Infant Car Seat Vs. Convertible Car Seat

I see you have a million responses, but here is my two cents:

I had my son (a big baby) in his infant seat until he was one. His seat held up to 22 lbs. A lot of the infants seats do not go that high. We bought Combi because their infants seats are not heavy so it was easy for me to get in and out of the car. When he got towards the one year mark and a little heavy to carry on my arm, I would drop the seat into his stroller. Again the stroller is also light weight and easy to maneuver. It only weighs about 8 lbs and thus easy to use.

We moved my son into a convertible seat at the year mark (his pediatrician was adamant that we didn't do it before then) and he looked so small in it! I am glad I kept him in his infant seat until he was 1yr old because it worked for us.

Good luck!

Hi J.-

My daughter is going to be 11 months old in 10 days and she still fits in her infant seat. She is wearing size 12 months but fits very well in her seat no problems. I think a convertable seat would be ok "personally" only if you had someone to ride in the back seat with the baby untill she or he were able to hold their head up on their own very well. Again that is just my personal opinion. I honestly have only seen one and it sat so upright, luckilly for the baby in the back her aunt was riding in the back seat with her. Good luck. I hope this helped.

I am a first time mom to a almost 4 month old. We have the infant carrier for her. It is a pain to carry in and out of places, so I use my sling 99% of the time. I personally, do not like carrying the infant carrier at all! However, we use a convertible car seat for her at my parents house (they are out of state). She used it for the first time at Christmas. It seemed really nice for her, however, I would not have felt comfortable having a newborn in it. It has the baby at a more seated postion. I was ok with it, because my daughter can hold her head up just fine and sits with assistance, so it wasn't a big deal.

With that being said, I do like the infant carrier. It comes in handy when we go out to dinner and the sling is not a good fit. (This has been like 3 times ha ha). I would suggest going with an infant carrier just for the comfort and safety of the baby while in the car.

I love my Britax seats (they are not convertable). One goes up to a high weight (over 40 ...maybe 60?)
I did use a hand me down convertable when my daughter was young and under 15 lbs. After that, it get hard to carry.

The infant seat has been a lifesaver for me because that is the only place my son will nap -- either there or on my lap after nursing! So if he falls asleep in the car when I am running errands I can just plop the seat into my stroller (I have the Chicco cortina stroller and matching carseat -- love it!). Yes the seat alone is a pain to carry but I didn't make a habit of it, I'd either put it in the stroller or take him out of the seat and wear him (I have the Ergo carrier which is a good one). He has always been a big boy, was 8lbs 13oz when born, but the Chicco car seat holds up to 30 lbs or 30 inches, and at 9 months he has not surpassed that yet. If anything he'll just get too tall for it. I would recommend getting one of the carseats that goes up to 30 lbs instead of the 22lb one because your baby may outgrow that one faster. Anyways, def. go for the infant car seat -- I am dreading the day my son outgrows his and I have to get him to nap some other way!

I loved my infant seat. It is so easy to take the baby in and out of the car and put them in the stroller with it, especially if they are sleeping. I never really carried my around it usually went from the car to the stroller or the car to the shopping cart. As far as your baby growing out of its seat, get one that goes to 30 pounds. I had a graco safe seat and my daughter who was in the 95th percentile for height was able to stay in it until one.

Hi J.,

In my opinion having an infant seat is the best! I guess it all depends on your lifestyle and what seat works best for your needs. Having an infant seat is great because it easily latches in the shopping cart for grocery shopping, and fits into strollers ( graco travel systems are the best in my opinion). Any time you are having to carry the seat, it usually isn't for a long period of time. The most I carry the seat is when I take it out of the car and latch it into the stroller, or the shopping cart. Having an infant seat is also very good in the first few months because your baby will sleep sooo much! So if you want to go to a friends house or anything you can leave the baby in his/her seat to sleep while you visit with your friends and they ooh and ahh over the new baby =) Also it is great when coming home from the store and the baby is asleep. You can just bring the baby in and unload all the groceries without waking the baby up. Without the infant seat you would have to wake the baby up each time you took him/her out of the car... which you will soon learn that car rides usually put your lil one to sleep =)
I have a 3 year old who was in an infant seat, and I have a 9 month old who is in one now. He is tall for his age, but it still works for us just fine. =) I have used Graco with each of my children and I love their infant car seats and strollers!
I hope this helps, and Congrats on your soon to be new addition!!

