Infant or Convertible car seat?

[KaraOrNot]

We decided to go with an infant seat for that reason.

[Poppy]

Also a FTM but I have just heard so many moms ask incredulously,"why would you wake a sleeping baby if you don't have to?" that I am sold. There are lots of relatively inexpensive options and I'm sure there'll be a day I'd pay darn good money just to keep my kid contentedly sleeping.

[andthentherewere10]

My baby is already here. We hated thy infant seat. He never stayed asleep in it and he prefers the recline of the convertible. It was so awkward to carry. We had a convertible in my husband's truck and the infant seat in my car so we used both simultaneously. We ended up putting in the convertible before baby was 3 months. I am, however, a big baby wearer. That probably makes a difference, too.

[linz]

I get they're pricey but so worth it to not have to strap a newborn into your car but rather do it inside and be able to carry the seat in if they are sleep. And then if you go somewhere like say a Dr appt they can be in the car seat, otherwise you'd have to wear/hold them.

[anaps28]

The best part about them being in the infant car seat is that you don't have to move them! You can go from car to stroller, or into a restaurant and the kid is still sleeping!! The worst part about convertible car seats is that if your kid doesn't transfer (like mine) I was always just sitting in the car waiting for him to wake up.

[luv2rn4fun]

FTM here as well. We bought the infant carseat and the convertible is also on our registry. Our plan is to use the infant carseat the first few months (6-9) and then switch to the convertible. Our main stroller will be the BOB jogging stroller with a frame stroller as a backup...I can only use the BOB with the carseat until he is about 6 months old.

[mrssandro]

Infant seat all the way.

DD would always fall sleep in the car. The infant seat was so easy to take out.

[zarapipe]

Infant. Tell them to quit being cheap haha. We switched around 8 months to convertable with dd and plan to do the same again.

[Deleted]

I almost never see people actually use the stroller with an infant seat. I do see lots of people carrying around the infant seats though.

[laurenh]

I would not skip the infant seat, it was so much more convenient, especially in the winter so that we could just toss a blanket over it and head into wherever we were going. Plus, not all kids grow at the same rate. DD fit in her infant seat until she was a year old.

[mlvmd]

We seriously considered skipping the infant seat this time around. We conveniently spaced our kids so all of DS1's
car seats are pretty much expired so we have to buy new. We stopped using his infant seat around fourish months because he was so big and it got heavy. However, we decided to go for it again because DS2 (like DS1) will be born in November/December and it's nice to be able to put him in and take him out of the seat indoors. We do not have a garage so this is an issue for us on a regular basis.

[smm5623]

Infant!

We switched to convertible around 6 months and will likely go the same again. It's still a lot easier and worth the money IMO. I wear C a lot but there are times just carrying the infant seat into the grocery store fit a could items is more convenient.

[MrsAggie]

I personally hate convertibles for newborns. The recline is awkward for them since they can't really sit. The seat is a very harsh angle versus an infant. Newborns also seem to have their heads hanging down and to the side which risks them shutting off their airway. You would absolutely need inserts and preferably someone sitting in the backseat with them until they're old enough to hold their head up. Or don't buy one lol.

[luv2rn4fun]

Aug 26, 2014 17:33:35 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

I almost never see people actually use the stroller with an infant seat. I do see lots of people carrying around the infant seats though.

Is it possible to use a BOB stroller (with and without running) without the adapter in the early months?  I'm just curious for the carseat adapter that we will also need to buy...if it's possible to safely use it without then I won't spend the money.

Still all for the infant carseat.  Being able to take him out without waking him up is priceless!

[luv2rn4fun]

Aug 26, 2014 18:15:12 GMT -5 @choco said:

Aug 26, 2014 17:59:48 GMT -5 luv2rn4fun said:

Is it possible to use a BOB stroller (with and without running) without the adapter in the early months?  I'm just curious for the carseat adapter that we will also need to buy...if it's possible to safely use it without then I won't spend the money.

Still all for the infant carseat.  Being able to take him out without waking him up is priceless!

As far as I remember, you need the adapter to place the carseat on the stroller securely.

Another vote for an infant seat. I wore DS when he was awake but definitely used the infant seat in the stroller when he was asleep.

Thanks!  It's my understanding that you cannot use the stroller without the carseat (and must have the adapter for the carseat) until the baby is strong enough to hold his/her head.  Basically, you cannot just put a newborn/infant into the BOB without the carseat and go for a run because they cannot support their heads.  You can safely do this around 6 months but not any earlier.

I plan on wearing baby a lot too but am mostly concerned for when I am able to run again.  I will be back to running as soon as my OB gives me the okay and plan to take DS with me if needed (i.e when DH is at work, etc).

[Blue Moon]

I read a lot about infant vs. convertible because my H was adamant in the beginning that getting two different car seats was frivolous. It's very appealing to me to just click the infant seat into the snap n go frame and all of my mom friends highly encouraged me to get both. We were fortunate to get both seats and the snap n go frame for shower gifts so I hope it works out.

[estrellita]

I debated this for a while and I think I'm leaning toward infant seat personally. I just like the idea of the carrier. I will probably wear too but sometimes that just isn't totally practical.

