Infant Car Seat VS. Infant-Toddler Convertable Car Seat?

Jose Calaycay: I bought a combo infant car seat and matching stroller. The seat just pops onto the stroller. I would recommend against anything where you would have to unstrap the baby and take him/her out because the baby will most likely be asleep and you will wake him or her.

Victor Macallister: This Site Might Help You.RE:Infant Car Seat VS. Infant-Toddler Convertable Car Seat?I am debating on weather to buy an infant car seat/travel system or go with a convertable infant-toddler car seat. I was just wondering if those convertable infant seats can fit onto the new car seat carrier type strollers they make now? I haven't read on any of the descriptions if they fit......Show more

Olen Penhallurick: I had so much stuff to buy for my daughter I went with a 2nd hand infant car seat. The babies are only in them for a short while anyway so they are still pretty new and if it's a common type it will fit into most strollers and clip on. My daughter is 3 month! s now and I am just now looking into investing in a nice new stroller with all the bells and whistles, maybe a jogger. I'm also going to buy a nice convertable infant-toddler car seat. It was nice to be able to put off one big expense though. The second hand carseat is nice, its a Graco....Show more

Valentine Michaud: Convertable carseats don't work in the strollers, atleast none that i have seen. But I find that I like the convertable carseat better because i get more use out of it for the money. With the infant seat my boys were getting to big before they were even 9 months old so i still had to buy the convertable carseat then turn around and buy a front facing carseat with a harness that also works as a booster seat when they were 2 1/2 years old. So i just would rather buy 2 carseats instead of 3 plus i never liked having to remove the infant seat anyways so i never attached it to the stroller or anything....Show more

Tatiana Evanosky: To a previous p! oster - infant seats do NOT have more side impact protection t! han convertible seats. They are equal. And they do not necissarily fit newborns better, either, just depends upon the convertible seat you get.It is really completely up to your preference, but, here's my 2cents. Personally, I'd pick out an awesome stroller (since the ones that come in a travel system often aren't all that great!) b/c the stroller is the part that you will be using for the next 3-4 years. You really need to like it, and have it be quality so you don't find yourself with a busted stroller in a year. Also, you can save money by purchasing a high quality used stroller, whereas if you buy a travel system, you can't get it used b/c it is not safe to get a used car seat. You could however, get a used stroller and check its compatibility, and get a car seat new that would work with it. That's what I did.All that said - as a single parent on a seriously limited income, I now realize I should've completely skipped the infant carrier stage. Its not a 'needed' stage i! n car seats, its just a convenience thing, and a recent - as in the last 15 years or so - invention to have a stay in car base and separate carrier. Here's why I think its a waste: doesn't last babies very long at all. You spend $60 and up on this carrier that is only going to last 5-8 months! And then you have to purchase a convertible car seat, and somewhere down the line a booster seat. If you skip the carrier phase, you just eliminated one seat. There is now one carrier on the market that promises to fit 99% of babies up to at least their first birthday - Graco SafeSeat1, goes to 30lbs. However, there are limitations to this awesome seat. It really will fit most kids that long, but that's a catch-22. You really going to carry your 25lbs baby in a carrier?! My son was a BIG baby (still is a BIG kid!) and outgrew his carrier at 4 months. And, after baby gets above 10lbs or so, they are a pain in the butt to carry - quite awkward. So its not as convenient as it may at firs! t seem. And some of the 'convenient' ways people use them aren't good.C! arriers should NEVER be placed on grocery carts. It makes the carts unstable and they can tip over, seriously injuring the baby. Also, not all car seats fit all carts, and they don't lock on, they're just sitting there, posing an obvious threat. And some of the carts are shaped or sized in a way that it puts the carrier at an unsafe/uncomfortable angle for the baby. I've seen babies laying in carriers on carts with their head lower than their feet - not a good idea for digestion or spit up.The American Academy of Pediatrics says Parents and caregivers should never Place an infant carrier on top of the shopping cart. "Many infant-only car safety seats lock into shopping carts, and many stores have shopping carts with built-in infant seats. This may seem safe, but thousands of children are hurt every year from falling out of shopping carts or from the carts tipping over. Instead of placing your baby's car safety seat on the cart, consider using a stroller or front pack while ! shopping with your baby. "Also, we are seeing rampant developmental delays becuase babies are in these carriers (and swings, and bouncy seats...) so much. Look around everywhere you go and instead of holding their babies, people have them in these carriers. When on their back and harnessed (and any time a child is in a carrier, he needs to be harnessed, even though its not in a car!) they can not work the muscles they need to develop to crawl, sit up, and walk. In the manuals for these carriers, it even says specifically 'for use in cars and strollers only'! But we all seem to miss that part.So I highly recommend skipping the carrier phase. I think they are more a pain than a blessing, and a wasted of money if you don't have a lot to throw around. Instead, get a convertible car seat that will fit a newborn (more on that later) and a sling, pouch, or wrap. Not one of those silly snugli or infantino carriers, but something like a ringsling, moby, or maya wrap. Wearing your ba! by gives everybody what they need. Babies get much needed closeness to ! mom (or dad, or anyone else for that matter!) and you get your hands free to do what you need to do, as well as you can even breastfeed in one! They offer many different positions to use them in, too, and go higher than carrier car seat weights (20-22lbs). Most go to at least 35lbs, so you will get much more use out of it for your money. OK - so if you choose to skip the carrier phase, be careful about the convertible car seat you choose, b/c not all will fit newborns well. You want it to have low bottom slots.Perfect options:The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. $150 version at Babies R Us has padding similar to Britax seats, top slots of 17", harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. $120 Walmart version just has little less plush padding. Wide open belt path, easy to install, though it doesn't have built in lockoffs. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don't have to take the c! ar seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It's one of only 2 seats that does this (The Britax Boulevard is the other, I believE), and it has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. No more tugging straps to tighten them either. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. As a major bonus, it can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode. Awesome for kids who still sleep in the car. I LOVE THIS SEAT! LOL My son, who is too big for every other car seat at Walmart has the same amount of room in this as the Britax Marathon.Cosco Scenera - $50 at Walmart/Kmart/Target. Great seat for the price. Goes up to 35lbs rear facing, 40lbs forward facing. Great rear facing seat, but is outgrown very quickly forward facing b/c of short top slots and short shell. You'll still get you're $50 worth out of it, though, as it will last most kids to at least 2 years, quadruple the amount of time o! f an infant seat!As you're shopping, remember these rules about seats:1! )the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you're more likely to use it correctly.2)Children should stay rear facing AS LNOG AS POSSIBLE!!!! The 20lbs/1 year rule is outdated and provides a bare minimum for turning kids forward facing. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration both recommend keeping kids rear facing as long as possible, up to the limits of their seat, preferably until at least 2 years of age. For good reason: A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cor! d can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone. In other countries, rear facing 2 - 3 - 4 year olds is standard, they understand that its safer. Here, we turn them as soon as we get to, seeing it as a right of passage thing or something. Ridiculous. Most convertible seats have a 30lbs rear facing limit, Cosco/Dorel/Safety1st/Eddie Bauer seats rear face to 35lbs, Britax rear faces to 33lbs.3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can't sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight - 40" tall and weighs 4! 1lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was! a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I'd have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.**No, convertible seats stay in the car, they do not fit on a stroller. Just buy a stroller where the seat reclines flat and you are fine....Show more