I am not sure what my advice would be, it really depends on your lifestyle. If I could go back, I would have just bought a convertible seat (infant, rear facing to forward facing). My son was born and was 6lbs 5 oz (so pretty small for a boy). For the first month, I could carry him easily in the carrier. But he gained weight so fast, he was 12 pounds by 2 months (This fast of weight gain is not normal.) Needless to say that I started being uncomfortable carrying him in the carrier about then. I do not carry my son now (5 months, 18 pounds), but we still use the infant seat in the car. My husband will carry it if needed. I also bought the Evenflo because the handle is turned so it looked more comfortable. Well, it isn't. You still have to hold your arm out from your body which is not that easy. Also, be aware that my infant car seat has a GIANT warning not to attach to a shopping cart. I am not sure if all seats do or just Evenflo, but if you think about it they are not designed to hook on to shopping carts. So it may not be that safe even if the seats are designed to go up there. I guess it is a potential tipping hazard if the seat is on the cart. Also, you probably want to keep in mind that you don't want your infant in a car seat all the time. If they are in them for too long they can contribute to causing a flat spot on the back of the baby's head. Besides, you baby may like to look around when you are in the store. What I do now is keep the seat in the car and carry my baby to the seat. When I get where I am going I babywear him (in a sling or a wrap). Everyone will have their favorite brand, but you need to be sure that the seat fits properly in your car. I know that it sounds silly, but when the seat is in my husband's car the passenger side seat is so far forward that it is really uncomfortable to sit in. I am sure that that would be true for both infant or convertible seat. Keep in mind that all car seats have to pass the same standard and they are all the same amount of safe if installed correctly. So, like I said, depends on your lifestyle, but the infant seat is not an absolute necessity, but it was really nice when he first came home. That first month it was REALLY convenient and easy to keep him in there. Hope that helps.

Go with the infant car seat. Yes, in the long run, you'll probably have to buy a convertible anyway, but it's worth it. It is so much easier to take the entire car seat out instead of a floppy baby facing the rear. Babies at a young age are very difficult to move in and out of tight places because they are scrunched up for a couple of months (from being in the womb) and are quite floppy. It just seeems safer to carry them in their seat. And what if the baby is alseep? do you really want to wake him/her up all the time? The infant seat allows baby to keep sleeping. a huge bonus.
And no, the car seat isn't that heavy. Yes, around 7 months, it starts getting heavy, but by then, you'll probably be taking the baby out of the car seat and putting the baby in a stroller, or high chair or grocery cart because they can usually sit by this time.
A car seat isn't so expensive. It's a great thing to put on a shower registry.
We have the Britax Marathon convertible seats. They are expensive...$260 or a bit more. But we loved it so much with our daughter, we bought it for our son. They are now both in them and will be for a very long time. They are safe, durable, semi easy to clean (you can remove the entire cover and throw in wash) WAY esay to move from car to car if you have to, and very comfortable for the kids.
The only thing we didn't like about it was when it was rear-facing, our daughter got over heated in the Arizona heat. She was about 10 months old and we were driving from Tucson to Phoenix in mid summer. She started screaming and we luckily did not ignore her and pulled over. She was sweating and appeared funny. That day, we turned her around. And we turned our son to front-facing at about the same age. We figured, they can die from heat exhaustion turned backwards or possibly die from a front end collision (which is the ONLY type of collision that a rear facing seat protects children from). We took our chances and both kids are fine.
So now we're pregnant with number 3 and we still have the infant seat and have every intention of switching to the Britax when the time comes.
Good luck.
PS> Some things are just worth the money. Some things you can go cheap on, but when it comes to baby's safety, try to suck it up and spend the cash. If you are in real financial strife, there are lots of programs where you can get an infant seat for free or nearly free. Also, yard sales are a great place to pick one up on the cheap or I've even seen people giving them for free on craigslist.