[linz]

Aug 26, 2014 17:33:35 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

I almost never see people actually use the stroller with an infant seat. I do see lots of people carrying around the infant seats though.

I know a lot of people that did if they went on walks early on. I got a double snap n go and plan to use that if I go to a dr appt or on a walk. Then in spring use BOB when theyre bigger.

[anaps28]

Aug 26, 2014 17:33:35 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

I almost never see people actually use the stroller with an infant seat. I do see lots of people carrying around the infant seats though.

I used mine all the time with my Uppa Baby. My kid never slept so we walked a ton right from the start. I think it depends on lifestyle/location and kind of baby you have.

[mrspost08]

When they are so little they sleep a lot. Why do you want to wake a baby constantly? It's much easier to grab an infant seat & run into the store then all that unbuckling.

Tell them to shove it bc you deal with car seats WAY more than they do!!!!

[Bonita]

We decided to go with the Infant Seat for many of the reasons already mentioned (don't have to wake baby up if they're sleeping, can get them settled/take them out of the seat inside vs. doing it outside in the winter, etc.)...

My other reason is/was that we are going to be doing daycare with DH dropping off and me picking up, so rather than buy two convertible seats (one for each car), DH can drop off baby in the AM leave the seat, and I can pick her up in the PM and put her in the seat before we go out to the car. There are numerous other parents that do this at our daycare and it sounds like it works out well...this way we just have to have a base for each car, and one actual seat. Eventually we'll have to get two convertibles, but I think we'll use the infant seat for a while first

[Brie]

Aug 26, 2014 17:35:09 GMT -5 cab1217 said:

Aug 26, 2014 17:29:28 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

Infant. Tell them to quit being cheap haha. We switched around 8 months to convertable with dd and plan to do the same again.

That's another thing. The convertible in question is like $400!!!! I don't need that. I will take the fancy $200 infant, and that's only because its compatible with the hand me down stroller I'm getting.

You will need a convertible seat at some point, though. We only used the infant seat for about 6 months because C was no longer comfortable in it.

[mrssandro]

Aug 26, 2014 17:33:35 GMT -5 @kcpokergal said:

I almost never see people actually use the stroller with an infant seat. I do see lots of people carrying around the infant seats though.

We used the stroller. I liked it more than the other strollers I had.

[MamaMaui24]

Infant seat. We loved our snap n go stroller too.

[MamaMaui24]

I wouldn't buy an infant + convertible now because if you don't end up using it for a year, that's one year closer to expiration.

[sillygoosegirl]

Our primary car is almost 2-years-old and we've put about 2800 miles on it so far. I had to have it towed to the shop yesterday because it wouldn't start. The problem, according to the mechanic? We just don't drive enough.

So we're going straight to the convertible seat. I just don't think we're going to put the baby in the car enough times to justify the cost and garbage associated with an extra car seat. We got a stroller that adjusts to basically flat, so it shouldn't be necessary to put a car seat in it to use it.

Now if only they made infant bike seats. I'd be all over that.

[motzie]

Infant seat!

DD was born in October so we never even used the stroller. I just wore her when we went out or kept her in the seat. It does get heavy carrying that thing around but you get used to it. DD switched to a convertible seat around 9-10 months when she got too long for the infant seat.

You can get both an infant seat and convertible seat for under or around $400.

[LaceyV]

I loved our infant seat and was so sad when she grew out of it. She HATES being worn so we got a lot of use out of ours. It was great because we could bring her into restaurants or church or wherever and just pop the car seat in the booth or in a high chair and give her some toys and she was content. We also had the stroller to go with the carseat and we used it all the time, we still use it now without the car seat. Its a little bulky but she's most comfortable in that stroller.

[dragonfly08]

My kids are older, but I used the infant seat in the stroller with them all.the.time. Especially with #1...I wore #2 a lot more often (#1 hated it, plus I just needed my hands to be free more the second time around).

Yeah, it adds cost. But IMO the convenience factor is well worth it. They baby is safer, you can move from house to car to store and back without removing a quiet or sleeping child from the seat, the carrier works well in restaurants with a baby who can't yet use a high chair, etc. My oldest outgrew the carrier by 4 months and my youngest by 6 (back in those days, height and weight limits were lower...in a current day model they'd have lasted longer) but it was still something I don't regret doing. We did register for the convertible seat, as well, and my ILs bought it. We just kept it stored in a closet until we needed it.

[linz]

Aug 26, 2014 18:57:31 GMT -5 cab1217 said:

Aug 26, 2014 18:41:25 GMT -5 Brie said:

You will need a convertible seat at some point, though. We only used the infant seat for about 6 months because C was no longer comfortable in it.

True, but not a $400 one
Makes me think that maybe I should just register for both though. Who knows how fast this kid is going to grow.

I registered for both. H pry won't have them much when they are infants so we aren't getting an extra set of bases. If we have to we'll just use a seat belt for the infant seat in his truck. But I did register for my car's convertible plus the convertible for his truck (I'm getting a cheaper set for him). I figured if people give us cash or gift cards I can buy them now.

And I know some that had their baby in an infant seat for almost a year but I know I won't go that long with twins.