Question Infant carrier or convertible seat from birth?

Hi y'all!

Just wondering: which do you prefer from birth or infants: infant carrier or convertible seat?

And why?

Just wanted to see everyone's opinions..

Thanks!!

If it was between May and September (maybe even October) then I would probably use a convertible. Where I live November - March or April is just way too cold to be trying to get a baby out to the car. With my #2 I used a convertible starting when she was 2 months, and through the summer, then went back to the infant seat in winter.

I prefer a convertible. I babywear anyway, and we have a garage and mild winters. DH prefers a carrier, but that's the "acceptible" way to carry a baby here, and slings and such are just one of my weird things.

I had 2 winter babies and was very glad I had an infant seat. Even if I wore the baby most of the time when I was out, it was nice to bring the seat in the house and get them buckled & covered with blankets where it was warm.

I always liked the carriers.. it just seemed so much easier to get them all done in the house and ready for the road.. Especially when I had my second son.. It was much easier..

For me it depends on when the baby is born. If s/he is born during the cold winter months or even late summer and will still be tiny when it starts to get cold I like to have a bucket so I can strap the baby in to a warm seat, cover the seat with a blanket, and carry it out to the car.
But for my spring baby I used a convertible from the beginning, she went from car seat to sling when we were at the store. I loved not fighting through crowds with the stroller and it was so easy to put the baby in the car seat and go, no fussing with folding strollers and putting them in the trunk.

Good question.

I like both .


For DD1, I used a convertible from birth b/c I knew my baby was going to be large--over 8# and I was having a scheduled C-Section. When going shopping, I would put her in the snugli.

For DD2, I knew she would be my last child and I wanted to see what it was like to use an infant seat. She was a little lighter baby than DD1 and born in the dead of winter--so it was convenient to keep her bundled in the infant seat.

I personally don't like infant seats and prefer to use a convertible from birth, regardless of the weather. My youngest was in a convertible from birth. I had an infant seat that had been in a wreck that I used only as a "seat" for her when we went to restaurants; otherwise I preferred to carry her in a sling or push her in a stroller, and lay her on a blanket anywhere else. I only used the carrier for those times when I couldn't keep her in the sling or put her on the floor.

When you've got other kids still in the toddler/preschool stage, though, sometimes it's just necessary to have a way to contain the baby, and infant seats are convenient for that. I just didn't like installing them, don't like the way they work, and I didn't like how easy it was to get lulled by the convenience and leave my baby sitting in the infant seat for more than just the car ride, yk?

We're done having babies, but if someone left a baby on my doorstep, I'd get a Radian. If they left twins or more, though, I think I'd be a much bigger fan of infant seats.

Both of my kids were in infant seats. One was a Summer baby and the other was a Winter baby. I think both convertible and infant seats have their benefits. If we were to have another baby I would probably opt for a convertible seat though. My nephew I had quite a bit as a newborn and very much preferred the convertible over the infant seat. The main reason for that is because the infant seats about kill my back

Ask me in a few months. My inclination is to use an infant seat, especially with a February baby, but due to circumstances we will most likely be forced to use a convertible temporarily.

I love my infant carriers and they are a must for me for the first 6-7 mos. Especially for stores and restaurants.

Infant seat. I have no garage and it's warm outside right now with it being -10C. I'm dreading the day she is too big for the Keyfit. It's winter for at least 6 months of the year here. Maybe if we were in a warmer climate I'd skip the bucket, but for my situation, it's perfect.

Infant seat. Definitely.

For the first ~3 months, I really prefer the infant seat for the ease of supporting a floppy baby while placing her in her seat.

Until the child can sit up well, it is really nice to have a portable baby spot in stores and resturants.

It was really nice to have the baby already buckled when I loaded into my vehicle and then needed to buckle the other two.

Our winters are generally mild and we have a garage, but when it is cold, the infant seat keeps the baby nice and warm and protects her from the wind.

