Infant Carseat vs. Convertibles

[firstontheway]

I am struggling between these two for my first baby coming this October. What do you all suggest? I just think spending $100 on an infant carseat for 6-month use, and then buy another is kind of waste? On the other hand, I worry about the safety of my baby if put in a convertible carseat. Please give me some advices! TIA!

[Joshuasmommy]

I loved having an infant seat, my son was born late November last year and we live in Missouri so we had an entire cold winter to get through, I would have hated to have to take him out of the carseat into the cold everytime I went somewhere. And it was really nice when he fell asleep in it he didn't wake up when we went in the house.

[Momof3Labs]

Once they are 5lbs, babies are very safe in convertibles like the Britax Marathon and Roundabout (not sure about lower weight limits on other convertibles). Yes, you give up a little convenience, but if money is an issue, you will be MUCH happier buying a nice convertible seat that you will use for a long, long time than an infant seat that will last you 3-9 months (ours lasted 3.5 months) plus a cheaper, more frustrating convertible seat down the road.

[Joyce6830]

I usually DO recommend an infant seat for the first few months. Babies really do fit better in an infant seat when they are really tiny. Plus, for rear facing the straps need to be "at or below" their shoulders and for many convertibles on the market a newborn's shoulders are not going to be "at" the bottom harness slots. There are some convertibles that have lower bottom harness slots and I'd have to do some research to tell you which ones.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't just go with a convertible from the beginning. I did that with one of mine and it worked out fine. That was before I was a technician though and now I would choose to go with the infant seat.

Joyce, CPST

[amp]

An infant seat is definitely not necessary, but we loved it, even though DS was only in it for about 3.5 mths. It was so incredibly convenient (carrying a sleeping baby, strapping a newborn in while still in the house, etc) and will be used when we have another baby, so to us, it was worth the extra money.

[DagnyT]

Hi. Thought I would offer my two cents. I have two boys, newly 1 and 3. I loved having an infant seat that could snap in and out of a base- no distrubing a sleeping baby, can fit on many strollrs, can get ready in the house is case of inclimate weather, good place to "park" baby while visiting or going out. I used the infant seat for longer with DS1- 1) he was smaller for longer and 2) I didn't have a second one to pack around and therefore went more places!:) We bought one seat and borrowed another from a friend- of course checking the dates, recall status etc.... DS2 outgrew the infant seat at about 6 months. So we ended up using a convertible seat. I know it seems like a lot, and I hate to think of people wasting $$, but if it is at all possible for you try to get an infant seat- maybe a cosco, century, graco priced brand and then get a good convertible that will last you several eyars- Britax is what we have. Yu can get good deals on seats on ebay- just make sure they are NEW!!

Good Luck!

M.
Prescott 8/15/01
Lyman 7/28/03

[firstontheway]

Thanks everyone! It seems that more people like to use infant car seats. I do love the convenience of infant car seats, in addition, thinking about having another baby later (if DH agrees, LOL), so I probably will go with an infant car seat. They do seems to be more convenient and safe.

Thanks again for all of your advices!

--------------------
Kelli
First Baby Boy EDD:10/21/04
http://lilypie.com/cache2/11/06711010.png