Pumpkin seats?

HeatherC21 · November 2014

I didn't even know all the options for car seats and when I went to look I got totally overwhelmed. Are pumpkin seats a good thing to have or does it make more sense to get a convertible seat that can front face as well. The pricing I saw was about 150 for pumpkin and 300 ish for the rear/front facer. Should i save the 150 and just deal with taking LO out of the car even at the risk of waking them or having to carry them? Any thoughts?

lauranicole91 · November 2014

Pumpkin seat? You mean like a bucket seat/infant carrier? It's all about preference. Neither is safer than the other. If you plan to literally carry the seat in and out of your car it's obviously worth it to get a bucket.

My daughter was a car sleeper so it was awesome to leave her asleep and take her/the seat inside without waking her.

mpiemont · November 2014

Pumpkin seat? That's a new one. We will be using an infant seat for a while. I LOVE having the option of not having to get baby out of the seat every time we stop somewhere/if baby falls asleep in the car, etc. My babies weren't too big and stayed in their infant seats till 1 year.

Pintobean39 · November 2014

Assuming your talking about infant seat. Personally I wouldn't not have an infant. I don't want to have to get a sleeping baby out of the car seat. Infant carriers you just take with you. I left my boys in theirs a lot if they were asleep.

lala5507 · November 2014

I like infant seats because I think it would suck wrangling a newborn/small baby into a seat(already installed in the car) in the heat of summer, pouring rain, or freezing winter temperatures. Love getting them situated in the comfort of the indoors and just tossing the whole thing into the car.

lakingsfan2015 · November 2014

DH is trying to convince me to skip the carrier. I couldn't skip it especially with twins. The carrier is a life saver! Going from car to stroller is easy, going from house to car to shopping cart (in the actual basket not the top part) is even easier. What you do with a sleeping baby and you need to go to the store?

mylittleladies1229 · November 2014

I prefer a squash seat, but maybe that's just me

As for the infant seat, yes definitely get one it is so much easier to lug a baby around in one. When they fall asleep in the car you won't have to transfer them into a stroller, you can just pop the car seat into stroller frame.

annerz22 · November 2014

We started with an infant seat with DS1 because I wanted to Be able to snap it into the stroller and take it with me into stores/house/etc. Unfortunately DS HATED the seat. He would scream bloody murder the entire time he was in the seat. At 4 months we switched to a convertible and it was magic and he stopped screaming in the car.

Unknown · November 2014

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MAdams728 · November 2014

I cant imagine not using an infant seat. They are entirely too convenient when you are out and about, especially in cold or rainy weather. It's nice to snap them into the stroller, or put them inside the grocery cart (never on top). Getting a wobbly little baby in and out of a big convertible isn't something I would want to do.

I switched DD to a convertible seat when she was about 10 months. She is 18 months now, and wont forward face anytime soon. The convertible we chose will last her until 4 or 5 years old, before we need the next stage seat.

Pintobean39 · November 2014

I see these ppl all the time in the grocery store or target "wearing" their baby in the sling. It's usually newborns. Do ppl do this because they don't have an infant car seat? I just can't imagine moving a sleeping baby from in and out of one of these things for a short period of time like that.

MAdams728 · November 2014

Pintobean39 said:
I see these ppl all the time in the grocery store or target "wearing" their baby in the sling. It's usually newborns. Do ppl do this because they don't have an infant car seat? I just can't imagine moving a sleeping baby from in and out of one of these things for a short period of time like that.

I wore DD everywhere in a ring sling or a soft structured carrier! But not until she was about 2 months old and had some head control. I loved wearing her and she loved it too, I felt like she was safe and comfy. You can also nurse in them if you have skills.

I wear her on my back now while I'm doing house or yard work.

Ndracer · November 2014

@lakingsfan2015‌ are you pregnant with twins or already have them? Just curious as I'm expecting twins and the whole grocery shopping thing has me curious. How the heck can I ship with two infant carries. Told my DH I'll just have to go when he is home to watch them.

cpiganelli · November 2014

My hospital will not let baby be discharged unless you have an infant car seat

annerz22 · November 2014

Pintobean39 said:
I see these ppl all the time in the grocery store or target "wearing" their baby in the sling. It's usually newborns. Do ppl do this because they don't have an infant car seat? I just can't imagine moving a sleeping baby from in and out of one of these things for a short period of time like that.

DS loved to be worn. I would transfer to the Moby or ring sling and he would either fall asleep immediately or fall back to sleep if he already was. I love baby wearing and it also meant the car seat wouldn't take up the entire basket of the shopping cart (putting an infant seat on a shopping cart seat is not safe). This way I had 2 hands and an entire cart to shop.

ambarnett1 · November 2014

Infant seat all the way. My 7 month old (16 lbs and 27 inches) is still in it. It's getting heavy, but it's so easy to carry him into stores and house instead of having him all over the place. He was colicky in the beginning, so we would have to drive around to get him to sleep. I loved being able to carry the carrier up to our old apartment and get some rest.

