New mom....do I really need an infant car seat?

[jennjenn7905]

I've registered for the Roundabout (1 for mine, 1 for DHs car) and a stroller, but no infant seat. My basic thought is that I don't want to tote the seat and the baby, but now wonder if I need the seat or not. Is just a convience factor or a safety thing?

Thanks
Jenn

[momtoB]

You don't *have* to have an infant seat. It's mostly for convenience although there are some circumstances where an infant seat would be required, such as if you have a very small baby and/or premature baby. If the baby's shoulders are below the lowest harness slots then you may need to get an infant seat. I suggest finding one you like and just keeping it in mind as a back up plan. Have dh bring up the car seat before you check out of the hospital just to make sure it will fit right. If not someone will need to run out and get the infant seat that will.

Btw why did you decide on the Roundabout vs. the other Britax seats that harness to 65lbs (Marathon/Blvd/Decathlon)? If you and dh are tall then your dc likely wb too and you might want to get a seat that will last longer. Just wondering if you'd thought about it. I sure wish I had!

Cheryl
ds-4/21/03

[SusanMae]

Also something to consider--Are you having a winter baby in a cold weather climate?

If yes--I would say to get an infant seat so you can bring the seat in and it will be toasty warm rather than putting the baby into a cold carseat since the baby shouldn't wear a big bulky coat/snowsuit/bunting in the car seat. Also if you should slip and fall on the ice while carrying the baby in a seat, they would be in the seat and more protected(God forbid that actually happen to anyone).

Other than that...probably not.

Susan

[jennjenn7905]

Baby is due in mid-May so I'm not worried about the cold weather. I opted for the Roundabout over the Marathon because of price. DH is tall (6'4") but I'm far from it (5'3") and everything I've read says that the Marathon's straps only go 2 inches higher than the Roundabout.

Still considering my options, thanks for the advice.

Jenn

[kphil]

Hi Jenn,
I don't like carrying my babies around in the car seat either, and have switched each of them to the convertible seat around 4-5 months. Still, I do like having an infant seat just for the nice fit of the harness on a tiny baby, and the ability to put baby in the seat in the house, and to carry the seat in the house when we get home on the (very rare for my babies!) occasion that baby falls asleep on the drive home. My babies didn't sleep well, so I didn't like to wake them if/when they ever did fall asleep! As long as your baby isn't really small, you could probably get away with just the convertible, though.

As far as the Roundabout vs the Marathon, the Marathon bought my oldest several years past when she outgrew the Roundabout (she's almost 6, and still in a Marathon, now). It can take years for them to gain 2 inches in torso height once they're 3+ years old. I was able to turn my dd back rear-facing when we got the Marathon for her at around 3 years old, while she had outgrown the Roundabout rear-facing about 6 months earlier. OTOH, I much preferred the adjuster on the Roundabout to the one on the Marathon. From reading around though, I think if I'd never had a Roundabout to start with, the Marathon adjuster would have been fine to me. I don't think you can go wrong with either seat--by the time your child is outgrowing the Roundabout, who knows what new, great seats might be out there :).

Good luck!
Kirsten

[kellyotn]

Two inches is a lot, a whole lot. ;) Those two inches buy most people two more **years** in a Marathon. RA's are generally outgrown by approx. 4 years of age, where a MA will last until approx. 6 years of age.

Think about it, its two inches of torso height. Additionally, when a kid is over two, most of their height is in their legs, so they are getting taller overall but they are staying on the same slot. My own DD was *right* at the second to the top slot of her MA when we got it right after her second birthday. I kept figuring I'd be moving her straps up "any day". Any day took an entire year even though she's certainly gotten quite a bit taller overall.

Not knocking RA's, they are very nice too, but MA's last a lot longer.

(edited for typo)

[MamaLou02]

Is the infant seat necessary? No, BUT if you end up having a good car sleeper or one who might even like to nap if their carseat (because it's a snug place), then why would you want to risk waking them up when you get home from your outing or to your destination when you could have a few precious moments to do something like go through the mail or eat (...or relax)? Also, if you go out, it's wonderful to have a place for the baby to safely be rather than hauling a stroller into that quaint (aka "small") Italian restaurant, or playing pass the baby, or having to constantly have him strapped to you in a sling (which I use to). Bottom line - for me it has been totally worth it.

