Who's Tried to Skip the Infant Carrier Car Seat?

Hello, C.!
We have 2 children, 5 and 2, and now another on the way. The first car seat I received as a present from my co-workers was one that was convertible from rear to front-facing. It is not one that you can detach and take into stores or other places. We have now used it for both our children, and intend to use for the new one as well. It did mean however, that whatever our destination was, we (or other kindly-loving people) had to hold the babies full-time. Personally, not a bad thing, because babies love to be held. And, my oldest loves people, and they all seem to think he's the greatest, as well.
And, no, our hospital nor regular doctor visits gave us a hard time. All they asked was that they rode in a car seat to the office. They didn't ask what kind.
There are "buffers"/pillow-thingys you can buy that keep the baby from moving around. I can't remember the names of the things, but they can be found in most any baby department.
Best of luck to you on your 2nd pregnancy.

I used the infant carrier for the first 3 months of my daughter's life but she screamed in the car. We finally switched to an non-convertible (Graco) carseat and she finally stopped crying in the car. It was a little bit of a change in mindset...when we went shopping I had to have the Bjorn to carry her or a stroller ready or something else planned in advance (plus something for my 2 yr old.) But, it didn't take much to get used to it. I would see moms lugging around the infant carrier and I actually felt relief that I didn't have to lug that thing around any more. As far as the hospital...as long as you have the baby in an approved and properly installed carseat, I don't think they can stop you from leaving. My daughter looked so tiny though when I started putting her in that big car seat. Hope this helps.

As long as the seat is approved for an infant (usually they are marked as 5-40lbs) and can be installed rear facing then there is no problem. It is a preference for some to have a removable seat so that they don't have to carry the infant from the car to the house--especially if the baby is sleeping. As long as the guidelines for the seat say rear facing and include the baby's weight then you're fine.

Hi,

I did not use an infant carrier with either of my first 2 kids. I might with the 3rd just so it is easier to go shopping and because I'll be running around in the car multiple times a day.

That being said, I also lived in Los Angeles so it was above 50 if not 70 or 80 degrees everyday....So coats were not a problem. The hospitals were a little surprised, but they would just have a nurse walk me out (baby in my lap), while my husband pulled the car around and they could see the car seat.

It worked fine for me but I didn't go shopping much, and when I did I had my husband. I used the double stroller for going to Target, the dr, etc.

R.

I didn't skip the infant carrier seat.. and with my first two I got my girls out of it early and put in the convertible seat rear facing. However.. on my last kid, I used the infant carrier and kept using it even when I was not taking it out of its base anymore because I was told that they are safer for infants than the more permanent seats. Allegedly the carriers are purposely made to move and absorb the shock of an accident so that the baby absorbs less! if you think about how they move in an accident you can see that it can move toward the seat more than a convertible car seat will to take some of the shock from the baby. Call your doctor and ask them and then ck out consumer reports for their recommendations as well. I left my son in that seat until I turned him facing forward. (which they recommend you wait until they are 18 months now (not one year) - I turned him at 13 months anyway..
good luck deciding.

Something I can actually relate to! We did exactly what you are suggesting. My husband was against an infant carseat, he said it was silly to buy something you would only use for a few months. So we've always had the "convertibles." My daughter (eldest) was in it first, then turned around to face the front when she was old enough. When my son was born 22 months later we put her in a 5 point harness booster seat (one that was for her weight) and put my son in the convertible carseat. It is a good thing we actually did since my son was born at a whopping 10 lbs 1.9 oz.

The negatives... You can't just unplug the carseat and remove it like the infant carseats. I always put my kids in my bjorn and carried them close to me. When they got too big for that... My son outgrew it by the time he was 4-5 months, I put them in a stroller. So it is a bit more challenging as far as the ease of going places... but as far as I am concerned, it worked out well, and we had one less piece of baby equipment that we had to buy.

Hope this helps.

We have one son, 10 months old, and had the infant carrier car seat. He hated it! The conveniences of putting into a cart, the stroller, a restaurant, etc were not possible because he just cried in it. Once we moved him into the convertible seat (Christmas gift from my parents) he loved riding in the car. We have the Alpha Omega Elite in both our vehicles. They cost $170 are rear facing up to 35 lbs, forward with a harness up to 50 lbs and a booster to 100 lbs...we will never need another seat!

We've already decided that if we have another child, we will skip the infant seat and go straight to what we have now!

As for the hospital...they never even asked about our carseat.

I use Britax and used the Marathon from birth for my youngest daughter - love it! Many babies hate traveling in cars and many times it is attributed to the angle of the infant seats and as soon as they are placed more urright htey calm down (I know not all, but I hear it so much!). We used rolled receiving blankets on either side of head when she was an infant.
I am not an infant seat carrier anyway, babies need more time with you, not in a seat! So if you will not miss lugging hte seat, I would try it. Try getting a good baby carrier (check them out here: www.handsfreebaby.com) for things loke grocery shopping and around the house, especially with an older one to chase after.
Good luck,
K.

