Is there a reason I should consider an infant seat and not just going straight to the convertible?

[hermit76]

I’m looking into the new Chicco Fit360 for my baby joining us in September, however I am seeing so much about infant seats I wonder what are the benefits of starting with one instead of going straight to the convertible?

A few personal contexts:
- I live in the Appalachian South, so weather can get pretty hot in the summer and pretty cold in the winter, but it rarely gets extreme.
- Our stroller will be a Bugaboo Fox 5, with the intent of taking baby out of the car seat to use the stroller.
- We won’t travel much. We may have a short 2-3 hour road trip in December, but otherwise we don’t plan to travel much for a long while. If we did, it would likely be another road trip to avoid airplanes/ubers.
- We’re a two car family, with a Toyota Highlander and a Toyota C-HR.
- I will be a SAHM, and our parents live far away, so I’m not worried about getting them bases for their cars/trading off like many parents do.

What would you do? Would I regret skipping the infant seat?

 

[washedbyblood87]

@hermit76 Check with your hospital- ours won’t let us leave without an infant seat because so many of the convertible seats just don’t fit newborns safely/well.

 

[holly27]

@washedbyblood87 Our primary convertible, despite being allowed for infants and installed correctly, failed the car seat inspection. Our secondary cheaper convertible passed. If you get a convertible, make sure the baby will be reclined enough and not just that it’s installed correctly.

 

[washedbyblood87]

@holly27 We’re getting an infant seat and a convertible because I just don’t want to risk it. Our travel system we chose comes with a super highly rated infant seat, and I got our convertible Graco Slimfit for only $150 on some kind of super sale from Amazon a couple months back.

 

[holly27]

@washedbyblood87 It was my graco slimfit lx that failed, but I think it’s car specific.

 

[washedbyblood87]

@holly27 Yeah we’ll be using the infant seat until she outgrows it and going to the fire station to get them both inspected before she goes in either

 

[kbupdike]

@washedbyblood87 What? This is absurd. Many, many convertibles are designed for use with newborns. They have special inserts and everything.

 

[washedbyblood87]

@kbupdike Ok? I’m just sharing what the regulations are at the hospital where I’m delivering (and what I’ve seen other post as true for their hospitals as well in my bumper date groups)

 

[kbupdike]

@washedbyblood87 Sorry if it came off as rude. Not my intention at all. That’s just a really, really dumb policy for your hospital to have, and annoying that parents who deliver at your hospital potentially have to buy an infant seat they don’t want or need as a result.

 

[washedbyblood87]

@kbupdike A lot of convertible seats, even with the inserts, don’t pass inspections for smaller (or even average sized) newborns. Even if they will in a week or two with a bit more growth, the hospital’s responsibility is to make sure your infant leaves safely right when they release you.

 

[kbupdike]

@washedbyblood87 Who did the “inspection” that you’re referring to? Nurses aren’t car seat safety experts. Unless they were at your hospital?

Our hospital ensured we had a car seat, but they certainly didn’t do any true “inspection.”

I have serious doubt that any hospital would willingly take on the liability that would come with representing to a patient that they’re using a car seat in a way that is (or is not) “safe,” beyond echoing the manufacturer’s guidelines.

 

[washedbyblood87]

@kbupdike I haven’t given birth yet, but what I was told by my midwife is the hospital employs people who are also CPSTs and they inspect your car seat installation and fit before you’re allowed to leave with the baby.

 

[maddad]

@kbupdike Actually nurses can be car seat certified.

But the hospital I work at does a car seat challenging (pretty standard) for babies under a certain weight. Pulse ox on baby in the car seat for an hour to make sure their oxygen doesn’t dip!

The “inspections” are usually just for smaller babies and doing a car seat challenge. But for the average baby, nobody is looking at your car seat lol

 

[ashkan]

@washedbyblood87 They legally can not prevent you from leaving if you have an age appropriate car seat

 

[alliah]

@washedbyblood87 Ours really wants you to bring a car seat into the hospital, but if you:

•deliver your baby, who is healthy, full term, and not very small

•tell them that you have a convertible seat already installed in the car and are very confident in your ability to use it correctly

•talk about the weight limits so they believe you when you say you know what you're talking about

•offer to bring the car seat into the hospital to make sure the baby fits into it if really necessary - "I mean we could bring it in, but then we'd have to install it again before we go home."

•verbally consent to leaving the hospital without a car seat check

•verbally consent to leaving the hospital without a car seat check again

They will let you leave the hospital without seeing your car seat.

 

[hfbroady]

@alliah Our hospital had nurses who walked us out (pushing me in a wheelchair holding baby), and physically checked the seat. Is this not the norm?

I can't imagine a hospital letting anyone leave without seeing the seat. Talk about a liability

 

[kbupdike]

@hfbroady Talk about the liability created by feigning to do an inspection, when nurses are by no means qualified in car seat safety in any way?

 

[alliah]

@hfbroady No. At least it's definitely not the norm at my hospital or any of the other hospitals in my city.

The only hard rule was that I wasn't allowed to walk out carrying the baby, so my husband pushed my wheelchair while I held the baby.

They only need to do a check if there's any concern about the baby being able to breathe while in a car seat. If the baby is healthy enough for that not to be a concern, the hospital wouldn't be liable for anything that happens once you leave.

It's not the hospital's responsibility to make sure you are properly ready to parent beyond asking very basic health and safety related questions like, "Do you have a pediatrician's appointment scheduled?", making sure you have a plan for feeding the baby, and clarifying that you understand safe sleep practices.

 

[richking58]

@washedbyblood87 What if someone is walking home from the hospital?

 

[washedbyblood87]

@richking58 Unless she lives literally next door to the hospital, that’s not really happening. Knowing the Appalachian South, it’s so highly unlikely it’s not a possibility worth addressing.