I would definately go with the infant car seat for as long as you can. Babies have a tendency to fall asleep in the car and it would be a huge pain to not have the option to keep the baby asleep while you are at a restaraunt or grocery shopping. I think that in the long run, you would regret going straight to the convertable car seat. Just a thought! Sleeping is so important those first few months! Good luck and congratulations!

J.,

It really is a personal preference. I really liked having a convertible seat because it grows with them until about 40-50 pounds. I found the infant seats/carriers were really heavy and bulky to carry around, so I chose to "wear" my babies most of the time. Have you looked into babyslings, wraps? There is TONS of info why babywearing is beneficial to baby and mommy. You can get overwhelmed by the choices of seats and babywraps so take it slow. I have found the best wraps/slings are the ones you can order since most of them are handmade and seem to wear better on the body and the material is usually organic and softer. The ones you can buy in the store are usually bulky and difficult. You could find a great one in a maternity botique though, and there are quite a few women in town who make them as a business.
I dont' have any suggestions on the best car seats....havn't been in the market for one for quite some time. Again, do your research and check for recalls and safety.

Good luck with your search and congratulations on becoming a mamma.

In peace,
A.
mom of 4, Birth and Parenting Mentor
www.birthingfromwithin.com

The infant car seat IS a pain to carry around, much easier to babywear, IMO. (also the fact that my son would wake up screaming everytime if we put him in a shopping cart in his carseat, but if I took him out & put him in a sling or wrap, he'd wake briefly then settle back to sleep as soon as I started walking.......some babies are the exact opposite though & will stay sleeping in the carseat but wake & not sleep if you try to wear them.....no telling which way yours will be until he's here). The travel system stroller is way more of a pain then it's worth too, we ended up getting another one even for infrequent use.
My son was big (10lbs at birth) and outgrew the seat at 2.5 mos (by height), so for us that seat was a HUGE waste of money. On the other hand though, many small newborns will not fit well in convertible seats - they must be big enough that their shoulders are above the lowest straps, regardless of weight. (many convertibles either have no min weight limit, or go down to 5 lbs, but the straps aren't low enough for even avg 7 lb babies to fit.
The True Fit and Sunshine Kids Radian both are good seats for newborns (the radian won't fit in many cars rearfacing at the 45 degree angle newborns need however, so if you have a van or SUV, you're probably fine, if you have a compact car, don't even consider it....sedan, maybe)
(If it helps any, the Radian will fit rf, 45 degrees, in my kia Rondo or my Mom's Malibu; but not Dh's Neon) Britaxes (great seats otherwise) are Not appropriate for newborns.
You can get tons of great info about what carseats (and ask questions w/ certified technicians to answer) at www.car-seat.org If you haven't found it yet, also, www.mothering.com has a great family safety section which you can find lots of carseat info (From the main page click at the "discuss" link at the top)
If you do want an infant seat, they weren't around when my son was born but you can now get infant seats that go up to 30 lbs (they usually are larger to accomodate taller infants as well). I absolutely could not see carrying around a kid that size - but just because you have a seat that can remove doesn't mean you Have to... you could use it as a carrier (if that works for you) when your child is still tiny and then leave it in the car (like you would a convertible) as he/she gets bigger.