Congratulations and the new addition! I have 3 kids, the first two are 25months and 3 days apart, so we had 2 car seats as well. I tried the baby carrier and like another Mom said, it was usually left in the car. By the time that each child was 6 months old, they had outgrown the carrier, but couldn't be turned around yet. This is how my seat progression went: infant carrier unitl 6 months with #1, kept carrier, purchased convertible; #2 comes along and into the carrier he goes, at 6 months bought a booster with a 5 point harness for #1 and moved #2 up to brothers convertible. Gap between #2 and #3 meant we had to purchase another booster seat with 5 point harness. By the time #3 came along we just reapeated the cycle and moved children up as needed.
I had a backpack carrier, front carrier and a sling that all of them worked through. Sometimes I had one boy on my back and one on my front, if dh wasn't around, but you learn to adapt.
As far as the baby's head flopping around, use the shoulder attachements or the car seat inserts that help with that, they make cute little "neck cuddlies" that work the same as the adult version to keep heads upright.

I don't use infant seats. I see no point in it. I put my money into a better seat that can be used all the way up in stead of getting an infant seat and changing to a reg. seat which i would end up buying a cheaper one because I already forked out money in one seat less than a year earlier. I wouldn't carry my baby in one anyways. I like to hold them and don't mind carrying them around they don't wake easily. I am due in Aug. with my sec. I plan on getting the new true fit car seat for my new baby. This method works great. The hospital doesn't have a prob. they can't as long as you have a car seat and it's installed correctly. The incline isn't a prob. in most cars but i would make sure first with your car seat and your car i might even go to the fire department for a fitting. The babies head doesn't flop around because if you don't have a head support you can get them for cheap at any walmart or most other stores.

We had a Graco Snugride carrier for our infant until about 6 months when it just got too heavy. We then got a Britax Roundabout and we love it! The Graco carrier was nice as you can put in in grocery carts and a lot of restaurants have the slings that they rest on. We liked that because she would fall asleep in the car and stay asleep for a while. Although, the Britax is a great seat and if you have a good carrier (Ergo Carrier is great) or a stroller, I'm sure it would work well. Good Luck!

I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old who is still in the infant seat. I chose to use the infant seat out of convenience, and am glad she is still able to use it. It helps so much when they are so small when you have to go to Target or BRUS, and they are too small to sit up on their own in the cart. Are you interested in a used infant carrier and base? We have one if you like.

I didn't do this, but my son did hate the car seat so I wound up carrying him in a baby bjorn more than the carrier. As for safety, there was just recently a study by an independent agency that shows that many of the infant carriers will come dislodged from base in an accident, and so they aren't safe... I just caught this blurb on the news, and they didn't name brands (just one of those scare you but tell you nothing stories), but it is possible to look it up online. Government is supposedly looking into it.

I did it with my third- I like it. sometimes it is a pain if they are sleeping and you don't want to wake them, but other then that we just pack him around with us. We did this for the same reason you are thinking of, but also because our little ones grow so fast that by 3 months they end up being 15 lbs and it gets pretty heavy lugging them around in a carrier. We just keep a stroller in the car or a front pack carrier.

the hospital didn'tay a word...

the head flopping we resolved with the insert that you can buy- it just lays behind them and is a double roll that goes around their head it has two so as they grow you can take the smaller one out.

I think with the incline it was okay, but we incline it a little more by putting a towel rolled up under it.

Hi,

I have used both portable and mounted car seats rear facing (I had a 5mo old and a 15 mo old). The oldest was only 18lbs, so had to stay rear facing for awhile. Anyway, the drawback of the mounted car seat is that if your infant falls asleep, you can't just pick up the whole seat. I never liked the way it fit into the shopping carts, so that was not an issue. Not long after moving my daughter out of the carrier and into more solidly mounted seats (I was never happy with how the carriers mounted), I saw something on TV where NONE of the carriers tested well in side crashes. Some were "acceptable," but none were good. I would go with the convertable mounted seat and use all those handy straps and anchors if you have room in your car for it.

S.

