Lightweight Infant Car Seats

[occanondenomchurch]

I was looking at lightweight Infant car seats (the Graco weighs 7 lb instead of 17 lb for their other models). I'm concerned about aggravating an old shoulder injury lifting and carrying a heavy carrier. My concern is that the safety rating for the Graco lightweight carrier is so much worse than their other models!

Does anyone know of a lightweight carrier that still has the added safety features? Or should I not worry about the weight?

 

[michaellovesjesus777]

@occanondenomchurch Nuna Pipa Lite!

 

[markthedrummer]

@michaellovesjesus777 Have had Nuna pipa lite for 3+ years for 2 kids. Great infant car seat

 

[richking58]

@markthedrummer We are also now using it for our 2nd baby. LOVE this car seat

 

[baltazar]

@michaellovesjesus777 Agreed, it was great, we were able to use it for nearly 16 months and now we're planning on a 2nd so it'll be used again soon enough!

 

[michaellovesjesus777]

@baltazar Wow that’s awesome! Did you end up needing to take all the pillows out as they grew? I removed the low birth weight pillow of course, but I’m not sure if the others are meant to stay in forever or come out too!

 

[baltazar]

@michaellovesjesus777 Yeah maybe the last 4-6 months we had it "bare", it was weird when we made that transition, haha. It normally stayed in my car while my SOs vehicle has a convertible car seat.

 

[michaellovesjesus777]

@baltazar Ohh that’s a really good idea. I was stressing about buying two convertible car seats! Didn’t think about just basically using the Nuna as an in car one until she’s out of the size range for good!

 

[wisdom08]

@occanondenomchurch Honestly even the lightest carrier gets sooo heavy after just a few weeks. 7lb carrier plus a 10 lb baby is not fun. I wish I had gone with a rotating car seat like these from the start.

 

[russelljewell]

@wisdom08 I have the same regret. My wife wanted to get one but we went costco discount for the convertible one and stroller-mountable for the bucket.

 

[jack520]

@wisdom08 Ii opted for a rotating one and it’s great, i baby wear when out and about. Looking forward to baby being big enough to sit in a stroller, but I’ve never wished I had him in a stroller instead of wearing him (yet).

 

[oluwasemi34]

@occanondenomchurch Also look into how to carry a car seat properly.

There’s a trick to wrapping your arm around the side instead of holding the top of the handle and it makes carrying so much easier.

 

[cankosker]

@occanondenomchurch I remember spending so much time comparing car seats to find the lightest one, and at the end of the day, it just doesn’t matter. A 7lbs car seat with a 5, 10, 15, 25lbs kid inside is just heavy.

If I could go back, I would 100% get the Doona. Any car seat will feel heavy lifting it into the car. The hard part is lugging it around/ getting the stroller out so you don’t have to carry them.

 

[richking58]

@cankosker Really? Isn’t the Doona almost $600? I’d be more willing to spring for it if it wasn’t so expensive. After baby outgrows it at 10? months, you’d still be purchasing a regular stroller. Now you’re paying $600 for infant seat/stroller + $250+ convertible car seat + $300 regular stroller.

Not to mention that as a stroller, the Doona looks sup par - there’s NO basket (my #1 reason for bringing the stroller anywhere is the storage), the baby is extremely low to the ground compared to other strollers, no shocks/comfort ride… I mean if you are JUST using it to get baby in and out of car, then I guess. But in every other instance I think I prefer a regular stroller with an infant bucket seat (or just a regular seat)

 

[curiousquestionposter]

@richking58 Also, depending on your location Doona may not be available. It's not for sale in Canada, for example, because it did not pass their safety requirements.

 

[richking58]

@curiousquestionposter It doesn’t look like it would tbh

 

[cankosker]

@richking58 It has a pretty good resale value, so I wouldn’t be too concerned. But yes, it is expensive. If money is not of concern, it’s a wonderful option.

 

[richking58]

@cankosker Car seats are the one thing recommended (and I adhere to this) to not buy second hand, especially if you don’t know the person you’re buying from. Way too many variables that could jeopardize the safety

 

[cankosker]

@richking58 Oh for sure. I would never buy a car seat second hand. I also would never sell a car seat that had been in a wreck or that had been washed/sanitized with unapproved chemicals. But there’s plenty of people that will buy them second hand.

 

[richking58]

@cankosker Oh yes I know. Hopefully everything works out for them. I was an ER nurse, so I try my best to follow safety precautions closely. All we can do is educate