So, my friend got me a Britax Marathon car seat that's really nice. BUT. It doesn't lift out of the car and work as a carrier. Don't I need one that does? That way I don't have to wake up baby if she sleeping when I go somewhere? I'd also like something to carry her in when I'm in a store or going to visit someone. What are your thoughts? Help!
ETA: I'm due 1/13 with first baby
coconut / 8279 posts
You probably don't need one and a lot of people do go with the convertible seat because the height/weight limits go from newborn to toddler, so you don't have to buy two of them.
But we preferred having a carrier infant seat. It was so easy to transfer a sleeping baby.
I never thought I'd use the snap-n-go stroller but that was a godsend as my son HATED babywearing until he was about 4/5 months old. So all my cozy slings, wraps and carriers were donated.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
I can't imagine not having an infant seat. So easy to take it in and out of the car, to the stroller, shopping cart, in the house, esp. if she was sleeping.
nectarine / 2806 posts
@rachiecakes: @Smurfette: Which carrier infant seats do you recommend?
grapefruit / 4400 posts
We liked having the infant carseat/bucket when our kids were <6 months. We got one that worked with our stroller as a set-- the Britax B-Safe seat and B-Agile stroller.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: We had a Graco and then the Snap Stroller frame to go with it.
pomegranate / 3895 posts
You definitely don't need one, but we preferred it for many reasons:
1. Buying a base and transferring the infant car seat base to base is much easier (and cheaper). Since you have a convertible already, this isn't as applicable, but if you want anyone else to drive your baby around you will either need to move the convertible to their car (time consuming) or buy them a convertible. This is obviously delaying the inevitable, though.
2. Your baby can't sit in a highchair at a restaurant until at least 6 months. We went out to eat a lot in the beginning and it was nice to be able to just tote the car seat in and put it in the upside down highchair.
3. Now that it's colder out, it's nice to be able to get him properly bundled inside before we head outside.
4. In the beginning we could hide him under an A&A blanket when we would go places (my son isn't a big babywearing fan). This was especially convenient at those (what feel like constant) early pediatrician appointments. It was also nice to have somewhere for him to sit if I was going somewhere alone.
5. The whole sleeping thing (which others have mentioned)
The major con is cost for something that you are going to use for a sort-of short period of time. I definitely don't regret our decision though! Another issue that we've recently faced is that it gets HEAVY as they grow. We are considering transitioning soon (currently 4 months) simply because toting that thing is exhausting.
apricot / 485 posts
You don't HAVE to have one. But yes, if you want to be able to transfer them from car to store cart to home while they sleep then you need an infant/bucket seat. I liked being able to do that with my newborn and I also used the seat to snap into the stroller so I could take her for walks. We also used the infant seat to take into restaurants or other places (like a rehearsal dinner) so baby could sleep in the infant seat while we ate.
Mine was a spring/summer baby but it is easier to have them in the infant seat in the winter because you can cover it with blankets to take it outside. Baby can't wear a coat in the carseat so carrying baby out in the cold to get them into the convertible carseat sounds like a huge pain.
So it was definitely worth it for me!
I have an ergo but I only used it when she was 4mo+ and even then I still switch between the stroller and carrier or both, depending on what we were doing.
pomelo / 5660 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: you can't put an infant in a BOB until they have head control. You need to get a car seat you can put in the BOb and purchase the car seat adapter for bob.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
It depends on your lifestyle. We could have gotten away without one, because I was carless all week and we only went anywhere on the weekend. The moment the car stopped my son woke up anyway, so there was no bringing him into the house in the seat.
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
We definitely needed ours! You will eventually want to switch to a convertable so that is still a wonderfully useful gift! But I would have still needed the carrier seat, for all of the reasons listed above! We had the Britax chaperone infant seat, but it is huge and if I had to do it over I would have gotten the Britax b-safe instead. That one should be pretty easy to use with the Bob because they are the same brand, but you should be able to use most seats with the Bob.
nectarine / 2806 posts
Would this one be good? Do I need a newborn insert or anything? Thank you all!!
