Convertible car seat Vs Infant Car Seat

Hi all, I am new to this forum...So, let me start of by introducing myself...
I am 20 weeks pregnant with twin boys... :itwins_boys: Just found out at 18 weeks that we are having twins!!!!!! What a surprise!!!!
Me and my DH are doubly thrilled and doubly excited :yahoo: :yahoo: and to be frank, sometimes, doubly scared too :mellow: :mellow:
But am sure with all your support and positive thinking, we'll be just fine!!!!

I have a question regarding car seats....
We are planning to buy convertible car seats and to use them right from the time babies are born.
This would save us some money since the kids outgrow infant car seats very soon.
Has anyone used convertible seats right from the beginning? Would it be too big for new borns?
What are the pros and cons?

Thanks in advance and have a great day.

 

We started out with convertible for our first (the hospital we went to at the time gave them away with the baby B) ). It was awfully big for her, though, and she was a good-sized baby (7lb. 11 oz.) We had to pad it out pretty well when she was a newborn. It was a relief when someone gave us an infant seat, plus so much handier to pick her out and carry her around in while she was small. (And I think with two that will be twice as important!) By about six months they've outgrown those, whereas my kids are still in convertibles at 3.5 and 2.5.

We're hoping to get a second infant seat for the twins, even though we'll probably be moving both the bigger kids to booster seats and have two convertibles available. It's just so handy to have those extra places to park them the first few months. You might ask around and see if someone (or two someones) has an extra one. You want to get them from someone you trust, though, since it's important they've never been in a car accident.

Congratulations on your boys. We were shocked when we found out at 21 weeks!

 

I only used mine for 6 months and that was about 15 times but they are handy so i would think about getting them. my babies were small though so the other car seats would ahve been too much!

Too bad you are not closer to me... i have two for sale...

 

My twins were born at 37 weeks and about 6 pounds each (i.e., fairly big for twins) but they still seemed tiny in the infant car seats, let alone convertible seats. I can't really imagine them in convertible seats for the first few months.

It's also really nice to be able to pop the seats out of the car with the babies still in them -- especially if they fall asleep and you want to be able to carry them inside and set them down to sleep in their seats. It's also nice if you go to a restaurant, shopping, or to someone's house. Plus, getting them in & out can be a challenge in the first few months and it's easier to do it inside than in the car.

One of my girls was out of her infant seat at 6 months, but the other stayed in it till almost 10.

 

It really depends on the seats. Their shoulders cannot be more than 1 inch under the lowest slots. E.g. in a Britax, they'll never make this at birth, so they'll be too small regardless of whether they meet the weight limit (usually 5lbs). I think you'll have a really hard time properly fitting the harnass which will jepordize safety.

E.g. the Cosco Scenera is a cheap convertible seat that rear faces a long time and the slots are pretty low (most kids outgrow it by age 2-3), so this could be an option if you really don't want to get infant seats. However, if you go for these seats (with lower low slots and usually lower slots in general), they'll probably outgrow them way before they're ready for a booster (4 years AND 40lbs) so you end up buying new convertible seats anyway.

Honestly, I wouldn't do it ... with twins you have to make your life as easy as possible and starting infants in a convertible isn't the easiest way in my opinion, apart from the height issue.

Here an overview including the slot heights: http://www.carseatdata.org/cnt/resources/c...at-measurements

I would get a reasonable priced infant carrier and then a good convertible car seat with a high weight limit and high top slots. This combination could last you up to age 4-5, possibly longer, and then you can get a booster for them.

 

We just grew out of our infant seats and I almost cried. They were SO great for moving the babies around. We had a double snap-n-go, too, which made it so easy to get out and do errands with both of them, something that I'm finding very very difficult now. You don't have to wake them up if they fall asleep in the car, so you can do things like get them ready for bed, tuck them into their seats, wait for them to drift off, then head over to a friends house to play poker while the babies sleep through the whole thing....Actually, anytime you're out with them at a friends' or at a mom's group, the seats are great little portable bassinets that give them a snug, safe feeling.