As OP stated, it's personal preference. I will probably grieve the seat on DS has to be moved to a convertible carseat. It'll be much harder especially if he's not walking by the time this LO gets here.

MAdams728 · November 2014

cpiganelli said:
My hospital will not let baby be discharged unless you have an infant car seat

Hospitals require a properly installed car seat, not necessarily an infant seat. Many convertibles are rated for newborns and are perfectly safe and acceptable.

lala5507 · November 2014

The hospital made us put the baby in the infant seat before we left the room. I guess if you had a convertible they would just go to the parking garage with you?

MAdams728 · November 2014

lala5507 said:
The hospital made us put the baby in the infant seat before we left the room. I guess if you had a convertible they would just go to the parking garage with you?

They didn't escort you out? My hospital requires that all mothers are taken to the front pick up area in a wheelchair. Someone has to be waiting for them, they don't let the mother drive. The nurse checked DD's carseat there.

soofttie · November 2014

Newborns don't typically fit well in convertables, you can see pictures on Google. I babywear a lot. With every type of carrier you can think of and I would my trade my infant seat for all the money in the world.

You can buy a pack that has stroller, seat & base for a good deal isually. We still use the stroller today

soofttie · November 2014

ambarnett1 said:
Infant seat all the way. My 7 month old (16 lbs and 27 inches) is still in it. It's getting heavy, but it's so easy to carry him into stores and house instead of having him all over the place. He was colicky in the beginning, so we would have to drive around to get him to sleep. I loved being able to carry the carrier up to our old apartment and get some rest.

As OP stated, it's personal preference. I will probably grieve the seat on DS has to be moved to a convertible carseat. It'll be much harder especially if he's not walking by the time this LO gets here.

Ours was sever colic and we did the same with the car rides.

Imagine it's 4am, you haven't slept more than 20min at a time. In weeks. Do you want to take the baby that car seat, who finally fell asleep? Um no I put the seat next to the couch and crashed I-)

[Deleted User] · November 2014

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lala5507 · November 2014

MAdams728 said:

The hospital made us put the baby in the infant seat before we left the room. I guess if you had a convertible they would just go to the parking garage with you?
They didn't escort you out? My hospital requires that all mothers are taken to the front pick up area in a wheelchair. Someone has to be waiting for them, they don't let the mother drive. The nurse checked DD's carseat there.

The first time a nurse wheeled (in a wheelchair) me to the parking garage but I don't think all the way to the car. The second time I walked out of the hospital (wahoo victory!) and I don't believe there was a nurse with us at all.

Pintobean39 · November 2014

Boy have times have changed. First of all with my boys they gave you an infant car seat before you left the hospital. I never used it because they were just basic models but their great grandmother bought every grandchild a car seat and I used it. It had a clip thing on the back that secured it to the buggy.

I'm already missing my bed that the sides dropped down now this.

[Deleted User] · November 2014

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Pintobean39 · November 2014

mermomo5 said:

Pintobean39 said:
Boy have times have changed. First of all with my boys they gave you an infant car seat before you left the hospital. I never used it because they were just basic models but their great grandmother bought every grandchild a car seat and I used it. It had a clip thing on the back that secured it to the buggy.

I'm already missing my bed that the sides dropped down now this.
I too was in shock when I had my 3rd.. Infant carriers are so different but the bonus is they aren't nearly as heavy.

But that was good exercise!! That's why I lost weight so quick. :-) Actually I had an awesome carrier it was lighter than most (not nearly as light as the ones now) and they could stay in them much longer. Although this was almost 22 yrs ago.

lakingsfan2015 · November 2014

@Ndracer‌ I am pregnant with twins.

chailife34 · November 2014

I'm confused (FTM here!). Why use a convertible versus an infant car seat? Does one grow better with baby? I want to invest in a good one that will last and be versatile. Any ideas for what's best?

mylittleladies1229 · November 2014

@Ndracer‌ I have twins. When they were little I put their infant carriers in the DSNG and used the mommy hooks to hold my cloth shopping bags. I would fill up the bags and use the basket underneath with my groceries. The stroller would be heavy by the end but it was the best way I figured out to do it by myself.

jesslfar · November 2014

It depends on how often you drive. If you imagine running errands with the baby you need the infant seat. A baby sleeps 5 hours a day in 1-2 hours at a time and it gets very difficult if you are ever driving to not have the baby fall asleep in the car. You can't leave a baby in the car and often they wake up and won't go back to sleep if you try to unstrap them and bring them in anywhere. This is why people like the infant seat, you unhook it and bring it in. It gets to be a real pain not going anywhere when the baby might be sleepy and might fall asleep. The other really important thing is that while most convertible carseats say they work for birth up, they don't really fit a newborn well and most people who buy them and did not research it well have to buy an infant seat anyway. Honestly maybe 1% of my friends did not end up with an infant seat and those were people who didn't drive and only walked places. You want an infant seat. They are pretty important. While I would not buy a used seat myself, I am comfortable selling a seat and you can usually get 50% back if you sell it right when your baby outgrows it.

