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View Full Version : Do I need a carseat that doubles as an infant carrier?



stella
03-22-2001, 01:11 PM
We are expecting baby #1 and trying to figure out carseats and strollers. We bought a Maclaren Mistral, but it's really for when baby is a little bigger (I think).

How long can I use a an infant seat before buying a convertible?
The hospital gives us an Evenflo Secure Choice. Anyone have any knowledge of this brand?
Should I go straight to the Roundabout?
What about a Graco Snug Ride that attaches to a Snap n' Go?

As you can see, I am overwhelmed! Any advice is greatly appreciated!

joodyjr
03-22-2001, 06:53 PM
Newborns fit better in a carrier, but convertables (in my experience) are secured better in the car. You can use a convertable (Roundabout) from the very get go, with those little head support things, which is what I would have done if I had of known how much more securely the seat was in the car compared to the Century Smart Fit I used.
I only used it for two months as my son became too heavy for me to carry him in it. I still keep the carrier in the trunk however for when we go to the grocery store, or anywhere I need to push a cart. Most carriers have a weight limit of 20 or 22 pounds. However, I know of some babies that got too long before they reached the weight limit. I am not familiar with the Evenflo, but the Graco Snug Ride has received very good ratings as far as safety. If you can get a really tight fit with a carrier, then that is fine, but otherwise, I wouldn't advise it.
Most have a base that you attach to the car and then attach the seat to the base. That may help get a good secure fit. I didn't use the base with our carrier because it sat baby up too high, and pediatrician also discouraged it.
If your stroller has a recline, you can use it when baby is newborn.
Don't know if any of this helped, or just confused you even more.
Hopefully I was able to shed a bit of light upon your plight.

Geebee
03-23-2001, 04:01 PM
YES YES, YES, you will really want an infant carseat/carrier.

First, infants are safer in these (I've read this a number of places, but I can't recall where - Baby Bargains? Consumer Reports? Check them out.) Second, when you take junior to the grocery store (or Target or anywhere there is a shopping cart needed), it is difficult to hold an infant and shop. You could use a body baby carrier (those kind that strap the baby to your body), like the Baby Bjorn, but then you are disturbing junior everytime you move him from carseat to carrier (and you will appreciate if he sleeps while you shop). The infant carseat/carrier pops right onto most shopping carts. And third, it is nice to not disturb junior while he is sleeping and you are running errands. Sometimes, if my baby was asleep, I would just take her out of the car, leave her in the carrier, and put the carrier on the floor of her room until she woke up.

You can use an infant seat until 20 or 22 lbs, depending on the infant seat. There is also a length limit, but the police officer that inspected mine said that the baby's feet shouldn't touch the seat. The length of time depends on the size of your child. My daughter was in her carrier/carseat until about 8 months, but I have a friend with a big boy and only used the carrier/carseat for 4 months.

At some point, my child became too heavy to pick her up in the carrier, so I just used it as a carseat only. By that time, she could sit up in the shopping cart (about 6 months or so) and she wasn't sleeping as much, so the carrier feature wasn't needed.

Since you already have the Maclaren Mistral (I bought and returned this stroller, and I think that I remember that it reclines to 145 degrees - infants need a 170 degree recline), I'd go for the Snap N Go LX (with basket) and the carrier/carseat. The Snap N Go LX is relatively cheap and lightweight.

Enjoy!

redhotpepper
04-02-2001, 11:37 AM
It is perfectly fine for your child's feet to touch the seat back in a rear facing restraint. There have been no documented cases of leg injuries due to feet touching.

A child outgrows an infant or rear facing child seat when they reach the weight limit or their head comes within an inch of the top of the seat. Make sure you are measuring from the plastic not the puffy fabric.

I do recommend an infant seat. You can get a Fisher Price Stay In View and Babies/Toys R Us for around $30, which is very reasonable.

If you do decide to not use an infant seat and go directly to the RA (which I love by the way) don't use the head inserts that you can buy. You don't want anything to go behind the baby. These have not been tested with your car seat and I'm sure you don't want your baby to be the crash test dummy. The kind that come with the car seat is fine to use. All you need to do is roll up a recieving blanket and put it around the top of the babies head to keep it from flopping!

Annie

Lucy
04-09-2001, 11:34 AM
LAST EDITED ON Apr-09-01 AT 10:35AM (Mountain)[p]We have a Graco Snugride DX5 and use it with a Snap n Go LX. It suits our needs perfectly. According to CPS techs, infant car seats with 5 point harnesses are the safest way for an infant to travel. The convenience of an infant carrier and the lightweight stroller frame are hard to beat. We're very pleased with both. Being able to transfer our sleeping son to and from the car without waking him up rates highly in our book!

jilldave
04-17-2001, 07:39 PM
I too would recommend an infant seat with a stay in the car auto base. You may also want to consider the climate you live in. It was a long, snowy winter in the midwest and I was grateful to just open the car door and snap my daughter in and out quickly car seat and all.

blndntdumb
05-02-2001, 02:05 AM
Trust me when I tell you that YES you will appreciate the infant carrier everytime you take your baby out of the car. I have the century smartfit elite and a combi 6610 stroller that the seat hooks into we love both products and so does our daughter. The car seat locks into the shopping cart securely and provides a safe and clean way to take your baby into the store. Believe me when I tell you that it almost impossible to shop and carry baby around, Our daughter was 9lbs 11ozs at birth and now weighs 18lbs and is quite the handful to carry but she loves her car seat.