Infant Seat or Convertible?

In our car we have a Safety 1st Complete Air for my 12 month old. We are now trying to get pregnant with baby number two and of all the things I could be thinking about, I'm thinking about car seats! Mainly, if I want to go with a bucket or just go straight to the convertible. With my daughter we had the infant seat at first (Chicco Keyfit) which we no longer have.

Did you buy an infant seat first or just straight to the convertible?

If you went to the convertible, which do you find are good for newborns? (keeping in mind I am in Canada so not all that are available in the US are here)

We went infant seat. I liked not having to take them out of the seat or put them in car when it's below zero. I also like someplace to "set" the baby if im by myself. Babe loved carriers but it's not always practical for just an in/out or whatever. Longer errands were always in a carrier or held,

We went with an infant seat. Graco Sungride 35. I liked the fact that we could let the baby sleep and not have to worry about waking her up. I also liked the convenience factor of being able to take the baby into a restaurant and have a place to set them, or toss them in a shopping cart/stroller to run errands...

When my kids hit about a year old we move them into a convertible seat.

I really liked the infant seat. Specifically, having bases that the seat could click in and out of. Ours was a sleepy baby, so it was super convenient to click the seat out of the base and carry him in the seat.

Personally I hated the bucket seat, and if I ever have another I will go straight to convertible. I moved DD to her convertible when she was around 4 months. I could never get the bucket out without waking her up, and I preferred to wear her instead of carrying or using a stroller anyway.
I am no good at seat rec's so I'll let someone else handle that part.

atw said:

We went infant seat. I liked not having to take them out of the seat or put them in car when it's below zero. I also like someplace to "set" the baby if im by myself. Babe loved carriers but it's not always practical for just an in/out or whatever. Longer errands were always in a carrier or held,

Click to expand...

Basically exactly that. My baby was born at the end of January and although this one of the mildest winters ever, there were still a couple days that were really cold and even more that were windy. It was nice to cover her with blankets and her carseat cover then know she was protected from the elements. I might have felt differently if I was due in the summer. Already, at 4 months old it stays in the van 90% of the time.

Good point about winter! I didn't really have to deal with that as my daughter was born in May.

Infant seat here. It was just so easy as long as you keep track of it.
I read about that crazy story of the carseat on the roof of the car.

The infant seat got us through winters easily, and that was the biggest benefit. Also, the recline was very easy to get to 45. My convertible can be at 30 but it's a pain to get to 45, so I was glad the baby was old enough to go to just 30 degrees by the time we started the convertible.

First baby was bucket! Second and third, we bought another bucket but rarely used it, especially with our summer baby, just way too hot! Our third was born in Feb. and we used it for about 6 weeks until spring weather hit. Usually wore baby. Really love the CCO for a newbie! Plus our youngest had severe acid reflux and seemed to do better in convertible anyway!

I'm also in Canada, and used a convertible from birth with our first - a TrueFit Premier. (TrueFit Rebound? Can't remember the correct Canadian name) He was born at 8lbs 3oz and fit it fine with the infant insert, though I do find the straps just a hair wide set for a teeny one. He fit, but was never particularly narrow shouldered, either. Also - the removable headrest made it nice when he needed the more reclined angle.

For the next one I think I'll get an infant seat, especially for a winter baby. I babywear and don't really want to be dragging a bucket and a toddler in and out of places, but I'd like the ability to get the squishy newborn ready inside the house before I walk out into -30. If it wasn't a winter baby I might reconsider.

My grand scheme of things plan has me then passing the TFP down when my son goes forward facing (a while yet) and getting him a combination seat.

You might want to specifically ask for convertible suggestions that fit newborns in the Canadian forums, but off the top of my head I believe the TFP, the MyRide, possibly the new Britax's with the infant insert, and the Diono Radians are all generally recommended. I haven't been paying close enough attention lately to know what else is out and fits littles well.

Personally, I like the infant seat. When we have another baby we're going to upgrade our Keyfit to a KF30 and get the car seat adapter for our stroller.

DD was born in August but we got through her first winter with the bucket. Where we live, that winter was atrocious for snow and ice and cold weather, and it made daycare dropoff and pickup much easier. I babywear but felt it was safer to have her in the bucket to go between car/buildings in case I slipped and fell on ice (I seriously had nightmares about that). We don't have a garage and even with remote start my car doesn't warm up that much, so it was nice to get her into her seat in the warm house and then put blankets over to get her to the car.