Infant Car Seats vs Convertible Seats

elissa2435 · April 2015

I can't decide which car seat is best- an infant carrier or a convertible. They are so expensive that I am confused. I originally was leaning towards the infant seat so I could carry it around on errands but then I have to buy another seat within 6 months. Any thoughts? Thanks!!

smlowe9311 · April 2015

We had the infant seat with dd and I think we will go convertible this time around. I could imagine that if you live somewhere cold it would be nice to have the infant carrier as you can strap baby in and then put the blanket and covers and stuff and then carry baby out to the car or the store or whatever. We live in Florida so we don't have to worry about anything too cold weather wise. I'm sure you will hear good points both ways so really it's up to what you prefer and what you are comfortable with.

Kristyhana · April 2015

I think the infant carrier is a must though. I wouldn't feel good about putting the newborn in a convertible. Also it depends on how big your baby is. It could stay in the carrier for longer than 6 months. Some are up to 35 lbs now. Of course my first outgrew it at 4 months but she was huge and the carrier only went up to 20-25 lbs WAY back then lol.

eat111315 · April 2015

If you will use the car seat regularly then get the infant car seat. If you don't use your car all that much then skip it.
It's a real pia un strapping baby, putting them in the stroller/carrier, doing your thing, putting them back in the car seat... especially knowing your baby would otherwise be sleeping through the whole errand if you had the infant car seat.

ChristyD6 · April 2015

I'm debating the same thing. Our infant seat from DD is expired and I really don't want to get another. My daughter was small when she was born but grew very quickly and was too heavy to carry in it around 4-5mo. I live in a warm climate and always use a wrap (she never slept in the bucket during dinners out for example) so I think I'd be ok but I still can't pull the trigger and decide.

twogirlsandagreen · April 2015

If you go out with baby a lot an infant seat will be a lifesaver. You can keep baby in there while sleeping and run errands or go eat instead of waking him/her up to to put in a stroller or carrier

aah1013 · April 2015

My daughter was in her infant carrier until she was 15 months (Graco snugride 35). They all have different height and weight limits, so I'd look into those. I really think it would have been hard to go anywhere without our infant carrier. To me it's a must have.

xirei · April 2015

I'm having the same dilemma. On the one hand it is nice to be able to carry the baby in or hook it up to the shopping cart at the grocery store...

On the other hand they grow out of them fast and they're SO heavy to carry around. Most grocery stores have carts with infant seats now... ugh. Too many things to think about!

on_the_move · April 2015

Both of my kids were in their infant carrier for almost 18 months. I did stop taking them out of the car in their seats around 6 months, but being able to take a sleeping baby out of the car is so nice! You could probably get an infant carrier with one of the higher limits to keep the baby rear facing in the infant seat for as long as possible then get a forward facing seat that can turn into a high back booster and a booster like the Graco Nautilus.

Kbhunter · April 2015

No brainer here. You need infant car seat. Not having it would just be insanity.

wildbutterfli2001 · April 2015

My son is still in his infant seat and he is almost 18 months

allielouu · April 2015

I had an infant with my DD and then when she turned a year we got a convertible one.. I couldn't imagine her as a newborn in the convertible one.. I don't think they recline enough for a newborn tiny body.. Plus it is a hassle to get a newborn in and out of a car seat exp when it's cold.. I liked being able to pick the whole thing up and carry her wherever.

tracij12 · April 2015

twogirlsandagreen said:
If you go out with baby a lot an infant seat will be a lifesaver. You can keep baby in there while sleeping and run errands or go eat instead of waking him/her up to to put in a stroller or carrier

This exactly!

StacieGle · April 2015

Most convertibles are made for newborns in mind (starting at 5lbs) and will recline or when in the RF position have enough recline. You just have to do the research on the seats that interest you. We went the carrier route the first two times but I wore my 2nd son and the carrier rarely came out of the car, sure he'd wake up but would go right back to sleep after being put in his sling. This time we are getting the Recaro Convertible.

