Infant Car Seat or Infant Carrier ??

N.,

My husband and I decided on the carseat/stroller combo. We went with one of the Eddie Bauer ones and absolutely loved it. Our only problem was Malakai was a big baby and out grew the infant carseat by 6 months. So we then had to buy a convertable carseat that would rearface and forward face which ended up costing us a pretty penny. I wouls still strongly recommend the stroller/carseat combo. It was wonderful the short time I got to use it :) Hope this helps a little bit.

I prefer the car seat/stroller combo. It is great to not have to manuever a wobbly baby into the car. I use the stroller a lot for shopping/ mall playing, etc. I have an Evenflo and have been very pleased.

If you do a lot of walking and think you would use your stroller often, then I would say go ahead and buy the carseat/stroller combo. Remember though, your child will be sitting up within a few months and won't need the car seat for the stroller then. The infant carseat is nice because if you are going back to work or think you'll be out a lot with the baby, you can take the car seat straight from the car inside with you, and not need a carrier. So it's just a matter of how active you'll be outside of your home. I bought the carseat and stroller, and was very happy with it. You'll just have to buy a bigger carseat in about a year.
(If you do decide to go the carseat/stroller route, don't waste your money on the base for the car seat. They're hard to work and aren't necessary).

I liked the car seat with the carrier. It enabled me to by one car seat and two extra bases (one for my husband's car, one for grandma/babysitter). The best part is being able to get the baby ready and put her in the seat in the house or indoors, rather than struggling with this in the driveway or parking lot. It is also easy to get her in and out of the car when she is asleep! I just bought a stroller from the same company (Graco)so that the carrier would be compatible and just snap on to the front of the stroller. I did have to eventually by convertible car seats. But I feel it was worth it.

I would recommend the infant car seat by far. Newborns do not fit well in the convertible car seats, nor do they recline enough for an infant with no muscle control. I actually used my infant car seat for the first year of my daughter's life and at that point I purchased a convertible car seat since she is still riding rear facing. I will end up purchasing a third car seat at some point too but it is totally worth it when you consider the bundle that is being protected properly.

D.

Do you have 2 cars between you and your husband? If yes then I would get one of each that way the convertible car seat can go in your husband's car and be used when needed and you can have the carrier. If not, then I would get the carrier and when your baby outgrows it, then get a forward facing seat that can go to a booster. I found the carrier VERY helpful in the first (at least) 6 months. YOu can get them in it in the house and then just snap them in or when you run erands or go out to eat, they can just sit in their carrier. Those things can go in grocery carts, etc. That way your not getting them in and out of it all the time which is a huge hassle!!

N.,

I had the same question when we had our son, who will be 2 next month. We got a Graco carseat/stroller combo, which I would definitely do again. You strap the base of the car seat in the car and leave it. The carrier just clicked into the base for the car seat, but it could also be used as just a carrier. We got the matching stroller, so the carrier clicked into that also - which made moving our son from place to place SO much easier. We got the carseat and the stroller at Babies 'R Us, although I'm sure they have "prettier" and more updated versions by now. Hope this was helpful, and congratulations!

M.