We used an infant seat with DD (Feb baby) and while it was nice to be able to get her buckled into it before leaving the house I think I would have been fine with a convertible as well. Our vehicles heat up quite quickly. I always ended up taking her out of it when we went places anyway. I think I only used it with the stroller a handful of times so I just didn't need the convenience of being able to take her out while still in the seat. With #2 we are just starting with a convertible. Since s/he will be a summer baby we won't have to worry about colder weather until they are a little older and then I'll just do a car seat poncho or something.

depends on the mom, baby, and time of year.

For Damian... meh... I could have been happy without one, but he was too tiny to skip one if I'd even known that was possible. Still, I left his seat in the car all the time... he was early and he preferred to be close to me or in the stroller with toys, anyway.

For Jeffrey... how many times I wished the infant seat went past 22lbs, you have no idea... how many times I wished that his convertible carseat went past 30lbs... he outgrew the infant seat at 4mo old... with two babies (Damian was 18mo when he was born) and having to cross a busy road to get to the car, then dealing with his asthma, where he'd sometimes fall asleep in the car on the way to the ER, only to be woken up (because the attack would make him a very light sleeper) to go in was horrid.

Ruthie... she hated the infant bucket and I only took it out of the car 2-3x anyway... I babywore her so much and really only tried to use the infant seat because I still had it from my boys and it wasn't due to expire till the december after she was born.

If I had another baby, I'd start with a convertible, even in winter (I'd start with the coccoro... there's that kind of buffer zone for winter babies, since it's so light and portable if it were super cold), but if I had two little ones close together, I might want an infant seat for the second one... even though at this point in my life, I know so much about babywearing that I could just wear baby and probably do fine, I know that there are still times when it might come in handy.

If I had another child with asthma... (Jeffrey's didn't start till 9mo, so I still mean this for him) I'd run out and get the longest-lasting (tallest, weight limit as high as can be) infant seat as I can... just for all those ER runs... Once he was older, I could just take a stroller, but when he was little like that, he only wanted two things... to be in his carseat asleep, or in my arms...


For those in super cold climates, people with multiples, people with kids close in age who find it helps them... I totally see the reason for an infant seat.

For most everyone else... meh... go ahead and start with a convertible.

We started out with a bucket but late summer/early fall we went to convertiable. When it got really cold again we went back to the bucket. Yeah he's heavy lugging his chuny butt around in that thing, but he hates his coat(fleece hoodie) so I get to bypass that in the bucket. I just put a hat on him, blanket on after buckled, and the shower cap cover.

My only reason for considering a baby bucket is because it ensures that I will be seat shopping again in about a year! lol And I loooove seats! hehehe

I would like to start with a convertible though because baby wearing is so important to me. From past experience I think carrying a little chair for the restaurant is just as easy as carrying in that baby bucket... I also live in a mild climate area and park in the garage.

We've used the infant seat with both our girls. If I had a spring baby, I would have used a convertable from birth. It's too cold here to not bundle baby before going out.

Also, we travel, a lot. So it was important to me to have a seat that was small and easy to use. We bring the keyfit with us when we travel because it's easy to install without the base.

A lot of folks come in to BRU wanting to save money and skip the infant seat, and I don't blame them, I did with my first (with an attached garage in a mild climate with a sling and a stroller...), but I say, hey, go put this ginormous convertible in your car in a full infant recline and see if it fits so that you aren't eating the dashboard. No? Well, here are your options in seats that allow the handle up (Graco, Chicco, Safety 1st, Combi are all on the shelf at BRU).
Though the My Ride seems to fit better, and I haven't had people try the new Britaxes yet, so those might work. Of course the Tribute/Onside Air/Titan would work, but people don't want a seat that only works 3ish years. Naturally any good tech can make almost any seat fit RF for a toddler in almost any car, but new parents just don't have that recline-tweaking skill and will end up wanting the infant seat.

Me? Oh yeah, just the convertible with #1, an infant seat for #2, or a convertible, depending on my mood and if I needed 3 across, and 6 infant seats for #3...yeah, I went a little crazy