Can baby leave hospital in a Convertible car seat?

reyannasimpson · July 2015

I would like to get a convertible car seat, because I don't want to be lugging around one of those infant car seats especially when the baby gets heavier. I rather buy one that is convertible so I wont have to buy another one ever again or that I can use until she is old enough for just a booster seat. I'm always love to save money and a convertible car seat seems like the way to go.

Do anyone know if hospitals allow you to use a convertible car seat to take the baby home or do you have to use the infant car seat?

PixelPosy · July 2015

As long as your seat is safe for newborns you can definently skip the bucket seat. Some convertibles will even work for preemies.

daniellepanda · July 2015

Our hospital prefers an infant seat and the nurse checks the baby in the seat before leaving the room, it was part of the discharge checklist paperwork. Personally I find the infant seat so great for many reasons I would never skip it. You can get a very safe infant seat for under $100 of budget is the main concern. Being able to take the baby out to eat, while being able to use both your arms to eat a hot meal is priceless IMO. Also grocery shopping etc is way easier. Ours snaps onto our stroller base so if baby falls asleep we don't need to worry about the "transfer" of waking a sleeping baby. I'm all for baby wearing, but sometimes (like when it's 90 degrees outside) I'm just not feeling it and would like to be free to move about as needed.

jesselayne8 · July 2015

Neither hospital I delivered at checked car seats and you had to hold the baby in your arms on the way to the car. However the hospital I used to work at requires you buckle
The baby into the seat in your room prior to discharge so check your hospital policy.

mamaloaf · July 2015

I'd rethink that idea. I'm all for frugality, but as a practical matter it'd never work for us. Every time we'd drive anywhere with DD, she would fall asleep in the car seat. If we had her in a convertible, that would mean waking her every time we got to our destination to get her out. No thanks! Plus, I can pop the car seat right out into the travel system. Majorly helpful. My final observation is that convertibles don't seem to recline as much as the other option. I noticed DD sits more upright in the convertible, even with it rear facing in the reclined position. This means when she falls asleep, her head falls forward vs her being able to sleep sitting back comfortably in her other one.

reyannasimpson · July 2015

mamaloaf said:
I'd rethink that idea. I'm all for frugality, but as a practical matter it'd never work for us. Every time we'd drive anywhere with DD, she would fall asleep in the car seat. If we had her in a convertible, that would mean waking her every time we got to our destination to get her out. No thanks! Plus, I can pop the car seat right out into the travel system. Majorly helpful. My final observation is that convertibles don't seem to recline as much as the other option. I noticed DD sits more upright in the convertible, even with it rear facing in the reclined position. This means when she falls asleep, her head falls forward vs her being able to sleep sitting back comfortably in her other one.

I was thinking about when the baby falls asleep in the car seat and how convenient it is to pop the base off and keep going.

mamaloaf · July 2015

reyannasimpson said:

mamaloaf said:
I'd rethink that idea. I'm all for frugality, but as a practical matter it'd never work for us. Every time we'd drive anywhere with DD, she would fall asleep in the car seat. If we had her in a convertible, that would mean waking her every time we got to our destination to get her out. No thanks! Plus, I can pop the car seat right out into the travel system. Majorly helpful. My final observation is that convertibles don't seem to recline as much as the other option. I noticed DD sits more upright in the convertible, even with it rear facing in the reclined position. This means when she falls asleep, her head falls forward vs her being able to sleep sitting back comfortably in her other one.
I was thinking about when the baby falls asleep in the car seat and how convenient it is to pop the base off and keep going.

Plus, there were some days when she would need to nap so badly but just refused. I'd pop her in the car seat and drive for a few minutes and she'd be out like a light. Then I'd just pull in the garage and carry the seat in the house and put her somewhere to snooze. If you only have the convertible, you can't just leave the baby asleep in the car (even in a closed locked garage) in the hot summer.

jesselayne8 · July 2015

mamaloaf said:
I'd rethink that idea. I'm all for frugality, but as a practical matter it'd never work for us. Every time we'd drive anywhere with DD, she would fall asleep in the car seat. If we had her in a convertible, that would mean waking her every time we got to our destination to get her out. No thanks! Plus, I can pop the car seat right out into the travel system. Majorly helpful. My final observation is that convertibles don't seem to recline as much as the other option. I noticed DD sits more upright in the convertible, even with it rear facing in the reclined position. This means when she falls asleep, her head falls forward vs her being able to sleep sitting back comfortably in her other one.

