Carseats, which is best?

Danielle - posted on 03/02/2010

personally i like safety first 3 in 1s because they save you money and quite honestly they are the only ones that are crash tested
the only reason to buy an infant car seat is if you don't want to carry her around when you go out to eat and what not....i had one with my son bc someone bought me a travel system but travel systems are big and bulky so i never used the stroller part...save yourself some money :-) there are 3 in 1s as well

Chevonne - posted on 02/15/2010

I dont like convertible for newborns. Think of this. It is very easy when you reach home or where ever you are going to just grab the infant carrier out of the base without disturbing the baby. Convertibles are big and cannot tote around. You will use the carrier for about 9 months. if you have a stroller that is compatible with your carrier is even better. Just grab carrier with baby and put in and out of car/carseat without having to unstrap and take the baby and possibly waking them up.

Andrea - posted on 02/12/2010

It might be more expensive to have multiple car seats but I liked having the infant seat for my son - he was in it until 6 months so that gave me a lot of flexibility to move him around easily without taking him out of the car seat (grocery shopping was a breeze) . I have the Peg Perego SIP and find it solid - I'll be using it again for my second.

Susan - posted on 02/11/2010

I think it really depends. I like having the infant seat (mine held up to 30 lbs) so that I could just pull him out and put on the stroller, or in a chair at a restaurant ect...

But I do see the value of doing an all in one. I really love our SunShine Kids Radion 80 seat. It goes from 5 lbs to 80lbs. Rear facing and forward facing, and like someone else mentioned about a seat no booster needed because of the weight limit. It's also narrow in size, not so bulky like some. It also has one of the only steal frames out there which makes it one of the safest. Although it toughts it folds in half for travel (air planes and such) it is kind of heavy because of the steal frame. But I don't take mine out so it doesn't matter.

http://sunshinekidsbaby.com

Bottom line, I guess it depends on what you want to do, how you travel, and expenses.

Staci - posted on 02/09/2010

Use the carrier/travel system kind for the infant time...until they reach 22 lbs or until they are too heavy for you to use the carrier. After that, I recommend the Britax Marathon seat. It can go rear-facing and forward facing and holds from infant to 65lbs. So it's basically the only seat you ever need - no booster seats needed...and it keeps them in a 5 point harness for much longer which is so much safer than a booster. Just my two cents worth...

Kelly - posted on 02/09/2010

Definitely get a convertible. But I would get one that just goes from rear facing to forward facing and get a new booster seat when the time comes. Car seats have expiration dates and your car seat will probably expire before you use the booster seat option since you are buying it for your newborn. We have a Britax and it is awesome. It is a pricier brand but it has lots of padding so it is really comfortable and has side impact wings for the head. The cover is removable, washable and you can buy extra covers if you need them. We did the infant seat the first time around and it was a waste of money for us (only used it for 3 months).

Amanda - posted on 02/08/2010

we did both.... if i only knew what i know now back when we got the infant carrier carseat we would have skipped it and gone for the convertible seat. my son always hated the carrier seat and by 4 months the straps didnt fit/were too tight no matter how much we adjusted them. so we had to run out and buy the convertible seat, we bought an evenflo, and he loves it, we love it! he started out rear facing and reclined (obviously) and was far more comfortable and is now still loving it forward facing :)
there are some perks to the infant carrier type seat though: snaps into a stroller, portable, etc.... but for us since my son hated it so much i just strapped on a sling or front carrier and plopped him in that so you can def. do without.

Amber - posted on 02/07/2010

its a better value definitely, and they're just as safe or else they wouldn't approve them to be used with infants. if you're going to do that though, you should probably get or make a carseat cover for it. babies tend to make huge messes in their carseats and its good to be able to take it out and wash it once in a while.