Chet Nozick: infant seats have more side impact protection than convertible seats and they will fit a newborn better than a convertible seat. they can also be used as carriers and they can be put in strollers. this is very important if you live somewhere very hot or cold so that you can strap baby into the seat indoors instead of in the hot or cold car.after baby outgrows the infant seat, get a convertible seat that rear faces as long as possible. rear facing is safest and you should do it as long as possible. the best conv! ertible seats will rear face to 33 or 35 lbs.the next thing to consider is a 5 point harness. a 5 point harness is the safest way for a child (or anyone) to travel. many convertible seats go up to 40 lbs and then you are stuck getting a booster after that. the best value (rear faces to 35 lbs and has a 5 point harness to 65 lbs) is the britax marathon. it has a lot of great features and goes through stricter testing than any other brand. another option is to get a cheaper convertible seat (the cosco scenera is a good choice, rear faces to 35 lbs and forward faces to 40 lbs) and then a graco nautilus (doesn't rear face, but has a 5 point harness to 65 lbs and then becomes a booster to 100 lbs).here's what we are doing: 1st kid started in a graco snugride and then moved to a britax marathon at 8 months. he's still in it at age 4.2nd kid is in a graco safeseat. when she outgrows it, she will get her brother's marathon and he will get a graco nautilus. when she outgrows! her marathon, she will get her brother's nautilus and he should be big! enough to ride in a regular seat....Show more

Lourie Mcroberts: The great car seat debate...here's what we did:We first bought the Graco SafeSeat, which is technically an infant car seat carrier (can be part of the travel system also) but holds a baby up to 30 lbs. and 32 in. So, our plan was to keep our daughter in that until she hit a year provided she met the requirements, then buy something that would fit her forward-facing that had a high weight limit so we would only be buying two but still have the convenience of the infant seat. So, great plan in theory but our daughter HATED the Graco seat because she was very tiny and the seat was very large for a newborn. So we ended up with a different infant seat because I still wanted it for it's convenience and she likes that one. I hated having to bite the bullet and buy it but it was worth it. The new infant seat only holds up to 22 pounds so we ended up buying the Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite, which will work a! s a convertible all the way up to a booster, so we still don't need to buy another car seat after this one if we don't want to.There are lots of options out there, find one that suits your family. Some people will say "just get a sling" but everyone does not enjoy wearing their baby everywhere. Infant car seats can get heavy but there is NO WAY I could carry by baby in a sling all the time. There's a reason they only stay in your belly for 9 months...they get heavy to carry around all the time! I would not skip the infant car seat. Whatever you do, that's my best advice....Show more

Ollie Desalvo: I bought a convertible seat, since I thought having to buy two seats in a year was a waste of money. I have a stroller and I just reclined the seat all the way and laid my daughter in it; she was just fine! Of course she hated the stroller until she was 8 months, so I just wore her. It was way easier than lugging the stroller, a great bonding experience, and good wei! ght-bearing exercise! :) Plus it's cheaper than tons of seats/stroll! ers. I recommend the Moby and Babyhawk very highly.Edit: Evalee's Mommy: It is true that babies get heavy, but baby carriers/wraps/slings are meant to distribute weight evenly. It's how babies have been carried for centuries, and it's proven to sooth colicky babies and is beneficial for their emotional and mental development. Maybe not everyone "wants" to wear their babies, but it should at least be tried, since it's so wonderful for them!...Show more