The other thing to keep in mind is that some kids are great sleepers in the car, but some kids hate the car. Some kids (quite common it seems) HATE the infant seat that makes them lay back but are fine in the car once they get into a convertible seat where they can sit up more. (so buying an infant seat that goes to 30 lbs doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to or want to use it that long)

How is your baby measuring? How big are you and your DH? If you are measuring at all ahead of schedule (or big for current gestation) you will probably not want an infant seat. If you're on track or behind though you might well need it.
Most kids I've known have been out of the infant seat by 6 mos at the latest. EXCEPT One friend who's little girl was in the infant seat until 16 mos. (and could've fit in it for another 3 mos after that at least, they were still using it as a backup seat).

While you're researching car seats, I strongly recommend doing some research about "extended" rear-facing (beyond 12 mos & 20 lbs) Toddlers forward-facing are 5 times more likely to be critically or fatally injured in a crash, as rear-facing toddlers. (lots to do w/ physical development, head size to body size ratio, etc etc that I won't bore you with here but you can find the info if you're interested).

I have a one year old and we did an infant car seat which holds the baby until they are 20lbs and a year old. The infant car seat fit right into a travel system which is the big nice stroller. I would highly recommend this. When they are little it is perfect and easy. I have the green chicco set and highly recommend it, it's cute and worked great!

I loved the infant car seat for the convenience of being able to move my sleeping daughter from the car to the house without waking her. I also had a stroller frame(can't remember the name of it)that the infant seat fit into, but it wasn't the big heavy "travel systems" that convert to a regular stroller because I got the infant seat separate from a friend. I did have to learn how to hold it right so I didn't trigger my carpal tunnel syndrome, but you figure out what's best for you. She transitioned to the convertible seat when she was about 10 months old (she was pretty light for her age and the doctor said it's best to go by weight and not height). It stayed backward facing until she was almost 16 months and finally weighed 22 pounds - which was the recommendation in the car seat manual. We used a Graco infant seat and a Cosco Alpha-Omega convertible seat. The convertible seat also was used as a booster seat until she was 5 years old. Because she is still such a "skinny-mini", even though she's average height for her age, 7 yrs old, and doctors recommend children be in child safety seats until they are 4'9" (or at least tall enough so they can sit all the way back and their legs bend naturally over the edge of the seat)she still uses a Graco "princess" booster seat. She loves it - calls it her throne and our car is her "carriage".

M.

Hi J.,

I had the same problem before I had my first. Let me let you in on my train of thought. We decided to go with the infant seat just because it can come out of the vehicle. We don't like to just let our children live in their car seats, but in situations like dining out, and the grocery store it is nice to have the seat that goes with you. It does get heavy, but I did my best to carry it around as little as possible and really once they start sitting up you don't have to carry it all the place, they can just sit in the cart, or in a high chair at the restraunt. I did try the sling thing or the front carrier, but I felt that the baby was in my way if I was shopping or trying to eat, it just wasn't convient for me. I really liked having the infant seat to keep the child in. Financial wise it is nice to go with the convertable. I hope this helps you with your decision.

Most kids do grow out of the carrier in 6-8 months. My guy was pretty small and we still had to move him to a regular car seat by 7 mos. The plus of the carrier is that if they're asleep, you can just leave them in it and take them wherever you need to go without disturbing them much. You would be fine with a convertible car seat from the start. I have friends who chose that route and the bonus was that they had only had to buy one car seat in their child's first year that would most likely last their child's entire car seat using years. Most are designed for infants as small as 5 lbs., so it's just as safe from what I can tell.

It's totally a personal choice about what is going to work best for your family's lifestyle. Congratulations!

Hi,
We bought a convertible car seat, thinking that it would be more practical. But I have been regretting that decision. It would be really nice to be able to go from errands to the car without having to wake the baby up. The infant seat fits into the child seat of a shopping cart, can be taken into a restaurant (big issue, who holds the baby?). None of these issues were big at first, because we loved holding him and have several slings and body carriers, but now he's 15 lbs, and that gets pretty heavy! Anyway, the next time around we'll be getting the whole setup- car seat, stroller, etc. Good luck.

