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[ISISandOSIRIS]

I'm going to be a new mom in Feb. and am confused about what kind of car seat I should get. Is an infant car seat/carrier necessary or can I get away with a regular car seat that grows with the baby? I plan on babywearing, but is the carrier really helpful for things like grocery shopping? Are there safety concerns with using a larger grow-with-baby car seat for an infant (even if it says it's safe for 5lbs+)? Does anyone feel they could not live without the infant car seat the first few months or is it expendable?

[jbk21]

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Edited by jbk21 - 10/6/12 at 10:17pm

[ISISandOSIRIS]

Thank you jbk, that was very helpful and I will look into the Graco seat you mentioned. The infant seats do seem cumbersome to carry and the thought of spending money on something I'll only use for 3 months (and then feel obligated to store in case we have another) seemed a bit wasteful when there are so many other things I'll need.

[IronMam]

With DD we went with the convertible car seat...and shortly after she was born bought a bucket too. She was NOT the kind of baby you could get in and out of a seat/baby carrier without waking, plus she was born in December (it was -40 the day she was born). So being able to keep her bundled in the bucket with blankets over her was good for us. YMMV.

This time I'll go ahead and get the bucket. It's a spring baby, but still...I don't want to count on him or her sleeping through being unbuckled. Plus we bought a used swing (didn't hold on to any of our baby gear from DD), that you can pop a bucket on. So if babe falls asleep in the car I can bring her/him in and straight into the swing. If this babe sleeps as lightly as my first then that convenience seems worth it to me.

That said, different conveniences are less important to different people, and not all babies are the same. I say buy the convertible. If you end up wanting or needing the bucket too, well, buy it then. If you don't end up wanting one, you'll have saved yourself the hassle of buying that first.

[Mommel]

We skipped the baby bucket too and got a Britax Blvd 70 convertible. I bought a cheapo Cosco baby bucket later solely for travel (the kind that straps into a seat with a seatbelt), but he outgrew it after our first trip. I really didn't need it, but it was nice to have when I was travelling in NYC with cabs and buses and trains and whatnot... we gave it away once he grew out of it. However, my son was big to start with and was born at home, so he didn't go anywhere for awhile and he was much bigger then. I think we just got lucky. The convertibles have to be leaned way back for smaller infants and then reinstalled later for larger babies. We went to a car seat clinic and had it installed the first time, and then did the reinstall later.

[ISISandOSIRIS]

Thanks for your responses. Since my last post on the topic, I read in Consumer Reports that infants are safer in infant car seats, so now I'm leaning towards a bucket seat, knowing I'll be lucky to get 6-9 months out of it. I know CR isn't the end all, be all, but the last thing I want to do is compromise safety. I've heard new moms have one purchase they really stress over. For me, it's the car seat!

This will be a Feb baby, and we stay cold through most of March into April, so IronMam (nice name!), that is def something else to consider. Mommel, how old was your son when he grew out of the bucket?

[Mommel]

Originally Posted by ISISandOSIRIS 

Thanks for your responses. Since my last post on the topic, I read in Consumer Reports that infants are safer in infant car seats, so now I'm leaning towards a bucket seat, knowing I'll be lucky to get 6-9 months out of it. I know CR isn't the end all, be all, but the last thing I want to do is compromise safety. I've heard new moms have one purchase they really stress over. For me, it's the car seat!
This will be a Feb baby, and we stay cold through most of March into April, so IronMam (nice name!), that is def something else to consider. Mommel, how old was your son when he grew out of the bucket?

I'm so sorry I didn't reply sooner! The school term started and... blah, blah, blah excuses...

In answer to your question, my kiddo was 5 or 6 months old when he got too tall for the baby bucket.... BUT he's a very tall kid, and was literally off the charts for height in the first six months. Now, he's only at the top of the chart.