Most mothers-of-twins groups are prohibited from selling carseats through their listservs because of liability issues, but you might be able to track someone down through your local group offline. You really want to get them from someone you know and trust...so PM me if you're anywhere near N. Virginia

 

I personally could not imagine not using the infant carriers, especially with 2. There were so many times I had to go places by myself and carry both infant carriers myself, but there would have been no way I would have done that with a convertible carseat. My oldest DD was 9 1/2 lbs at birth and she outgrew her infant carrier at 6.5 months, the twins were in theirs until 1 year. Yes, it will save you money, but how will you manage if you are out by yourself and if they happen to be sleeping? Just some things to think about.


Welcome to Twinstuff and congrats on your twins!

 

I bought 2 infant car seats at our local twin sale for about $30 each. When we bought our double stroller though, it came with 1 infant seat also so we are using the new one plus 1 of the used ones. My twins will be turning 1 on Monday and they are still in them so we have definitely gotten a ton of use from them. I plan on keeping them in there for a least a few more weeks when hopefully the weather gets a little warmer. I would much rather buckle the babies inside the house than outside in the cold. I did switch them to convertibles seats for about a week several months ago and it is sooooo much easier to have them in infant carriers. Snapping their seats into the stroller is so much faster especially for quick errands like dropping my older DD at school or even trips to the mall when they are still small (I take my girls out of the seats now if we are going to be somewhere for a long time). Plus I can put both seats in a grocery cart to run into Target, ect. so I don't have to get my stroller out of the car. I put our merchandise on the bottom rack so I only have 1 thing to push. If you don't have infant seats though, you will always have to have your stroller and will probably have to push a cart also for your merchandise. Again, it means the twins are sitting outside in the cold while you unbuckle one baby at a time from the stroller and then buckle them in the car. The infant seats also allow you to take the babies with you to a restaurant AND you can both eat. If you don't have the seat, each of you will have to hold a baby until they are at least able to sit in a high chair and it's very difficult to eat while doing that. I honestly couldn't live without our infant seats and I'm dreading getting rid of them. I know buying 2 of everything is expensive though so I would suggest asking friends if they have one you can borrow, also check your local twins' club and Craigslist. I really think you will regret not buying them!

Oh and I also discovered it was easiest to feed both of them bottles while they were in their infant seats if I was by myself.

 

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I think I shall go ahead and buy double snap and go in Craigslist and get two car seats. Looks like that's the best option.
Have a great day!!!

 

QUOTE(DoublyThrilled @ Mar 18 2008, 01:09 AM) [snapback]673749[/snapback]
Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I think I shall go ahead and buy double snap and go in Craigslist and get two car seats. Looks like that's the best option.
Have a great day!!!

When buying of Craigslist, keep several things in mind: ask whether the seats were ever in an accident, make sure the straps have not been soaked in water and/or washed (spot cleaning only) and look at the expiration date of the seat. Most seats expire 5-6 years (some 7-8) after the date of manufacturing which is printed on the seat. Graco is 5 years, Britax 6 years. Many people on Craigslist get way too much for an expired car seat which is no longer safe (just google and you'll find more info on expired car seats).

As you can imagine, you cannot know some of this for 100% sure and therefore experts will advice you not to buy used car seats. You can usually buy new straps when you call the manufacturer.

HTH!

 

We are not comfortable using infant carriers... rather my husband just does not think they are as safe as convertible. We used the Evenflow Triumph from the day they came home. I used slings and our stroller to get them in and out of places. Its doable if you don't want to go the carrier route. There were days that I cursed dh under my breathe but most days they transistioned into and out of the car just fine. Even now when they are sleeping they easily go into the house and continue to sleep.

 

We started off in the Evenflo Triumph seat as well. I had to move the straps from the low to middle setting between 4 & 5 months which is when they would have been too tall for infant seats (long bodies). I wouldn't have been thrilled if I had spent a bunch of money on infant carriers that lasted less than 5 months. And yes, it's entirely possible to take them places without lugging them around in carseats (which I personally find more awkward than carrying babies). I used their stroller and a soft carrier.