So here is my qustion ladies, My dad and stepmom are going to buy me my car seat. She wants me to buy one of the "stay in the car" seats that grow with your baby from infant to toddler. I don't have a problem with this because I have heard they are safer not to mention cost effective. My concern is whether it is a good idea with the infant just because it would mean taking a most likely sleeping baby in and out of a car seat and into whatever I will carry it in, probably a sling. So my question is what do you think...is having a carrier a better idea or do you think the baby would be ok being taken in and out of the car every time? for you sling wearing mommies how easy is it getting the baby in and out without waking him/her up. Is it possible doing it by yourself? are there any other better ideas of how to carry your baby outside of the carrier?

My car seat clips in and out of the car and for the first two months I loved it! My ds would fall asleep in the car and stay sleeping for awhile. I could carry the car seat wherever I went and he was content. But, he is so heavy now (17lbs!!!) that I leave the car seat in the car and transfer him to the stroller. If he is asleep, I can transfer him to the crib but a few weeks ago, he would wake up and not go back down. So...I suggest the portable car seat but I am a rookie mommy:)

I am with Jill. My dd used to go everywhere in the carseat. Especially those first few weeks when they sleep all the time. If she was in her carrier and she fell asleep in the car then I would just unclip it and take her into the house. It was great! She wouldn't even budge!!!

Also, my dd had an ear infection when she was three months old and the doctor said to let her sleep in her carseat at home because it propped her up and allowed the fluid to drain. Just another thought.

Sara

Exact words of Tara...even the recc'd brands!!

Definitely the carrier!! Both ds's were great carseat-sleepers; I could haul them in anyway & they'd stay sleeping. I'd recommend a travel system (or at least make sure your carseat snaps securely into your stroller. I've seen people stick any old carseat into any old stroller & it's tipped to one side cuz it doesn't fit. Not exactly safe, although I know it's not as critical as when you're in the car LOL!! I had the Graco Snugride and I loved it!!! Definitely get 5-point harness too.

I'm a carseat freak since good friends of our lost their 11-month-old in a car accident; he was out of the carseat and died from hitting his head against the dash (she was holding him in the front :( ) Not something I'd like to fool around with. I love my kids too much!!

I agree with the infant carrier too. It's SOOOOOOOO nice when you have to go in and out of places to just pop the carrier out of the car and onto a cart, or Daddy's arm! :lol: If it's raining the hood usually protects the baby from getting wet or sun in their eyes if it's sunny out. Our Dd was a big baby, ( we had to put the straps at the highest point the day she was born!) and she was too long for the carrier at 4 months, so we bought one of those car seats that go up to 80#+ and she has done well in it. We tried getting her a convertible car seat, but her shoulders were a bit too wide for it, so she didn't fit it well, but like Tara and the others said, you really need to see what fits your baby.
I like the fact that with an infant carrier you can pretty much haul your baby anywhere and they will be fine and undisturbed until they wake up. We always had Dd with us during the church service, and she slept through most of it until she was hungry because we didn't bother her getting her out. It's also a good tool to have if you are a parent who doesn't really want people to hold your baby much. Most people won't ask to hold a baby that's in an infant carrier, but if you have your baby in a sling or your arms it's much more tempting. :wink:

I'm excited for you that you are looking into carseats....it's so much fun! We found out we were having a girl the first time around, so I shopped until I found the perfect PINK infant carrier! SO MUCH FUN!!

blessings,
Amber

I also agree with getting an infant carrier - it is so much easier getting the baby in and out of the car without disturbing him/her for running errands, going on many infant doctors visits and the like. I had the Graco Snugride for Alex and will use it for this baby, too.
While I am ok with convertable seats that go from a full-body toddler seat to just booster seat for an older child, I wouldn't trust the kind of seat that claims to be an infant to school-aged because infants need so much more support.

I like the infant carrier too. But I am a bit on the small side, so I found it really hard and uncomfortable to actually carry a baby around in the seat itself so I clipped it into my stroller and that worked great. I tried to carry baby around in the seat and it was really heavy and constantly banged into my legs lol.

I think the graco infant carrier car seats click in and are compatible with fisher price strollers....also, you could buy a stroller complete with infant car seat and based all included - it cost me about $300 CAD when I bought mine for my 1st 8+ years ago.

I had the travel system for both kids. I had a carrier that would clip right into the stroller. EXCELLENT!! Great for the first baby to have a travel system.

TIP.... try out all the gadgets with the carseat & do your research. Be sure it is a 5 point harness. Also I was goofy with the handle ... a one hand release for the handle is excellent. Some seats have the double side release for the handle..!

Then once my kids were about 11 months or about 20-22 lbs. I went and bought them their big seats. I am a GIANT fan of Britax. Each of my kids have a Britax Marathon seat.