I have the Britax Marathon and my daughter is 9 months and still in the rear facing posistion. She was 6lb at birth and personally think that she was too small to go in the marathon , it doesn't recline that much and even the lowest posistion on the straps would have been up around her head.We used a Britax companion infant carrier that was for 4-22lb and this worked well for us & she only came out of it 2 months ago. If you don't want to go to the expense of buying a brand new one try looking in a consignment store , the infant carrier we had cost $210 new and the consignment store sold it for $75 so you can pick up some good buys.

the problem with these seats is that many wont fit in the car rear facing without hitting the seat in front making it uncomfortable for that person to sit there. if you have a van or suv this may not be a prolem. but i would consider trying it out first. if you use your latch for the rear of the seat the incline in the seat should stay at the angle it is supposed to be at. another thought is that when you go shopping or when baby falls asleep you now have to take him out of the seat. then what to do with him? put him in a snuggli which may only be comfortable for 3 months or drag the stroller out and have to push that too. just some thoughs. they do have infant cariers that go to 35 pounds now so that might be an option to look into.

It certainly is possible to use the car seat you have as an infant seat. You can support the baby's head by using receiving blankets rolled next to his head for support. If the seat is installed properly, the incline shouldn't be a problem. I don't think the hospital will give you a hassle- it is an acceptable car seat. It's more of an inconvenience for you- especially if the baby wakes up everytime you move them. But if money is an object, I wouldn't spend the money on an infant seat that you'll probably only use for 6 months. See if you can borrow one from a friend???
Good luck!

The only issue you will run into is that the Marathon will probably not fit your newborn until he/she is closer to 4-5 months. They have to be at least even w/ the bottom slots to use it (rearfacing the slots have to be at or below their shoulders). I know it says rated 5+ pounds, but I don't know what type of kid they think is gonna be 5 lbs. with a 10 inch torso. I just sat my 11 week old in her sister's (2.5 y/o) Marathon tonight (we are also passing her seat to the baby and getting her a Frontier) and she is maybe 1/2 inch over the bottom slots, so if I wanted to, I could put her in it right now. She is top of the charts, though, and is all torso. My husband says that she has no legs :)~ Anyway, there are a few convertibles that could maybe fit a newborn. I think the Safety First True Fit and Cosco Scenera, but I have never seen a newborn that could fit the Marathon. The Scenera is $40 so a lot cheaper than an infant seat, so you could use that until he/she is big enough for the Marathon. It doesn't offer a lot of padding, but probably neither did your oldest son's infant seat (I know my 2.5 year old's doesn't).

Also, are you planning on wearing the baby? That is another thing to think of when you plan this. You won't have the convenience of running in and out w/ the baby or having a place to put the baby when you go to eat. Not there is anything wrong with this, I wear my baby a lot, but it's just something to consider.

C.:
We only have one child so we bought new seats at each stage. And to get $$ for the next one we would consign the old one. Probably the very best way to see if it will work is go to your local Fire House and have the firemen install the seat properly for your baby and see if it works. I'm serious. My Brother In Law is a firefighter and this is one of the things they are trained to do. No kidding. They'll tell you if it's safe or not. And all we ever did for a seat change was read Consumer Reports before carseat shopping and followed the height/weight regulation for the seat we would get. Blessings, S.

I have never done that, but here's my 2 cents...
I don't think that the bigger, non removable carseats are going to keep your newborn's head from flopping around to well....and the ease of keeping a newborn asleep and pretty well undisturbed while taking them from the car to anywhere in the infant carrier is a breeze.
You could save the car seat that you were thinking of using aside for when the 2nd one outgrows the infant carrier, and still buy a new one for your toddler. Just a thought.
Good Luck!

We used the alpha omega convertible for my son(he's 5 and we got him a Regent last year); no infant carrier. He was a little small so we used one of the proping inserts. And I used a sling most of the time. Of course he was an only at the time. Might be more difficult with two.

I personally didn't do it (but probably would if had to do over), but my sister-in-law did and it worked for her. I think it depends on your 'style'. Are you an on the go, always out and about, in and out of stores/errands? If so, that's tough for a baby constantly disrupting their cat naps. But if you are a closer to home kind of person and run only essential errands and go on a lot of walks, then I think it's a great idea. Babies love to be carried, so if you have a great carrier, then you can skip the car seat carrier. Good luck with the decision!

I have 4 children and we've never used the infant carrier seats. I think too many babies are left in them too long and I always want to be holding my little ones. I hate to hear that friends leave their infants in them to sleep once they are inside. We've used the big britax seats rear facing since birth and now have 4 of them in our van. Well worth the $$ upfront!

The hospitals have been perfectly fine with us just telling them, the seats were installed in the car. I am a freak about have te seats inspected once tey are installed. I only take them out 2 times a year to clean under them (no snacks in the car to minimize mess!) and I get them inspected each time. :)

I did skip the infant seat. My baby was 9 lbs at birth and most folks thought she was a toddler way before she was. I used the 3 n 1 Evenflo seat at the time. (10 years ago)

We drove a van back then and Mallory sat in the back up against the driver seat. It was no problem at all.

Good luck!!!!