Question on travel system for infants

A convertible car seat can be used with new borns till they hit the weight limit of 65/80lbs--pretty much the time when they're mold enough to not need a car seat. The convertible car seat will stay attached to the car, so one cannot take it out (unlike the infant 'bucket'/'carrier' type seats). Since the car seat is fixed to the car, it cannot be used in a stroller.

Infant travel systems include a stroller + car seat (the bucket/carrier kind) plus a car seat base, so the car seat is portable. However a downside with these travel systems is that in a year you will need to buy another car seat since the baby would have outgrown the car seat.

The Graco Myride goes from 5lbs to 65 lbs Graco My Ride 65 LX Convertible Car Seat - Walmart.com
The Graco brand typically makes reasonably priced products of decent quality (though I haven't used their convertible seats). This seat can be used as a rear facing seat and can be switched around to a front facing seat when you think your child is ready for the change (the new recommended age to begin forward facing is 2 years).

The Britax Marathon Amazon.com: Britax Marathon 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat, Onyx: Baby and Britax Boulevard Amazon.com: Britax Boulevard 70-G3 Convertible Car Seat Seat, Onyx: Baby are also infant convertible seats, much like the Graco Myride.

My sister has used the Britax Boulevard for her daughter from the beginning and has many good things to say about it. I have used Graco Nautilus and Britax Frontier seats (these are not convertibles though), and personally prefer the Britax over the Graco. I find the Britax seats bigger and the belts less likely to bend as compared with the Graco.

While the convertible seats cost more as compared with the travel systems, in the long run they can be more cost effective since you do not need to invest in another car seat. You will however need to buy a stroller if you think you will have a lot of walking to do with the baby. When my son was born 3.5 years ago, I had chosen a travel system (since thats what everyone seemed to be using then), but personally I found the stroller that came with the travel system to be rather unweildy and heavy. As a result, by the time my son was about 8 months old I bought a new stroller that was lighter and easier to manouver. If I had to do over, then I'd probably not buy a travel system but get a convertible car seat and a lighter weight reclining stroller.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your baby shopping (I know it can get really confusing with all the options out there!).

 

Yes, you would have to take the child to the car to place him/her in the car seat. I would say that is one of the downsides of opting for the convertible car seat, especially since after a car ride babies tend to fall asleep, and you would have to take the baby out of the car seat and risk waking them up.

However, I would not say that it is "tough" per se, since you have to strap the child in to the seat in the same manner as you would have to in the portable infant bucket seat (but yes, you do not have the convenience of doing it at home). Probably getting a convertible car seat for a December baby if you live in a cold state might be more difficult (my sister lived in FL when her baby was born, so weather was not really a problem). But something else to keep in mind is that it does get progressively more difficult to carry the baby around in their portable car seat once they're about 6-7 months old ('coz they get heavier!).

The infant portable car seat is certainly more convenient during the early newborn days, but I think in the long run one would get more mileage with a convertible seat...

 

Hi rose, did you decide on a car seat yet? Pls share. I am an expecting my baby in November & will join work in January. The plan as of now is - my hubby will drop baby in the daycare & I will pick him up. Based on responses in this thread, convertible car seats cannot be moved across cars. Does that mean my only option is to choose an infant car seat?

 

Hi tin3tin,

If you and your husband would alternate dropping off and picking up the baby, the best bet for you would be to buy an infant bucket / carrier seat right now and buy an extra base for that same seat. This way, you could fix one base in each car and easily transport the baby in whichever.

I have a graco dynamo lite carrier seat. My son is now 9 months old. He was too heavy for me to carry with the seat starting from around 5 to 6 months. So, I used to remove him from the seat and treat the seat like a convertible one. But my husband was able to carry him with the seat until very recently. Another plus for this kind of seat is that if yours is a winterbaby, for newborns, I think the carrier seat helps a lot transporting them in & out in the cold. This only applies if you live in a cold place.

Just my 2 cents!

 

Thanks Rose & Pamrang, I live in Dallas, tx so weather wouldn't be a problem. However, after seeing both your inputs I have decided to go for an infant car seat . That sounds more convenient.

Rose, Do you have any specific themes for your nursery? I am thinking of a beach theme 'cos we conceived him/her there on a vacation.