Infant Carseats: Need Help to Pick One Out

I used a seat that goes to 32 pounds and 35 inches for my oldest and it does get heavy, but it happens so gradually that it's really managable. I'd get that one again and am using it for my now 8 week old. We went from that to a Britax Boulevard when she was 17 months and it worked beautifully. For us, it was really nice having the convenience of being able to pull the whole bucket out of the car quickly instead of messing with the buckles and straps in the rain.

M.,

The Chicco KeyFit 30 is the top rated carseat for safety. The weight range is from 4-30 pounds. This is the seat that we have for my daughter and we LOVE it. Not only is it comfortable, but I'm happy to know that she is riding in the safest seat possible. The seat itself is heavy even before putting the baby in it, but we have the stroller that we use with it wherever we go. The stroller/car seat combo was approximate $330. A great investment for a relatively low price and the stroller will last through the toddler stage.

I know it seems like unnecessary expense but I think that 2 car seats are the best way to go. My kids both outgrew the infant carrier by the time they were 8 - 10 months old they got too long and would get really mad when put in the seat because they were unable to straighten their legs out. So we had the smaller light weight up to 20 pounds infant carrier then bought another convertable seat that will hold them till 40 lbs. My daughter is 2 now and is still in the 2nd convertable seat. It goes from rear facing to front facing. I will have to buy her another seat in another 15 lbs but that one will be just a booster seat much more affordable. My son who is 3.5 years used both seats as well. I think 2 seats are worth it. They get really really heavy in that carrier by the time they get over 18 pounds!

Good luck

I know you have had a lot of response but here's my thought on it.

I debated between the two sizes of infant carrier or a convertible for about a month before we decided on the standard size infant carrier due to cost and decided that the convenience of being able to move him while asleep and put him in shopping carts and the stroller made the infant seat the better choice over the convertible seat. But my 12 week old is going to reach the max length limit long before he reaches the weight limit and I now think we should have got the bigger carrier. I do not regret the choice for a carrier, yes he's getting heavy but your arm will get stronger as he/she grows and when he/she is to heavy for you he/she will be bigger and able to sit in grocery carts with out it. Like other posts you might need the infant seat for your baby to sleep in at night if say he/she ends up with acid reflux or if it just prefers the seat.

Congrats on your growing family.

I say listen to your sister. The carriers are not comfortable to carry around when the baby is small let alone when they start to get some weight on them. I would invest in a middle of the road carrier and then a really good convertible car seat. I personally have the Britax convertibles and I love them. We won't need another car seat for a long time. I used a Graco infant seat. I would also invest in a baby bjorn or something similar to carry the baby on you when he/she gets too big for the carrier. Be sure and buy a really good baby bjorn. Your back will thank you. Good luck! they really grow out of the infant seats pretty fast so it's not worth spending a lot of money on. Once they can hold their head they can go into the convertibles.

First off, congrats and best wishes!

As for the car seat, originally, my DH and I opted for the Chicco KeyFit stroller system. It was rated really well in Consumer Reports. That car seat held up to 22lbs. While the carrier piece of the car seat was quite convenient, it was getting quite difficult carrying around a 20lb infant in the carrier. DD was out of that seat before she was even 6 months old. That being said, we opted for one of those convertible car seats. The car seat grows with the child. (From 5 to 65 lbs) It converts from rear facing to forward facing. We got the First Steps TruFit Convertible Seat. It was reasonably priced and it also was rated 4 stars from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If we had to do it again, we'd probably still go with the carrier first and then the convertible seat. One of the major reasons being that once the baby is asleep in the carrier, she can stay asleep when you bring her into the house, run your errands, or just go for a walk. It's not that easy taking a sleeping child out of a convertible seat and putting her into a stroller or taking her into the house.

BTW, a friend of mine purchased the car seats that go up to 30 lbs; however, the baby will be too long to fit in it before he even reaches 30 lbs. Just something else to think about.

So that was just my two cents. Enjoy the process...time goes by sooo fast!!!!

Good luck!!!

I could go on and on about carseats, so I'll try to keep it short :)

For my 1st I used the carrier a lot. I brought it everywhere. I did not, however, use a baby bjorn, or sling or anything like that. If I had been more comfortable with that, I don't think I'd have used the carrier as much.

The seat I had didn't last long, so I moved to a convertible seat (the britax roundabout) when she was about 6 months or so.

I borrowed a carrier for my 2nd daughter to use for about 2 months, then bought another convertible seat.

For my 3rd, I bought a new carrier seat. It is one that goes up to 30 lbs. She is 8 months old and about 20 lbs and I still use it. But, I don't actually carry it much. I put it in the snap and go or in the grocery cart or bring it right into the house or what have you. It is pretty heavy, but you can leave it in the car if you want anyway.

