Advice on Car Seats... Baby #2 on the Way...

My sister-in-law thought the carrier kind of car seats were stupid. She bought the Britax Roundabout, which is a convertible car seat. She drove my niece around in it, it's perfectly safe. You may need to buy something that holds the baby in place so it's not a tiny baby in a huge car seat. I'm not sure what you would call it or where she got hers from. She did end up buying a carrier when my niece was a couple weeks old because she would fall asleep in the car seat and my sil would have to take her out, that would wake her, etc. She also found eating out very difficult without the carrier. I think the carrier is great for convenience. You could buy one used, if you're comfortable with that.

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I love my Sunshine Kids Radian 80 - it goes from 5 to 80 pounds and we used it right away with our infant and now in forward facing it works for my 3.5 year old as well. We bought two thinking that we would really never have to buy another seat. 80 lbs is a pretty big kid. It also is very narrow, so I can put two of them next to each other and have a FULL seat next to them for an adult. They are also easy to get into since the sides are low. They come with padding that makes them cozy for a tiny baby and roomy as they grow. The only potential issue is that in rear facing position, they are pretty big, we had to put the seat in the middle - there was no way it would have fit behind the driver or passenger seat. The seats are expensive, but over the cost of their life become pennies a day or even less. I feel like I have gotten my money out of them after the initial sticker shock.

I just got the convertable with my #2. Downside is that if they fall asleep, it's hard to get them out without waking htem up. But the carrier was too hard on my wrists, so I couldn't use it. But unless you can borrow one for short term from someone you trust, I'd just go with the big one. Good luck!

I believe that the one that just stays in the car is alright. However, have you thought of the convience you would loose without having the carrier? We just had our second child in August and I purchased the Graco carrier that is slightly bigger the original one. It holds more weight and is made for longer babies. Our daughter was 9 lbs 4 oz and 21 inches long at birth. Her 2 month appointment she was 24 1/4 inches and 14 lbs. She still has plenty of room in this carrier. Just a thought for you!

If buying is your concern, don't consume -- trade! 'm sure a mamasource mom would have one. In fact, you can have my Graco carseat and base if you want -- just give it back when you're done (we're adopting next year and just might get an infant). Or get one on Craigslist. Or trade with a mom you know in your neighbourhood.

Congratulations on your new baby girl! I just had a baby boy 3 months ago and we got the Evenflo Triumph Advance™ Deluxe Convertible Car Seat and we love it. We have it facing the rear and it comes with lots of cushions/attachments which help the baby stay in place and when he was a newborn, it worked great, it kept hi head in place and it grows with your child. I absolutely recommend it. Good luck!

hi
For safety reasons you have to use an infant
Seat that faces backward. Graco sells one with
A stroller that I loved and was a good price...we bought ours
For $199 at babyrus...they also sell graco as well as other brands
Of this type at big baby store in Santa rosa on Santa rosa ave
Between hearn ave and Todd road. I can't remember the name of
It...sorry.
Sonoma is very nice...have a good day.
Bye K.

I have found that I need my infant carrier seat. When we are out and about it allows me to tend to my 2y8m daughter without having to worry about what to do with my 3m old. You need to think about what types of errands you are doing and how you will do them with a toddler in the grocery cart and an infant(presumably in a front pack if you didn't have an infant seat). I have tried it.....not fun. In addition, when the baby is asleep from a car ride, I can just bring her in and snap her into our Graco carseat swing and she will continue her napping. If I didn't have her in an infant seat, a lot of her naps would be interrupted and I wouldn't get anything done! I think that you will find a second infant seat is your "second set of hands". Don't look at it as only using it for a few months...you will use it for the better part of a year. Trust me, going from one child to two isn't as easy you might think. By the way, never use or buy a second hand carseat. It is unsafe since you don't know if it has been in an accident or there are any recalls on it. CHP will tell you the same thing.

