Infant Car Seats

Unfortunately car seats are not a one-and-done kind of purchase. There are specific seats based on the age and size of the child. Infant car seats offer even more padding and specialized protection for your teeny little one while toddler and booster seats give them more room. Infant car seats also have the added bonus that the car seat itself comes out of the car so, if baby is asleep, you can pick up the whole thing and take them with you whereas car seats for older kids are stationary. 

Of course, there are convertible all-in-one seats that can transition from infant to toddler but, with them, you sacrifice some safety and also they are stationary just like toddler car seats within the car. On top of all these head spinning factors, car seats expire after a period of time, they may have recalls, and cannot be used if they have ever been in an accident. 


Resources Used:
Amazon
The Bump
Buy Buy Baby
Consumer Reports


What I settled on:
1. Doona Infant Car Seat
I had looked at Consumer Reports and online reviews of various car seats. I had even put one on my registry but, a month or so before my baby shower, my husband and I wandered into Buy Buy Baby to look at car seats to be sure. If I was going to be lugging our infant around in a car seat regularly, we wanted to make sure that the one we had settled on would work for us. I also wanted to find a stroller that would work with the car seat.

Then, like a magical unicorn, we walked past the Doona stroller in the store. It is pure wizardry. It's a car seat, it's a stroller, it's compact, and it functions safely without a base. 

I looked up the Consumer Reports and it has a pretty perfect safety rating. The only ding it had was that it was heavy...well sure it is slightly heavier than the normal infant car seat; it has wheels! BUT, who's going to be carrying it most of the time when you can put the wheels down and push your kid?!

It is definitely more expensive than your base-priced infant car seats. However, if you factor in the ease of use and the fact that you won't have to buy a stroller for the car seat on top of the car seat price, it is a pretty great deal! 

Also, another safety concern that I do not have to worry about is the proper angle of the car seat when it is not locked into the base. I have heard horror stories of infants that are left sleeping in a car seat when the parents arrive home. Because they brought the baby into the house but left them in the car seat, the car seat was not at the proper angle and the child died. The Doona was designed to be both stroller and car seat so, once we put the wheels down when we take him out of the car, he is still at the proper angle. 

It has also been touted by The Bump as a must-have for any parent that plans to travel. We are planning on traveling via airplane in a couple months and our baby should still be in the car seat. We'll be able to stroll through security with it, check it at the gate, and use it as a car seat when we arrive at our destination. Hands down, one of our best expensive purchases!

Side Note: Another resource for those looking at car seats is Car Seats for the Littles. I had not heard of it before buying my infant car seat but it is a great resource!