I am bummed, however. My second son, who will be 5 months old tomorrow, has just outgrown his infant seat (his brother lasted for 6 months!). Until they get good head control, infant seats are wonderful to help manage these little guys. So, buy the largest infant carrier you can find. Mine only goes up to 20 pounds and 26" - my son is now 27", so we've got to move on, and I'm not sure how we're going to handle the next 2 months without it while he continues to develop control over his body.

Best wishes to you, and just keep saying to yourself during those rough times - "this too shall pass", because generally, it will. Relax and enjoy your baby and treasure each moment, because they change so fast.

Laura

P.S. I used the RoundAbout as my convertible carseat when my oldest son outgrew his infant seat, and then I purchased a Husky for his booster seat. They're great seats.

[eiuasa]

But if the kid outgrows the RA at 4 yrs, can't he just move on to a booster anyway? Is the difference between the RA and Marathon really just how much time you get before moving to a booster? I'm trying to decide between a RA and Marathon myself so I'm just trying to understand the rationale for the bigger seat when the age/weight/height recommendations of boosters overlap the RA anyway.

[momtoB]

>But if the kid outgrows the RA at 4 yrs, can't he just move
>on to a booster anyway? Is the difference between the RA and
>Marathon really just how much time you get before moving to a
>booster? I'm trying to decide between a RA and Marathon
>myself so I'm just trying to understand the rationale for the
>bigger seat when the age/weight/height recommendations of
>boosters overlap the RA anyway.

It's only recommended that you move your dc to bpb seat at 4 yrs *and* 40lbs, that is really a bare minimum recommendation. Remember that each time a child "graduates" to the next type of seat that is a step down in safety. Rear-facing is the safest, harnessed the next safest, bpb are safe but not as safe as being in 5-pt harness, etc. (Think of Nascar drivers - they wear 5-pt harnesses). So it's really better to keep them in a harnessed seat for as long as possible.

[Momof3Labs]

I'm 5'4" and DH is 6'3", and our DS outgrew his Roundabout before his third birthday (42" and 37lbs at 3 years old). His Marathon will give him probably 2 years, maybe 3 more years, of harnessing. So the few extra bucks for the Marathon can mean a lot more use.

[kellyotn]

Yep. What she said. :) Booster minimums are, well, minimums. We personally drive a LOT. I like the knowledge that both kids can stay 5 point harnessed until they are much older and more mature and able to sit properly without prodding.

Safety in the event of a crash is foremost, but also a booster isn't as comfy to sleep in. They tend to slump over to the side. So they are uncomfy, but they also aren't as safe as they should be if you have a crash because they aren't in "optimal position".

Another big factor is imagining the car upside down after rolling. Its pretty easy to imagine how much safer they'd be harnessed with 5 points vs. a seat belt. We also live in snow and ice country and rollovers aren't exactly rare here. I've never been in one myself, but both siblings and my father have been in one. So they don't seem like a "it'll never happen to me" type thing and it makes me a bit paranoid.

My 2 cents. ;)

[kellyotn]

How much plastic shell is above his head? If its more than an inch, you are fine, assuming he's under the weight limit too. All kids are different ratios of torso to leg, so if your little guy is more leggy, he may fit past the 27".

On the other hand, my son's seat should have lasted until he was 29", but he was too close to the top of the seat before he was 26"!! Guess he's all torso and very short legs! ha ha.

[twinsdueinmay]

We're going with the britax boulevard seats for our twins due in May however ont he parentsplace car seat board I saw that a lot of the convertable seats don't fit newborns very well. Even tho they say from 5 lbs. the strap slots are much too high/set too far apart to be safe so you may end up needing an infant seat for the short term depending on how big and tall your baby is.

Here's a link to that board:
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppcarseats

and a link to the post that talks about the britax seats not fitting newborns well:
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-ppcarseats&msg=58857.5

[jenfed1]

I just moved my 8 month old into her Marathon...she's only 15 pounds and 25 1/2 inches, but it was getting heavy for me to carry the infant seat and I have bad back. But I must say, there is NO way I would have been comforable with her in the Marathon as a newborn. She was 5 pounds 8 oz and she barely fit in the infant seat she was so small...I'm not kidding...at the hospital I pulled the harness straps as tight as they could go and a I would have liked them to be a bit tighter and they didn't go any tighter!

Britax says that you can use their seats from 5 pounds...but I think that's nonsense. She was several inches below the lowest harness as a newborn. Even now she's not quite at the lowest harness point, but she's close enough at 8 months. I have my 4 year old in a Marathon too and when you see them it looks so funny...dd#2 is so tiny in it.