To put it into perspective, though, you are going to have to buy a forward facing seat at some point. Many of them, like the roundabout, can be rear facing as well.

I loved the GRACO snug ride when she was little, then we transitioned to the Sunshine Kid's Radian 80 foldable seat. Sometimes infants like to fall asleep in the car and when you have one you can move, it really helps keep them asleep. Additionlly, our daughter slept the first few months of life either in her bouncy chair or in the car seat. We LOVE the sunshine kid's car seat; it is really comfortable, is foldable so if you need to carry it, it is a lot less cumbersome. And if you ever do any flying with your child, it is one of the FAA approved car seats. Congrats on the new little one!

We bought the Chicco Keyfit 30 for our daughter two years ago now and absolutely LOVE IT! My son is now in it and it still works like a charm. We loved it so much that we've really had a hard time finding a forward facing car seat that we like because we keep comparing it to the Chicco Keyfit 30.
The Chicco Keyfit 30 goes to 30 pounds and/or 30 inches. My daughter was in it until she was about 15 months but by the time she was 20+ pounds, we stopped bringing the carseat everywhere with us, we just brought her to save our backs and bodies. But, when she needed to stay asleep or a safe place to sit, we took her in the carrier and it was beautiful. From every Mom I've talked to, the infant carrier is the way to go for multiple months so that when you get home or to your destination, you do not have to wake her/him just to go inside.
One downside of the Keyfit is its a bit pricey but in our opinion and 2 kids later, it is more than worth every penny.

What I learned when we were shopping for a carseat is that the ones that carry a heavier weight can't always be used until your child reaches that weight because your child ends up being too long for the seat. I'd go with a regular sized one -- you're going to end up needing to buy another one when your child gets bigger anyway.

We loved our Chicco Key Fit 30. Our son (19 mos. old) is still not 30 pounds and got too tall for it awhile ago, but it is extremely easy to install and take out, and consumer reports gave it the highest safety rating, in large part because it is so easy, so installation doesn't mess up the safety factor. It was worth it for those reasons. While you may not be lugging around such a heavy baby (we didn't), all the other features make it a fantastic carseat. Our son used it for a little over a year, then we moved on to Britax.

My son was a 95th percentile baby. By his first birthday he was 30 pounds and well out of his infant carrier. He hit the 22 lb mark shortly after 6 months old. By that point, there was no way I could comfortably carry him in his infant carrier. He was big enough for a stroller, so that wasn't an issue. The only downside was that I couldn't hook him in his infant carrier in a cart anymore. I bought one of those cart covers and he just sat regular, but it sure would have been easier for me to have him strapped into a 5 point harness while shopping. Anyway, I totally agree that by the time your baby hits 22 pounds (probably no sooner than 6 months old), you will not even consider carrying him in an infant carrier.

Hi M.,

You've received some good advice so far, and I'll add just a little bit...

I also like the Chicco infant seat. Very easy to install, adjust and remove cover for washing. Stroller is great. Unfortunately, it does NOT snap onto shopping carts.

If you are considering the higher weight limit infant seat, check the dimensions in your car. We have smallish cars, and putting the larger seat in would have been a very tight squeeze.

And, as others have said, most of the forward facing seats for toddlers/preschoolers do covert to rear facing. By the time little one is big enough to outgrow the carrier, baby will be big enough to sit up in the stroller or shopping cart without needing the carrier. The only times I wished I still had the carrier are when mine fell asleep in the car and taking her out to move her into the house woke her.

Congratulations and enjoy your little one! Oh--don't wait too much longer to get the seat. Babies don't always wait until their due dates to arrive, and that's the ONE THING you're required by law to have to take them home from the hospital!

Get the bigger one! My daughter was too tall for the smaller size one at 4 months old and we could not justify the expences of buying another infant seat, so we went straight to the convertible one you leave in the car. While you may not want to use the carrier function regularly when your child out grows the regular infant seat, it is really nice to be able to use the carrier in the shopping cart at the grocery and things like that. My daughter was to tall for her carrier, but developmentally not ready for sitting in the child's seat on a cart, so I had to carry her around at stores or wear her in my front pack. If I had had the bigger infant seat, I would have left it in the car at home and just carried her in the house, but I would have used the carrier function in stores. Remember, you can always leave the carrier clicked into your car, but you can't convert a toddler seat into a carrier :)

