hopefully I can resale them when I am done with them.

No one should ever buy or use a used car seat! You don't know what that seat has been through. It's way too risky. Always buy new!

As for this poster, just trade them in at a BRU trade in event. Don't sell them. It's irresponsible.

mmariel · September 2014

natsgirl12 said:

cls78 said:
I was going to get the all in one, but it is really big for a infant. I put 2 chicco key fit 30's on layaway at babies r us for my twins. Even on sale they were still pricey (about $300 for both with tax), but hopefully I can resale them when I am done with them.
No one should ever buy or use a used car seat! You don't know what that seat has been through. It's way too risky. Always buy new!

As for this poster, just trade them in at a BRU trade in event. Don't sell them. It's irresponsible.

Im getting an infant carrier from my cousin. Never been in an accident and not expired. I think if you know where/who you are getting it from it is ok .

cls78 · September 2014

natsgirl12 said:

cls78 said:
I was going to get the all in one, but it is really big for a infant. I put 2 chicco key fit 30's on layaway at babies r us for my twins. Even on sale they were still pricey (about $300 for both with tax), but hopefully I can resale them when I am done with them.
No one should ever buy or use a used car seat! You don't know what that seat has been through. It's way too risky. Always buy new!

As for this poster, just trade them in at a BRU trade in event. Don't sell them. It's irresponsible.

Of course if I was in a accident or if they were damaged I wouldn't resale them. They are very expensive and are only used for a very short time, so I don't see the harm in selling them gently used if people are looking for a gently used one.

I don't really want to get in a huge debate on here, so that is all I am going to say on that.

natsgirl12 · September 2014

Car seat safety is so important and it drives me crazy when people are nonchalant about it.

https://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/tipsheets/used/

Sahara6971 · September 2014

natsgirl12 said:

Car seat safety is so important and it drives me crazy when people are nonchalant about it. https://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/tipsheets/used/

I don't think she was necessarily being nonchalant about it. A used car seat in good condition is better than no car seat at all. Unfortunately not everyone can afford all new gear. I myself would never buy a used car seat unless it was from someone I know well and trust. My best friend is giving me her 1 year old keyfit 30 and I am totally fine with it because I know it's condition.

starrynight1658 · September 2014

Personally, I can't imagine going straight to a convertible, but to each their own. What I do care about is that you make sure your seat is installed properly and your child is in the seat correctly every single time they get in the car. Know the guidelines and limits for use with your seat and check that your seat/child are fitting well often. There's no excuse for ignorance around car seat safety.

natsgirl12 · September 2014

@starrynight1658‌ yes! 70 percent of people install and/or use car seats incorrectly. Such a scary stat.

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