I had two graco infant carseats for my girls and they stayed in those until they were almost 1 year old. Most can go up to somewhere around 23lbs.+ so unless you are expecting a super tall baby then I would consider getting an infant seat. It also helps so that you can carry the baby in the infant seat vs. having to take them out of the convertible seat each time, but that is just my opinion. Plus most strollers work with infant carseats. When my girls weighed enough (20lbs.+) we got graco nautilius convertible booster seats which go from 20-100lbs. They won't need any carseats after these and I'm very happen with them so far. Good luck!

I'll make it quick since you have tons of advice. I became a first time mom 3 months ago. We have the Britax Companion car seat that hooks on the base in the car. We got the Britax Vigour stroller that comes with the toddler seat. The great thing is that the toddler seat comes off until your baby is big enough and you hook the infant/car seat onto the stroller. It's super easy and lightweight. It has the expensive look of a Bugaboo with a much lower pricetag. Look online on Ebay for new ones for cheaper! Good Luck.

As a first time Mom myself. I know where you are coming from.
Yes, as your baby gets larger, the seat does become heavier. But, remember than when that baby is smaller, they sleep ALOT. If you run errands, go to a restaurant, or even just driving in the car...a convertible seat does not recline quite as far as an infant seat. Nor, does a convertible seat travel well. It's harder to hold that sleeping infant in one arm while you are shopping, eating, walking, than it is to let the baby lie in the car seat (if they are content to do so.) I recommend that you get an infant seat to begin with. My daughter is 10.5 months old right now and will probably not outgrow (weight or height) her seat until she is over that one year mark.
And, if I can recommend an AWESOME car set to you...BUY CHICCO. I researched, and researched the seats (as each new Mom does) Chicco has fantastic, thick padding and fits the baby nice and snug. It's moderately priced, but well worth the investment in my opinion. I've been very happy with ours.

Good luck with the new arrival in April!

Hi J.! Congrats on your upcoming arrival!! We have an 8-month old and use the Orbit Infant System. It is a stroller base and infant car seat. We just actually moved up to the next stage car seat so our daughter lasted 8 months in the infant seat. It is heavy to carry the baby in the infant seat but what's great about the Orbit is that it's so easy to open/close we rarely ever just used the carrier, we almost always used the whole stroller. It's narrower than most so it's easy to use at stores or restaurants without being too bulky. Plus, it turns on a dime and is very easy to maneuver! I sound like I am selling but I just really love my Orbit. It's by far the favorite baby item I have bought to date! You can get it at Little Artika in City North (Desert Ridge area) or near downtown Phoenix. It's a little pricey - $900 for stroller and car seat but worth every penny!!

Hi J....this is a hard question to answer. I (and everyone we meet) think my son is large for his age, but he is right in the middle for weight according to his pediatrician. He is 7 months old and has already outgrown his infant carrier. When I was pregnant, I was set on getting a carrier and not a convertible. Now, in hindsight, I would probably not get the carrier...the carrier is awesome if you have a sleeping baby and need to get him in the house. However, my son quickly became too heavy for me to easily get him in and out of the car in the carrier without bumping him all over. I hated it for grocery shopping because A) no carrier is made to go on the top of the shopping cart, they are not meant for that, so it always took up all my basket space and B) even if I did put him on the cart, it was too tall for me to see where I was going. I did like having two bases so it was easy to go from my car to my husband's, but now we already have to spend more money to buy another seat!! If you are in the financial situation to do both then having a carrier is nice in the beginning...but gets heavy and hard to maneuver fast!

I've always used an infant seat for all three of my children (it came with the stroller I had). My kids didn't reach 20 pounds until the age of 1 or older (Arizona law is you can NOT turn your infant around until they are 1 year old AND 20 pounds NOT either or) so they never out grew it before I could turn them around. I thought it came out handy espeically when they would fall asleep in the vehicle and I would bring them in the house in seat and just let them finish their nap in there, I found when I would take them out of the seat they would wake up and not get a good nap. The seats are heavy with the child in it but if it comes with a stroller it's easy to lock them in the stroller without having to take the baby out of the seat.