ChariZae · April 2015

Both of my daughters stayed in the infant seat for about a year. We only got the Chicco Keyfit22 because we thought they would outgrow it lengthwise first. It so much faster getting in and out of the car...I miss the ease of just clicking the seat into the base. Luckily our infant seat will not be expired when this baby comes so we will use it for a third time.

rylee murray · April 2015

My daughter was in her infant seat until 10/11 months. It is great to be able to carry them and put them car to stroller without waking them up. I think it would be a huge pain to have to take them out of the seat all the time as an infant.

JaqiDec04 · April 2015

We purchased a snug ride 35. My daughter doesn't even weigh that now and she's 4. She's obviously too tall.

We kept her in her infant seat till she was about a year. But after about 5 months I stopped carrying her while in the car seat because it's too heavy. Then I'd just leave it in the car like a normal car seat.

At a year, we got her a rear facing convertible. She's now forward facing and still in it. It's nearly 3 years old. I'm considering getting a newer car seat, just something a little more compact with a built in cup holder, so the infant seat can sit in the middle of the back seat a little easier

Dreamingmommy4 · April 2015

We chose to do a convertible seat from day 1 day I've loved it. We wanted to skip having to buy three or four different care seats and just got one that does it all. If you choose to go this route you must invest in a good baby carrier, because with doing the convertible you lose the convenience of having somewhere to put baby all the time. I remedied this by wearing my DD constantly. It was great! Look into good ergonomic baby wearing carriers (don't do any of those big box store front pack carriers. They are terribly uncomfortable for both you and baby). We have a Moby wrap, a Lenny Lamb woven and a Boba. Unfortunately due to lack of car space in our current vehicle, we won't be able to do a convertabile right away for this one. DD is still rear facing and with my daycare kiddo plus this one, the only thing that will fit next to DDs seat is an infant carrier. Good luck! It's a lot of info and can be confusing, but really it all comes down to personal preference.

LiveNLove44 · April 2015

We had the Chicco Keyfit for DD and will use it again for this LO. She was in it until she was 13 months, and it was valuable to us in many ways. If she'd fall asleep in the car, we could still run errands/go for walks without waking her up. It was just a matter of a quick transfer to the stroller w/ carseat adapter or to the cart. I understand the cost component well, but I have to say that, hands down, it would be silly to not have an infant carseat. I only say that because of how much it allowed for us to be flexible and go places without interrupting her sleep schedule. Those early months are challenging with regard to sleep schedules, and it helped a lot. When I was in my sister's wedding (5 weeks PP), DD didn't miss a nap and could also rest in it while DH rocked her before we left after the reception dinner.

I have a friend who went to a convertible after 6 months because she had been in a car accident with the infant carseat in the car and didn't want to buy a new one. She loathed not having an infant carrier and was jealous of our mobility. I know that's only my two cents and my friend's story, but that's all I've got!

Sweet Sadie Mae · April 2015

We only had the convertible seat for my first and I thought I would use a carrier to run errands. Well the carrier ended up being too complicated and my daughter hated it. So running errands was not easy and I wished I had the infant seat. My mom ended up getting an infant seat and I ended up borrowing it all the time. So this time around I bought an infant seat and we have my daughters convertible to use later. The infant seat is a must for me.

McRad · April 2015

I've wondered the same thing too. A question I have for those who did by the convertible ones would be does a newborn fit snug? I was looking at the options yesterday at Babies R Us and I just felt like it was too big. I've read reviews on them all and some people expressed concern that baby was too small from the get go and that worries me. How did y'all feel about the size of baby compared to car seat? (I know there are inserts and what have you, but still really curious.)
Also, are their convertible travel systems like they sell with infant car seats?

deanna1313 · April 2015

I have a 10 month old and bought a graco stroller/ infant seat combo for him. If you don't you have to be willing to buy a carrier and wear them everywhere. I returned my carrier and just couldn't see myself wearing the baby everytime I went out. Everyone has a different theory on those things. I'd be okay with doing it sometimes, but not every outing.
Until they sit up in the shopping cart you need to put them in an infant seat in the shopping cart. Also, the infant seat clicked into the stroller is great when going places like the mall or on walks. I live in NJ and the baby was much warmer in the infant seat, too. We just put him into a convertible car seat about a week ago and will use the infant seat in October!
I should also add that the infant seat is soooo heavy carrying in and out if the car. I could barely handle it and my son is big, but it's just a struggle.