We actually had the opposite problem. DS's head was flopping forward in the infant carrier and it scared me to death. We ended up switching to the convertible at 4 months because of it.

jessandandy09 · July 2015

I totally misread this thread at first. I thought you wanted to take the baby home in a convertible and I was going to post that I recommended keeping the top up! LOL, my brain is not working today

hclzmm14 · July 2015

The nice thing about an infant seat is you can easily take baby out to eat. Which seems stupid but I loved going out with baby when she was tiny and slept all the time. When they're small they don't make much noise and it's the best time to take them out. It was so nice to take her out for lunch with DH on the weekend to places that had a patio. It was nice for everyone to get out. Plus with the infant seat you can get them in the seat if it's raining or freezing and just click them right in.

laylababe3 · July 2015

jessandandy09 said:
I totally misread this thread at first. I thought you wanted to take the baby home in a convertible and I was going to post that I recommended keeping the top up! LOL, my brain is not working today

I was just about to post this exact thing! I'm like.. weird question... but ok, just make sure the top is up! Totally not all here today either.

buckleyk · July 2015

At our hospital they baby must be carried out in a car seat. You can't walk out with them in your arms. (They don't even want you walking around the the halls with the baby in your arms- lm sure they don't want to get sued with you slip and blame the hospital).

I'd call your hospital and find out.

jlsweets · July 2015

buckleyk said:
At our hospital they baby must be carried out in a car seat. You can't walk out with them in your arms. (They don't even want you walking around the the halls with the baby in your arms- lm sure they don't want to get sued with you slip and blame the hospital).

I'd call your hospital and find out.

That's how mine is too. They actually don't let us leave our room until they inspect the baby's seatbelt In our room, that it's positioned right on the baby.

2gr8pits · July 2015

I went straight to convertible with my son and will with this one too! If you don't have the infant seat then the nurse goes to your car and checks they are properly strapped in.

The nice thing about the convertible is my son learned how to sleep being moved around! Newborns sleep thru or easily fall asleep so moving a sleeping NB is no big deal and they learn that is how it works!

I baby wear so i would just wrap the baby and go out to eat, the mall, grocery shop, etc. Baby loves being close to mama so they just sleep when worn.

I see no problem with going straight to convertible as long as it is rated for an infant and you have the proper inserts, if needed. I didn't want to lug another 15lb seat around + 10-20lb baby, try to figure out 2 shopping carts, high chairs, etc. But it is a personal preference.

kclg10 · July 2015

A hospital can not tell you that you can't leave with out a infant carrier. If that what you feel like works for your family do it!

tadee08 · July 2015

I am a mother/baby nurse and we will let them go home in convertible car seat as long as
1. Not expired
2. The buckles can be adjusted small enough

Miz_Liz · July 2015

I personally am a HUGE fan of the infant seat that pops out for all of the reasons mentioned by PP's above, plus being able to get them all strapped in and ready to go when the weather is bad, etc.; however if you definitely want to go the convertible route, check out the Graco Smart Seat - it has bases like the infant seats so you can get one seat and multiple bases for your cars, which makes life MUCH easier! You cannot pop it out with the baby still in the seat, but it is still convenient for moving from car to car.

reyannasimpson · July 2015

Thank You, everyone for your responses! There have been some good points.
Money for a seat is not an issue at all. I think I will just get the infant seat and then a convertible but I do not plan on carrying a 15-20lb baby in a infant carrier.
I never used this hospital before but the other hospital I went to would have the nurse come outside and watch you strap the baby in and check it before you could leave. When I go do my tour I will ask.

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