Hi J.,
I am a mom of 4 oldest 13 youngest 4. With my oldest I used the carrier hated it, it is to bulky to be carrying it around not at all safe to put on a shopping cart either, after about 2 months we just started leaving it in the car and taking the baby out. With the other 3 we just bought the convertible loved them. We also thought like others that waking the baby to get them out would not be good but after a few weeks the baby just slept right threw the moving from car seat to stroller or even being carried. I think that instead of spending money on a carrier then a convertible later just buy a good convertible. In the long run it will save you money time and trouble. But and then again it is up to you and only you go with your heart!!!!

I have LOVED my daughter's infant car seat. It is the Chicco Cocina Key Fit. It fits babies 4-22 lbs. and under 30". My baby was borm preemie so she is very small and she is 15 months old and still fits it! I love it because her naptime is never compromised. She can sleep anytime, anywhere. If I have to grocery shop, and it's her naptime, she can still nap! I put the seat on top of the cart. Or shopping for clothes too, I just put her carseat in the stroller (it's a travel system). She never has to wake up, or wait to go to sleep. She is almost too tall for it and we just bought the Britax Boulevard which seems SO safe. However, I'll have to plan my days around her naptimes now since I'll have to wake her up to get her out, or wait until naptime is over to leave the house.
Of course some moms just baby wear or have the baby in one of the shopping cart baby carriers or just move them to the stroller for shopping or running around. I guess the babies just go back to sleep after being moved if that's what they're used to or tired enough to do so. But for me, I think the infant carrier is the best thing ever invented and I wish they lasted longer! It's not too heavy. I have a bad back and I can do it. The carrier itself weighs about 9 lbs. My baby weighs 18. So together, that's 27 lbs. However, she has been a slow weight gainer, so maybe that's given me more time to build up some muscles! If you go with the travel system/infant carrier, you will have to buy two carseats--for when baby outgrows the infant carrier. My friend's baby is really big and she stopped carrying him in it at 4 months when he weighed like 16 lbs. Also, I'm pretty sure that the Britax Boulevard will fit in my Jeep Liberty rearfacing in the middle, but I know for sure it won't fit rearfacing behind me. If I had two carseats and had to put the Boulevard rearfacing, I'd have to put it behind the passenger seat which would make for a very uncomfortable ride for the passenger! So the size of your vehicle matters too.
Good luck & you can email me if you have any questions!
Kristen :)

I use a Graco Safeseat for my son and would recommend this seat to anyone. It is rated for up to 30lbs and 32 inches which is the most of any infant seat. My son will be 1 on 1/28 and he's still in the Safeseat. He's a big boy too (75th percentile for weight, 90th for height). The Safeseat costs a little more than other infant seats out there but if you can keep your child in one seat until they are ready for a forward facing booster (with a 5 point harness is best) it's worth the extra money. I also had an infant seat for my 1st son and he outgrew it before his 1st birthday (and he was tiny, 25th percentile for weight) so I had to buy a convertable seat and then a booster seat. So we had to buy 3 different seats for him (and we got two of each so my husband and I would eash have one in our car). The Safeseat new is around $110. I'm going to keep my son in it as long as I can but plan to list it on Craigslist when he's done with it. It has only been used for one child, non-smoking home and had never been in an accident. If you think you might be interested in it, let me know and I'll send you a note/email before I post it to see if you're interested in it. Good luck on your decision, there are so many choices out there.

After reading some of the other responses I had a few things to add. Don't count too much on how you are measuring. I was induced because they told me he was going to be big... and he wasn't even 7 pounds! Also, carrying him in a sling didn't work for us. He didn't like being stuffed like a sausage... but we tried it, mostly for traveling. I am a bigger woman and really didn't need the extra weight hanging around!