I'm going to vote for the convenience of an infant carrier too. It depends on your lifestyle, but with an older kid, you may find yourself less able to accommodate the baby's schedule and be shuttling the older one around or grocery shopping or whatever, and it is very nice to be able to take a sleeping baby out of the car without waking her.

I agree that you can't count on a convertible fitting a newborn. They *say* 5 lbs, but my daughter was 5 lbs 13 oz and she barely fit in her SnugRide. I think it's worth buying an infant seat (the SafeSeat is great). I don't think my daughter could have fit in her Marathon until she was 8 months or so looking at where the lowest shoulder strap slots are. She is 14 months and is going to be in her Marathon hopefully for many years!

Check with the hospital. I don't think you can use a car seat for an older child (stand up kind) with a newborn. Maybe you If you can use the kind of car seat you are referring to the law is still the same as it was three years ago, a newborn needs to be rear facing until they are 1 or i believe 20 llbs (check on the weight requirement). Your local firehouse will go over the rules with you and help you install your car seat. congratulations!

Yes, it is fine to buy just the one seat since it is recomended to keep a child rear facing as long as possible. Make sure that the seat is highly rated and fits in your car.

Graco Safeseat Step 1 is a carrier type and goes from 5 to 30 pounds (most infant carrier type go to 20 or 22#). My 17 mo. old son still fits in it but is in a new forward facing seat now. It's a little larger but convient and still a carrier for moving in and out of the car, etc.

I think it'll be really tough without the carrier. my 2 are a year apart so I know about this situation. We also had the permanent convertible carseat but it just didn't cradle the newborn like the carrier did, plus you have to take the baby out every time. With the carrier, you can leave the baby in the carrier without having to expose them to the cold, waking them up, etc. trust me it'll be much more difficult without it. You can also get it as a combo carrier/stroller, you can have a single or double stroller. Both can hold the carrier, makes it really convienent. good luck, hope it helps

I got a good carseat for about $75 each on the internet. It works for 6 lbs. to 80 lbs. I think it might have been BabyAge.com. I bought four so my husband & I each had two. This was much more economical than buying infant, combi & then toddler seats. My four year old is still in this seat. It is a 5 point harness- which is considered safer than a 3 point.

This link has a lot of good practical advice on selecting car seats: http://boards.babycenter.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&n...
convertible (rearfacing to about 30-35 lbs, forward facing to 40-65 lbs depending on make/model) seats are suitable for use with infants, but bear in mind that some of them might not be a good fit for newborns if the lowest harness height setting is still too small. What some folks will do is buy an infant car seat and leave it in the box with the receipt - that way if your baby arrives a little early or is on the small side, you have the infant seat, and if baby's big enough to fit the convertible right off the bat you can just return the infant seat. I do agree with some of the other folks who commented that when you have another little one to get bucked into a car seat, the convenience of the carrier can be very worthwhile.
What seat does your 3YO use right now? If your 3YO is currently using a convertible, you could move the baby to your 3YO's seat and move your 3YO to a combination (harness/booster) seat like the Graco Nautilus, which is a forward-facing only seat that has a 5-pt harness for up to 65 lbs or somewhere around 18-19" torso height, then converts to an excellent belt-positioning booster (most other combo seats except the Britax Frontier and Safety 1st Apex max out at 40 lbs for the harness and don't have as tall a top harness height setting, and they're only so-so as boosters).

Sounds like you are talking about a "convertable" seat which can be installed rear facing and reclined until your baby is big enough (1 yr and 20lbs) to face forward.

These seats are totally safe, the issue would be one of convenience. Carriers are nice with new babies since you don't have to mess with them to run into the store or buckle and unbuckle when they are sleeping etc. Plus when you are at a non-baby-having friends house, the carrier gives you a nice safe spot for your infant (other than your arms)

The not wanting to buy two seats thing is totally reasonable, though, so I certainly understand. I saw a convertable seat recently where the frame actually grows so taht you don't have your tiny baby in a huge seat but I don't remember what it's called. Good luck with your search.

T.