Definately an infant carrier. Get a travel system and be sure the carseat has the base that stays in the car. You just latch your carrier into it and off you go! Trying to get a little one in and out of a carseat all the time will be exhausting and they will get crabby from all the moving around. I have 3 and I love the infant carriers until they get too heavy to carry. By that time they are usually big enough to sit up with no problems in a big carseat.

We got a peg perego primo viaggio infant carrier seat- and now that ds is between 15 - 20 lbs it's HEAVY. It's a sturdy seat but very highly rated for safety. (the britax infant carrier- runabout I think- is the highest rated in safety and unfortunately not available in Canada )If you get an infant carrier- I highly suggest getting one where you can adjust the straps easily without re-threading. Ours has a thing at the back that slides- it's great. Think also about the size of your vehicle- ours is a honda civic so the slimmer italian design was a factor for us- at least you can squeeze skinny people in the back if necessary.

I too, thought about a convertible (which we will get once ds grows out of this one) but I can't imagine hauling a newborn in and out like I had too in those early days of dr appt etc.

Graco carrier!!!

Definately an infant carrier. Get a travel system and be sure the carseat has the base that stays in the car. You just latch your carrier into it and off you go! Trying to get a little one in and out of a carseat all the time will be exhausting and they will get crabby from all the moving around. I have 3 and I love the infant carriers until they get too heavy to carry. By that time they are usually big enough to sit up with no problems in a big carseat.

Totally agree! We got a Graco carrier from like, Toys R Us or something ('cause they didn't have it in the baby one) and it was only $150ish...great price...and they are SOOO easy! Just snaps in and out...SO simple!!

You've gotten great responses so far. I just wanted to add that you may want to take the expected size of your baby into consideration. If you have a large baby, the infant carriers won't be an option for as long as they would for a smaller baby. I strongly considered getting the Graco Snugride for ds and then opted to get the Eddie Bauer carrier because at the time the EB had the largest height/weight ranges. DS was born 22.5 inches and weighing 8 lbs 1 oz, and still outgrew the EB at 6 months (he was off the chart for his height). If I had gotten the Graco, he would have outgrown it at 3 months. IMO, it's not worth the money for just a couple of months. If it will last a minimum of 6 months, it is probably worth it--definitely if you can get a year's worth of use from it. Of course, there's no way to really predict the size of your baby, but if small babies run in your family then I would definitely recommend an infant carrier--and a small lightweight one like Graco rather than the monstrous one that I was lugging around.

ONE MORE THING...Depending on the weather when you child is born I would suggest getting a car seat cover. If it is windy, cold, raining, etc...these covers slip over the carseat and prevent any of the elements from getting to the baby. I loved mine the first time I was out in the rain and I made it from the store to the car without my dd getting wet.

I have a Snugli cover so I don't have to put a coat on the baby. It zips all the way around the car seat and it is the same as a blanket. It has worked really well for us!

I agree with the Snugli thing too... especially living in a colder climate. Also, some more comments on the "big baby" thing... both ds's were HUGE! Blake was 21 lbs at 5 months, and Yes, it was heavy to carry him in the car seat by then, but to me it was totally worth it even for 4-5 months! You snap them into the car base or into the stroller & their naps last way longer... Just my 2 bits... I had the graco jogging stroller/snugride combo, and it was about $300 US 4 years ago. I can't quite remember now, but I think we bought it off www.babyuniverse.com.

I'm along with everything that all the other ladies have said, for the most part.
My husband and I were big fans of baby wearing, and we decided from the get go that we didn't want to carry our son around in his car seat, so we put him in a sling (or a Baby Bjorn). We didn't even buy a stroller until he was about 4 months old, and it was one of those stroller frames that the car seat clipped on to (Strolee brand- $28 at Walmart!). He is almost 10 months old and we just bought him a Britax Roundabout. I didn't think about the fact that he would grow out of his infant car seat long before he was 22 lbs and a year old- but my poor little guy, he was crammed into that seat! He isn't even 18 lbs! We also just bought a sweet new stroller (Kolcraft Contours Option 3 Wheeler- I HIGHLY recommend it!) Sorry to ramble- yes get an infant car seat, but be prepared to move to a convertible seat much sooner than you may expect.

I don't know how I would have made it without my infant carrier seat! My suggestion would be to get the infant carrier to begin with!

With my first born we had a regular convertable car seat to save some money. I never had anything like a sling either. With this next one (I'm due in 3 weeks) we have an infant carrier seat, a sling, a Snugglie, and some other things we didn't have with my son, so I'm pretty excited about using all the stuff I never got to use before. Not sure how the infant car seat will do, but I think it will be nice to not have to take him out of the seat when we go somewhere if he's sleeping or if we're shopping. I think it just depends on your preferences.