I am a first time mom to a 6.5 month old little boy and I couldn't have made it without my Graco Snug Ride infant seat! Especially when the baby is brand new and sleeps all the time, the infant car seat that you can carry around was a life-saver! Otherwise, you need to disturb the baby by taking him/her out of the carseat. I don't normally just carry him around anymore because it does get a little heavy... However, I also purchased a Snug Ride Stroller which is very lightweight and you can just pop the infant seat into the stroller. I actually bought a Graco travel system, but if I had to do it again, I would just get the Snug Ride infant car seat (with base so it makes putting baby in the car easy every time) and the Snug Ride Stroller. I rarely use my "big" stroller... maybe when he's older. The other thing I have found very useful is a tied fleece blanket that a friend made. It's just wide enough and long enough to cover the car seat to keep the outside cold or inside air conditioning off of the baby. My son is only about 14 pounds right now so we still use the infant seat and Snug Ride Stoller everywhere we go. In fact, he was 6 pounds 10 ounces when born and the infant seat was even too big for him at first. We bought a head support at Babies R Us that helped cradle his head and keep it from tipping forward, cutting off his airway. We tried several different ones and this one worked best: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2580937 By the way, I did a lot of research and Consumer Reports consistently gave the Graco Snug Ride the best ratings, and it's relatively affordable (compared to some other brands like Britax). You can often get a 15% or 20% coupon for Babies R Us and they are often on sale ($10 off or something like that). Good luck and congratulations on your little one!

PERSONALLY, I had three children and can say that the infant seat was really nice. Babies tend to sleep in the car and when it was time to get them out of the car, it was nice to carry in the seat while the baby stayed asleep.
Good Luck and enjoy the baby, they grow up fast!!

I highly recommend an infant seat, particularly the Graco travel systems. My infant seat went up to 30 lbs, 32 inches which is a nice range compared to most infant seats which are usually limited at 22-25lbs. I moved my son into a Britax Marathon after his 1st birthday because he did appear to be outgrowing his infant seat, although he really could have lasted in it 4 more months. He has now exceeded the height limit. They are easy to carry around or you just prop it on the stroller. Infants sleep a lot, so having the infant seat is great. You cannot take a convertible seat in and out of the car and carry it around like you would an infant seat to restaurants, grocery stores, etc. Once you get a convertible, sometime after they are a year old (unless you have a large baby who outgrows one quicker!) those can last you up until they are 6 years old, at least the Britax Marathons will. Looking at my convertible seat, I cannot see how they are meant for infants. You will be happy you got one, I promise!

You need to balance it out - do you dislike carrying heavy things? Are you & your husband (baby's dad) & family generally tall/large people (as children) or petite? How are your finances?? are you in and out of the car very much or do you stay at home/in one place most of the day?

Car seat as carrier - yes it is very nice to have a carrier because babies sleep a lot their first few months and especially if you are on the go, if you hop in and out of the car several times in a day. If you go to, say, church, or the relatives for a few hours of visiting, it is so nice to bring the carrier in and you have a place for sleeping babies. But yes, it does get heavy as baby grows.

Just because everyone else's baby outgrows the infant seat, doesn't mean yours will. Mine was still too little to be placed in a forward facing seat at 12 months old till I finally said PHOOEY, I'm turning him around! (at 15 months!) But his dad and I were petite people, right around 100 lbs in high school (boy I miss those days!) My sister pointed that out to me when I commented on buying a car seat that held up to 100 lbs, so that was a silly 'buying point' for me as he is now in a booster seat (and still only 33 lbs)

Do you want to use a sling to carry your baby around when you are out (shopping, visiting, etc)? If so, then baby carrier as a place to sleep is not necessary.