Pintobean39 · November 2014

jesslfar said:
It depends on how often you drive. If you imagine running errands with the baby you need the infant seat. A baby sleeps 5 hours a day in 1-2 hours at a time and it gets very difficult if you are ever driving to not have the baby fall asleep in the car. You can't leave a baby in the car and often they wake up and won't go back to sleep if you try to unstrap them and bring them in anywhere. This is why people like the infant seat, you unhook it and bring it in. It gets to be a real pain not going anywhere when the baby might be sleepy and might fall asleep. The other really important thing is that while most convertible carseats say they work for birth up, they don't really fit a newborn well and most people who buy them and did not research it well have to buy an infant seat anyway. Honestly maybe 1% of my friends did not end up with an infant seat and those were people who didn't drive and only walked places. You want an infant seat. They are pretty important. While I would not buy a used seat myself, I am comfortable selling a seat and you can usually get 50% back if you sell it right when your baby outgrows it.

1-2 hrs of sleep? I must have been lucky My boys sleep a lot longer than that. My oldest slept 3 hrs at a time and my youngest was 4 hrs from day 1. As they got older they stayed awake longer but still napped for a long time.

jesslfar · November 2014

Pintobean39 said:

It depends on how often you drive. If you imagine running errands with the baby you need the infant seat. A baby sleeps 5 hours a day in 1-2 hours at a time and it gets very difficult if you are ever driving to not have the baby fall asleep in the car. You can't leave a baby in the car and often they wake up and won't go back to sleep if you try to unstrap them and bring them in anywhere. This is why people like the infant seat, you unhook it and bring it in. It gets to be a real pain not going anywhere when the baby might be sleepy and might fall asleep. The other really important thing is that while most convertible carseats say they work for birth up, they don't really fit a newborn well and most people who buy them and did not research it well have to buy an infant seat anyway. Honestly maybe 1% of my friends did not end up with an infant seat and those were people who didn't drive and only walked places. You want an infant seat. They are pretty important. While I would not buy a used seat myself, I am comfortable selling a seat and you can usually get 50% back if you sell it right when your baby outgrows it.
1-2 hrs of sleep? I must have been lucky My boys sleep a lot longer than that. My oldest slept 3 hrs at a time and my youngest was 4 hrs from day 1. As they got older they stayed awake longer but still napped for a long time.

I'm averaging. My 2nd slept from 8:30-10:30 every day and again from 1-3, her sister would often do a 3 or 4 hour stretch, but some of the babies I nannied would sleep 1 hour at a time 5 hours a day.

jesslfar · November 2014

chailife34 said:

I'm confused (FTM here!). Why use a convertible versus an infant car seat? Does one grow better with baby? I want to invest in a good one that will last and be versatile. Any ideas for what's best?

A convertible is one that stays in the car, it won't clip on a stroller and is a lot harder to move. For a lot of new parents they only want one car seat so they get a seat and you install the base which does not come out. You can get a second base for a fraction of the cost of a seat so you can have a base in both your and your partner's cars which is a big plus. The infant seat is usually for around 5-30lbs or the height most children are between 10 and 14 months. Each seat has a different height and weight limit. A convertible seat is usually for birth to around 4 or 5 years depending on the seat. The reason not everyone gets a convertible seat is it is very convenient to use an infant seat. Other reasons are convertible seats that fit a 1-3 year old well often do not fit a newborn well and are pretty large. Depending on where you live the requirements for rear facing are different, but that seat has to rear face for a year minimum, the recommendation is 3 years. The seats that allow the longest rear facing are usually not ones that are great for newborns. They allow the use with a 5 pounder, but the fit is not great and you can not always recline it as much as a newborn needs. Newborns are reclined more than older children to avoid them folding their head onto their chest and cutting off their air so rear facing seats are at a different angle from forward facing seats and the seat that is ideal for your forward facing older child could be a pain to use with a newborn. Seats is the US that are combination and good for a newborn are : Graco My ride, Evenflo Triumph, Combi Cocorro.

HeatherC21 · November 2014

Thank you all so much for the feedback. I think I will end up getting one since it will be summer and I most likely will want to be out and about and the argument for a sleeping baby is a strong one.

As for the pumpkin seat it might be a regional thing. Everyone around here calls them that and I didn't even think about the fact that you ladies might not know what I was talking about, sorry.

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