Registry question: infant/convertible seats

[Monica Geller]

My SIL helped me plan out my registry. She told me to put on the convertible car seats; people won't know what we want if we don't at least list it. If we get them, great. If not, we may be able to use the completion discount. Either way, we'll need them eventually.

[estrellita]

We didn't put a convertible on ours. I figure we will use the infant seat as long as possible and just buy a convertible when the time comes (or if we see a really good sale!). I don't think it would hurt to register for one though!

[achi]

Ditto PP, I was going to say something about the completion discount. Plus you never know! Things like car seats are a good group gift.

[felicity]

People need gift ideas, and I think it's better to put practical things on there that you will definitely use rather than a bunch of random newborn stuff you end up never end up using. The baby will be using it soon enough!

We are actually going to try skipping the infant seat all together, so we only registered for a convertible that can be used for newborns. From what I read, most people used the infant seat for 6 months to a year, but many stopped carrying it in and out of the car sooner because the seat plus the baby gets so heavy.

The downside of getting it now is it will expire sooner.

[Deleted]

We were given a used infant seat (from a reliable person, non-expired) and registered for a convertible.

[sparty04]

We only used the infant seat for 9 months (DS was 30in by then). We did get one convertible off our registry and was so happy because they're expensive and we needed 2.

[rachelgreen]

We put our convertible seat on our registry. We didn't receive it from our shower but I plan to use the completion code to buy it. Plus it was nice to "watch" our model easily over the last few months so I know what a good price is and when to jump on it next time it comes around.

[mlvmd]

We didn't put one on but probably should have. DS only used the infant seat for around five or six months then he was huge and it became annoying so we switched to a convertible.

[dearprudence]

We did, but probably didn't need to. We didn't get it, which was fine, we ended up using the infant seat for 14 months and got a killer deal when it was time to buy convertibles.

Something to keep in mind if you're planning on multiple children, the car seats have expiration dates, so the earlier you buy them, the earlier that clock starts ticking, even if they're just sitting in the garage for a year. If you want to reuse them for future children, you're better off waiting until you need.

[imimahoney]

Just be sure about expiration dates. Many convertible seats are good for about 6 years. If you plan on using it with multiple babies, buying it almost a year before it will be used will cut down on its shelf life.

[MrsAggie]

I put it on there after reading that other people did here too. My parents were planning on buying our infant seat for my shower and I figured if anyone wanted to spend the money on a convertible seat, they could. Turns out MIL and FIL bought the convertible car seat so now we don't have to worry about spending ~$250 in 6-9 months.

ETA H and I are tall people and were 8.5 and 8 lbs respectively at birth so I'm pretty confident DS will be a big, long baby.

[kams]

We didn't, but I probably would if I was doing it all again - it doesn't hurt to get it or have the chance to use a completion coupon. We ended up buying 2 (1 for each car) when DD1 was ~11 months old. She wasn't particularly close to the limits, but the carrier was getting pretty heavy to cart around, and her naps were consistent enough that she wasn't falling asleep in the car every time we left the driveway ( ), so it was a good time for us to switch.

[linz]

I registered for it and we got the infant seats at a shower (In laws planned to buy them so they got our convertible).

[sarahsas]

Great question lessel. I didn't register for one either with the same concerns but now I am thanks to this thread!