If you go for walks and use a stroller lots, you will definitely find the infant seat so very useful! Babies aren't really ready for sitting in a stroller until I think at least 4-5 months? (unless it reclines and is cozy enough for baby. My sister wore her baby in a sling when walking (cool climate!) until baby finally could enjoy stroller rides when she was alert enough to observe the surroundings, 3-4 months I think.

It comes down to finances mostly I think. Unless someone gives you an infant seat, lucky you.

In cold (or hot) climates, it is SO nice to be able to bring the car seat into the house and keep it room temperature (and buckle baby in) before going out to the cold/hot car and buckling baby in there. If you have a garage where you park the car, you should be ok. Otherwise on hot days and rainy days, you & baby will NOT like the buckling in process. (always tuck those seatbelt buckles out of sight - cover with a blanket or big stuffed toy or something when in a parking lot. learned this the hard way!)

I'm glad I had my infant car seat/carrier and can't really imagine my first few months without it. I didn't have to buy a convertible car seat though so would I feel differently if I had to, maybe. I dont know. I'm just glad my son wasn't a huge chunk to carry!

Ok -- here's my 2 cents worth....I just had my 4th son. Yes, I have all boys -- and I LOVE IT! My 3rd son is almost five and so when I went out looking for new stuff for #4, specifically carseats, I was SHOCKED at how much better things are than just five years ago! All my kids were born large -- 9 pounds was my smallest, 10.2 pounds the biggest. All three of my older boys outgrew their infant carrier seat by 4 months. My 10 pounder was out of it by 3 months. That said, I would still get an infant carrier seat because they are so much more practical for running errands and stuff. I have a very large chest and tend to have back problems because of this "burden". The last thing I would be able to do or want to do is strap on another 10-20 pounds in a baby sling to further my back woes! And this is what you would HAVE to do if you opted to not have an infant carrier seat and just carry around your baby while running errands. So...I found the Chicco system and because the infant carrier seat goes up to 30 pounds I was SOLD!! It is the EASIEST carseat to get in and out of the car and even easier to put into the stroller that you can purchase as a set. I use my stroller and carseat everywhere we go because they are so easy to get in and out of the car and set up. My son just turned 2 months old and it over 15 pounds now. I wouldn't be able to survive without my carseat/stroller combo. I highly recommend the Chicco system! When your baby is out of his carseat, the stroller still accomodates up to 50 pounds and is by far the most comfortable stroller I've ever used...it's adjustable according to your height and can be manuvered with just one had because it' so super easy to use. Ok -- enough rambling! In my humble opinion having done this four times now, I think it's very worth getting an infant seat -- but one that goes up to 30 pounds will be more worth your money should you have a super fast growing baby. Good luck and congrats on your upcoming arrival!! Enjoy every moment -- they grow up waaaay too fast!!

Although it is inconvenient that babies grow out of their infant seats so soon, that is the only thing inconvenient about it. I think they are absolutely necessary. I have 2 kids (ages 4 years and 4 weeks). The infant seats are convenient when you go to the grocery store because you can put the seat in the cart. I am not sure how else you would go grocery shopping with an infant (except maybe in a sling). They are also convenient in restaurants. Even when we go to family/friends houses he can lay in his infant seat when he falls asleep. They also fit in the travel system strollers and the babies feel more secure in them than just in a stroller alone. I got an infant seat for both of my kids and then a convertable carseat once they grew out of the infant seat.

The infant carriers are AWESOME!!! You will have so much more "flexibility" with it. Let's say you are out running errands and the baby falls alseep...one lift of the carrier and you have the baby...and they are still sleeping. They also fit into shopping carts. It is MUCH easier to take a baby out of a carrier in your house than trying to get the baby out of the car seat while it is still in the car. My daughter used her infant carrier until she was almost 13 months old. She was 5 lbs when born and still isn't 25 pounds at 19 months (have moved her into the Britax Boulevard...AWESOME!!!!!) We loved the Graco system because it had the stroller too. Congrats and get ready for the experience of a LIFETIME!!! Motherhood is the best!!!!
-S.