Infant seat vs. Convertible car seat

keiragann · June 2015

I know it's a little early to be thinking about this but my insurance gives me a credit towards a car seat so I have been doing research. I was wondering what others were thinking? I like the idea of a convertible car seat but I am concerned about what to do when you just want to run into the store with the baby? I guess I would love to hear some other points of view on this.

redfallon · June 2015

Infant seat first and then convertible seat later.

Athomas1341 · June 2015

What @redfallon said! You won't regret it

redfallon · June 2015

We have the Chicco Keyfit30 and then the Chicco NextFit. We moved DD from the Keyfit to the NextFit when she was able to sit up on her own, so around six mos old? That way I could take her out of the carseat and put her in the shopping cart and she could sit up in the kid seat. However, you can keep the baby in the infant seat until they reach either the weight or the height limit, which is 30 lbs or 30 in for the Keyfit30.

VegetaElPrincipe · June 2015

I'm glad I read this. My Dad is insistent on a Graco-4-ever convertible car seat, but I had the same question as the poster. Thank you ladies

jackiesue586 · June 2015

We don't take seats out of the car.
I have wraps and slings to put baby in when we get out of the car.

I have 3 kids though, i need free hands

MegStark · June 2015

I loved having the infant seat. Soooo easy to go out to eat and stuff. Now my DD is in the convertible but I didn't switch her until she was around 10 months

LC122 · June 2015

Our infant seat came with our jogger/travel system, but we also got a SnapNGo for quick trips. My 1.5 year old is still in her infant seat based on height and weight limits. If she is awake, she will walk or ride in the Ergo. If she is asleep, we usually pop her in the SnapNGo.
We've been planning to switch to a convertible, but she falls asleep in the car so often, it is just easier to keep the option of letting her keep sleeping while we're on the go.

ssinnwell · June 2015

What kind of insurance? Health? I am wondering if mine does too....

keiragann · June 2015

@ssinnwell yeah my health insurance has a program called Better beginnings and it gives you benefits related to a healthy pregnancy and an RN to help support you.

laceyglowacki · June 2015

If you're having a baby shower and registering for a travel system, I would use the credit towards a convertible seat since they're usual pricier, and it's one less big expense you have later on.

discohiker · June 2015

If you live in a climate that dips below 60 in the winter, you want the infant seat....... nothing like waking a sleeping baby up to shock them with cold weather all around when you leave the car. I likbed having my kids in that seat as long as possible because of the ability to transport them from car to _____ and keep them asleep the whole time.

ddkistler · June 2015

I agree with @jackiesie589. I'm a convertible seat fan. (Or maybe I am just not a fan of infant seats.) Wraps and carriers keep me hands free.

arichlife · June 2015

We still have DD (15 months) in her infant seat. Although we just purchased her convertible so we can use the infant seat with this baby. But I haven't even switched them yet in the car because we have a friend who watches her sometimes and I always leave the seat and the convertible is so much bigger, heavier and more of a hassle to install and uninstall. The infant seat clicks right into the base that is installed in my car and then the sitter can just thread the seatbelt through the infant seat in her car.

I'm really glad we got the infant seat first and the convertible later. I just brought her into the store in her seat for a long time because I felt it was way more work to get her in and out of a five point harness.

botan1234 · June 2015

I really don't like to leave a baby in a car seat, especially for naps. If baby spends lots of time on its back (car seats, swings, etc.), this can contribute to issues w/plagiocephaly (flattened head). We used an infant seat for my other kids, but it always stayed in the car. This time I'll be getting a convertible, but like others mentioned, I will transfer baby to a sling or wrap. Even if sleeping baby wakes, I find baby usually is lulled back to sleep quickly next to mama's heartbest and gentle movement. My second became awesome at transferring anywhere because he was so used to it.

Infant seat is definitely nice for convenience, but just beware of how long baby is in it. You can take the sest from car, snap into stroller or put in a cart, then return to car, and baby might be in there for hours. I do like how you can strap baby in while in the house, but I usually throw a carrier on and pop baby in and out all day.

botan1234 · June 2015

BUT big caveat, I don't live in extreme climate, so the cold or heat has no impact. However, kids cannot wear winter coats in car seats, so I don't even know what you'd do in the cold. Perhaps the infant seat would be best.

redfallon · June 2015

In cold climates, you put blankets over the baby in the car seat.

I wanted to babywear my first, but she absolutely hated it, so that didn't work out for us until she was closer to three or four months old. Sometimes baby doesn't cooperate with your plans.

She also never got flat head from being in the car seat.

Beckah31 · June 2015

We are buying a travel system with an extra base and registering for a convertible- my aunt wants to buy it- she's amazing! We'll buy a second convertible as needed when Bubbles gets big enough to need it- but we're shortish- so it could be a while.

nik6499 · June 2015

I had an infant seat with my first and i loved it, her head is perfect

it made trips to the store a breeze and I never could figure out the wrap thing. I used a baby bjorn a lot as well but when she was sound asleep I didn't see the need to wake her up. When she outgrew that I moved her into a seat that went up to 65 lbs and eventually got a booster when we got there. There are a lot of car seat options and a lot of reviews on each, just have to determine what meet your needs.

My insurance covers a car seat or a portable crib and even a box of diapers which I thought was cool. The RN called me for the a similarly named beginnings program but decided that because I was an RN myself she didn't need to call me anymore lol

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Infant seat vs. Convertible car seat

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