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

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I did not carry the car seat around very often. My husband would if he had the baby by himself, but I always felt more comfortable with the baby in tbe Bjorn. He is 6 months and 20 pounds now and at about 3-4 months it became REALLY HEAVY to carry him around all the time. He is much happier in his convertible car seat now. He can see better and sits up higher. We did not get much use out of the infant car seat except when he was in the car. If I had to do it over again, I would have just spent the money on the convertible in the first place and skipped the infant seat/carrier

I agree...you won't want to carry a 20+ pound baby in an infant carrier (and the chances are the baby will be sitting so he/she won't need to be in the infant carrier once he/she reaches the weight limit). We have the Britax Companion (I like it, I don't LOVE it) and just switched our baby (who is about 17 lbs and almost 8 months, born at 9.2) to the Marathon, rear facing...you won't have to buy another rear facing only carseat - you can (and probably should) buy a convertible - starts rear facing and then you can turn it at 1 year/20 pounds to forward facing.

I agree... no need for the one that goes over 22 lbs. the baby will be too heavy to carry in it anyway!

I would suggest a different perspective. My daughter was only 6 lbs at births and still i never actually carried her anywhere in her bucket seat. It was however very convenient to use the seat on the stroller or shopping cart, when she had fallen asleep in it.
We had a Graco Safeseat for infants up to 35 lbs and she stayed in it for about 14 months. They are heavier than the seats that go to 22 lbs, but since I was only lifting her from the car to the stroller, that was no problem at all, now, she also was always on the lighter side, but I don't think her actual weight made a difference.

The most important thing you will need to figure out is that the larger bucket easily fits your car. If was a tight fit for us and the passenger seat had to be scooted all the way forward (it did not fit in the middle at all). You can go to a store that sells them and ask to test-install them. Thats what we did when we sized up.

I would go with the smaller one! My baby is 5 months old and 16 pounds. I can barely lug that seat around as it is and I am a strong woman! I can't wait to get him in his new car seat. I, fortunately was able to reuse the infant seat from my first child, so if you are planning on having more kids, it is not a total waste of money and it is nice to be able to let them sleep when you take them in and out of the car. I am going to wait one more month at the most to move my baby into his new rear facing car seat (Britax Marathon). I want him to be able to sit up better in shopping carts and such. Good luck on your delivery!!!

I agree that once your baby hits 20lbs or so that you won't want to be carrying around an infant bucket seat. The main benefit to the infant seat (especially in winter) is that you can get them all strapped in and warm inside, then just run out and pop them in the car. Also to bring them in when sleeping. By the time they outgrow the smaller seats they probably won't be sleeping in the car as much or they will be like my daughter who woke up as soon as the car turned off. In short, they all have to pass safety standards so I wouldn't spend a ton of money on one. Just make sure to keep your baby rear facing for a while even after they move to a convertable seat, pretty much as long as you can. It is SO much safer!

I had a Graco one that was also an infant carrier and I didn't use it for that purpose after my daughter was about 8 months old or so. She got too heavy for me to carry and she was 6 lbs 4 oz at birth and about 19 lbs at one year. Around her first birthday we got an Alpha Omega Elite, which can be used rear facing (starting at 5 lbs), forward facing and as a belt positioning booster. We've used it for going on 3 years now and once she makes the weight or height requirement, we'll start using it as a booster. I think the infant carrier has it's advantages, but it you're looking to save some money, I'd look for one like the Alpha Omega and have a good stroller and sling for outings.

i agree with your sister. Once your baby is 20lbs, carrying that infant carseat will become a DREAD! Also, by the time your baby reaches 20lbs, they will probably start getting uncomfortable in the infant carseat (not wanting to be so reclined, rear facing, and just overall cushion comfort). By the time my child reached 18lbs he would scream being put in his infant carrier (he was 12 months at that time). We bought a front facing carseat (Britax..its awesome!) and he LOVES it and never cries when being put in the carseat. I personally love our new carseat and was relieved to finally make the switch.

Is this going to be your only child? If not you are going to buy two car seats anyway. I would by one for a newborn, because they cuddle a newborn better, and latter as he or she grows one for latter.

I have tree boys and with two of them i used the carseat that has the carry handle. Not worth the fuss to get the in and out of the car or shopping carts. i have a now 5 month old that was in one and i traded to a different one about two months ago. its a rearfacing that can face foward when the time is right. the handles are easy to carry but i like the normal ones without handles. when i go out with my three boys i just put the baby in one of those baby chest carriers that you where like a backpack on ur frontside. or try the baby sash that buckles them in. both are wonderful and not a big mess to put on. hope this helps.

don't worry about how many pounds. the next car seat you will get can be forward facing or rear facing. After 15-18lbs you wont want to carry your baby and the car seat, they get heavy!