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1241545/britax-b-safe-infant-car-seat.jsp
pomegranate / 3895 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: That's the one we use! We didn't have an infant insert with it, but I will admit it felt HUGE when we took him home from the hospital. We ended up getting a snuzzler to help keep his head situated right.
coconut / 8472 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: That seat is a great one. Make sure to try it out in your car first though. We bought a britax infant seat and then had to return it last minute (literally the last day amazon would accept it) because when we tried to install it, it didn't fit behind the passenger unless it was all the way pulled forward. And since I'm 5'7, that wasn't going to work.
watermelon / 14467 posts
You don't need one, but they are handy. I loved our Graco SnugRide Click Connect 35. It just popped in and out of the base and clicked right into our snap'n'go. I'd go to the store and physically pick up each seat you were considering, and also make sure that the seats fit in your car (if you can take the base out, actually install it in your car to make sure it fits with the base). You'll be carrying the seat + the baby most of the time and it gets heavy quickly.
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
We brought home a 5ish lb baby in our chaperone (which was even bigger than the b-safe by a lot) and didn't use any infant inserts. The manufacturer specifically recommends not using any after market items inside the seat, so we avoided them. Our baby fit fine without it, but our seat also came with an approved insert for preemies. We didn't need it, but could have used it if he had been smaller.
nectarine / 2806 posts
nectarine / 2466 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: That's the car seat we used. My brother and sister bought it for us as a gift. They completely didn't understand why I didn't want the convertable seat right away and I had to tell them multiple times that was the seat I wanted. I'm soo glad I didn't let them talk me into getting the convertible right away. It was so handy having the infant seat where we could just take it right out of the car as needed. Plus we bought an extra base for $80 so we didn't have to buy a whole other car seat for DH's truck. I have a mazda 3 and it fit in the back seat but it was pretty tight.
Like someone else said, you don't need to buy an extra insert or head support as it's not recommended putting anything extra in the car seat unless it comes with the seat specifically 
clementine / 750 posts
I loved my Chicco KeyFit 35 Infant seat. Little one used it until she was fifteen months although she was only 20 pounds then. It got heavy towards the end but we were trying to get though winter and early spring before we moved her because it was easy to just put blankets on her.
pineapple / 12793 posts
We didn't use one. We lived downtown in an elevator building and never drove during the week. We used the bassinet on the stroller and loved that. I never missed having one and was happy to not have to store it after just a few months.
watermelon / 14467 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: That's the seat we have, but in a color that is exclusive to BRU. It's one of the lightest seats on the market and gender-neutral, so we'll be able to reuse it with our next baby (as long as it isn't expired). This is the color we have: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=34466526&cp=2255957.2273443.2256187.2256195&parentPage=search.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
For us it was necessary, I could transport her easily (and warmly) from car to inside and back without waking her (the car was a surefire way to get her to sleep)
apricot / 485 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: If you like matchy matchy Britax makes Bob stroller colored car seats. They are the same as the BSafe but match your stroller. I have the orange. But they make the blue and black depending on what stroller you have.
http://www.amazon.com/BOB-B-Safe-Infant-Seat-Orange/dp/B0093LZLFG
And you just need the car seat adapter to go on the stroller so that you can just snap in the car seat
apricot / 485 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: You don't need an infant insert but I did have this one and I really liked it: http://www.britaxusa.com/accessories/head-body-support-pillow
It said it was crash tested and approved for use with britax infant car seats.
persimmon / 1165 posts
I loved our Graco SnugRide 35 infant seat. Besides all the convenient things people have mentioned above, we have been using it for air travel because you don't need a base. My LO is tiny (20 months and weighs 21 pounds) but while we've transferred her to a convertible seat at home, we use the infant seat for travel since she can still use it until she's 35 pounds.
honeydew / 7916 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: With the BOB, just make sure to pick an infant seat that BOB makes an adapter for. They make them for the major brands - Chicco, Britax, probably Graco.
pomelo / 5220 posts
We use ours all the time. Like others have said, it was nice to just carry the car seat into a restaurant or pop him in a cart at Target if I was out and about. It also makes for a great arm workout 
grapefruit / 4988 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: We had the Britax B-safe and it worked out great. We did not need any type of insert, she went home from the hospital in that one. We got the black and are planning to re-use it if we have another baby. The only complaint I have about it is that my baby used to sweat in it alot. However, she runs really hot generally. We used it until she was 12 months and I was sad to switch to the convertible seat since the infant seat was so convenient.
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