babyynumbertwo2015 · April 2015

The infant seat is a must in my opinion. Most now go to 35 lbs, and even though they are too heavy to lug around in it, when you're out running errands and they have fallen asleep in the car, it's a lifesaver to be able to plop the car seat into your stroller rather then having to wake them up from their convertible seat.

StacieGle · April 2015

I think it comes down to personal choice and what you and your baby like. It's not silly in my opinion to not have an infant carrier just a different way to do things and to some moms an infant carrier isn't a life saver but more of a pain.

I was lucky that my 2nd son liked his ergo so much and we used it all.the.time, it was a life saver for me but who knows with the 3rd one. This one might hate the carrier and I'll have to figure something else out, just like us they have opinions too, tiny, but they do. They will tell you what they do/don't like. lol

For us we have to fit a 3rd car seat in between a booster and another 5 pt harness seat across one row so we need a very narrow seat for this baby to make it work. The seat we are after fits what we need. I couldn't imagine having to pull an infant carrier out over another seat and luckily the booster comes out super easy so I can get baby out easily.

As far as a newborn fitting snuggly from what I've seen they seem to fit good. I have two girlfriends who have the seat we want and their babies fit great and they love it, that's what I'm basing my choice on. I've seat the seat in action and how it works so I'm comfortable. Baby goes in easy and comes out easy and that's what I'm looking for. However with that said, their babies were big like 9lbs+ and I have big babies too so I'm not worried. But the reviews on the seat we plan to get have said that it isn't ideal for smaller babies. So at the end of the day it's a matter of what your comfortable with, reviews are based on opinion so you have to take that into consideration too when making a choice.

Dreamingmommy4 · April 2015

McRad said:
I've wondered the same thing too. A question I have for those who did by the convertible ones would be does a newborn fit snug? I was looking at the options yesterday at Babies R Us and I just felt like it was too big. I've read reviews on them all and some people expressed concern that baby was too small from the get go and that worries me. How did y'all feel about the size of baby compared to car seat? (I know there are inserts and what have you, but still really curious.)
Also, are their convertible travel systems like they sell with infant car seats?

Between the insert that come with the car seat and the adjustable straps, I felt like my daughter was well secured in there. The one thing I didn't like was how upright the car seat was. It wasn't as reclined as an infant carrier, but they have fixed that in some of the most recent models that weren't even available 2 years ago when I had my daughter. We even took DD on a long road trip at 3 weeks old and she did great traveling in the convertible seat.

MorgAndRich · April 2015

I think an infant seat is crucial. Not only does it keep you from having to take baby out everywhere you go but if you and your partner both plan on driving baby in your own cars, there is no additional base for a convertible seat. Which means, you each would have to have a seat instead of just having an extra base. Also, convertible seats are not compatible with any stroller. Which I feel like is a major con.

rdove90 · April 2015

I had a convertible seat with my first and it's awesome... once they hit one and can walk. I made sure to go out and buy an infant one for this one because they help so much with making your life easier and being able to effeciently carry your child while lugging another around. It's a pain when you FINALLY get your screaming infant to sleep and then you head home and have to disturb them to get them out of the vehicle. Nothing beats an infant carrier the first year

McRad · April 2015

deanna1313 said:

I should also add that the infant seat is soooo heavy carrying in and out if the car. I could barely handle it and my son is big, but it's just a struggle.

Really? I thought the infant seats were supposed to be lighter than others. I checked out a few infant ones at Babies R Us and didn't think they were extremely heavy-- but that was also a babyless car seat

interesting. I think I'm leaning towards an infant due to convince and switching to a convertible once the little is a bit bigger.

Thanks for the input! New mama here and car seat is the biggest safety thing on my list! Fo' sho'!

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