TL;DR Skip the infant seat and get the convertible.
Disclaimer: I hate infant car seats so much that I created an account for the sole purpose of responding to your question (I have been reading in the forum for a long time).
We used a convertible car seat from birth with #1 and now pregnant with #2 I’m trying to decide whether to buy a second of the same seat or a convertible that will take my 2 year old all the way to a booster with seatbelt. Like ysette9, we bought the Combi Coccoro and our two year old is still rear facing in it now.
Reasons we love our convertible:
1. One less car seat to buy. Even the cheap infant ones are expensive. Do you really want to spend an extra $100 or more on something that is completely unnecessary? And don’t forget about storing it if you plan to have another kid.
2. The Combi Coccoro is super compact. We are also a one car family and have a fairly compact car (Nissan Versa hatchback). We have had friends complain that they can’t fit their infant seat behind the driver, but my 6 foot husband can drive with our convertible behind him.
3. Removes the temptation to leave baby in the car seat for extended periods of time. Sure, there are times where it would have been awesome for my baby to stay asleep a little longer after falling asleep in the car, but really a car seat is intended for use in the car and just because something is commonplace (like leaving baby is car seat outside the car for extended periods of time) doesn’t mean it is healthy. Easier to not have the temptation.
Reasons I hate infant bucket seats:
1. They are bulky, awkward, and much heavier than just carrying the baby. I am an avid babywearer, but seriously even just holding the baby in my arms walking to and from the car is preferable IMO to carrying the car seat.
2. They take up so much space inside. Again- just hold/wear the baby.
3. If you aren’t careful they can become seats of neglect. I often see babies in their infant seats on the floor, away from people, and in the winter completely covered up. For long periods of time (and often NOT asleep). My opinion of course, but I have a feeling this has contributed to the increase in flat headed babies that need helmets (an extra cost not usually covered by insurance).
Some other things to consider/responses to other peoples concerns:
1. My hospital did allow us to take her home with the convertible, but be prepared to have to explain why you can’t bring the car seat up to the room (as this is what they are used to). They just made me ride in a wheel chair holding DD until we got to the car.
2. I’ve never seen a convertible seat that didn’t come with the infant insert. I’m mostly familiar with the compact convertibles (like the Combi and the Diono), but if what someone else said is true just make sure you are not buying third party inserts as it is not considered safe to put any accessories into a car seat that weren’t made and tested by the manufacturer.
3. I’m not sure how close you live to the hospital (we were about 2 miles so technically walking distance), but remember YOU will be recovering and probably should not be walking ½ mile after just giving birth. I tore pretty badly with DD and at 1 week postpartum got a “stern talking to” for taking a short walk around our block. Apparently in the “olden days” women recovered from child birth by sitting all day with their legs crossed. Whether that is true or not my advice is to take it easy and don’t try to do too much at first. It’s easy to overdo it and that just delays your own recovery.
4. The safest car seat is one that is installed correctly. Watch lots of videos, read the instruction book, and have your work inspected. Once you get comfortable with your seat you will be able to transfer it from car to car in minutes.
5. My daughter was born in the winter in Washington D.C. While there are colder climates we managed just fine walking to and from the car (and we had no garage so car/car seat was cold). When the conditions outside were icy/snowy I had her strapped in the Ergo or Moby just in case I fell. It’s easy to wrap your coat around them if you are wearing them on your front. I personally would be much more nervous about having my baby inside a car seat completely covered up where I couldn’t see them than strapped to me where I can feel and hear them breathing. But personal preference I suppose.
6. In response to the “can’t go anywhere the first few months” without the seat this is just crazy. We took our daughter everywhere we went before she was born (eating out, church, store, etc etc) and it was never an issue. Sometimes we wore her sometimes we carried her. My baby was 9 pounds when she was born and I never felt like she was too heavy to carry in my arms for long periods of time.
7. We didn’t use a stroller until about 6 months when someone gave us one for free. I just recently bought one for walking around the neighborhood, but my 2 year old prefers to walk probably because she hasn’t really spent a lot of time in a stroller. Fine with me because like the car seat strollers are bulky (and we got a pretty compact umbrella) and a pain. I'd still rather carry her (she is almost 30 pounds and I'm 5 months pregnant) than take the stroller in the car and push it around empty because she wants to walk.
8. Someone else suggested trying the bucket seat and then you won’t want to give it up. I say ask a friend to let you carry their baby in it (and then without it) and you’ll convince yourself you need a convertible. :)
Congrats on baby and good luck! Make your decision based on what is important to you and not what others say you "must do."
