Skip the Infant Bucket Seat and reasons why using a convertible car seat from birth is the way to go.
I brought both my babies home in convertible car seats. We skipped the infant seat and enjoyed the simplicity of a convertible car seat suitable for babies from birth and beyond.
Skipping the traditional infant bucket seat seemed like the only reasonable solution for my quest to have LESS BABY STUFF. Why do you need to use so many different car seats in a child’s life? Skip that first one and choose a seat that lasts forever.
My biggest motivation for this is environmental.
By reducing the number of car seats (and stuff) my children “need” then I reduce their overall impact on the environment. I’m not perfect, but its one less petroleum product that needs to be manufactured, shipped, and then later disposed of is a win for me. Even if you get your car seat recycled, it’s still another product that required resources for production and disposable.
Many convertible car seats on the market are ready to fit newborn babies.
My second motivation is cost.
Yes, convertible car seats are expensive, but you know what else is expensive? Purchasing an infant bucket seat and convertible car seat when they outgrow the infant bucket seat by 9-12-18 months. You will always need a rear-facing convertible car seat, the infant bucket seat is just a luxury.
I’m cheap. I didn’t want more stuff or to spend more money.
My third motivation is a connection.
Bucket babies (or container baby syndrome) are becoming a concern in our time and age. Many parents leave babies in car seats or contraptions and its limiting on their physical and social development. No bucket seat for me meant we had to hold, touch, and embrace our newborn baby. And yes, that’s overwhelming and exhausting but its the best parenting decision I wanted to make.
Thanks for reminding me of that Quirky and the Nerd.
But…
- What about leaving the hospital?
- What about leaving the house?
- What about juggling an infant and a toddler?
- What about the cold days of winter?
- What about strollers and going for walks?
- What about when they fall asleep?
^ Those are all excuses for convenience.
I’m not sure why we are always trying to find the easy way out of life, but sometimes to save money and save the environment, we need to work a little harder. Don’t be scared of juggling a newborn infant because babies are easy.
Leaving the Hospital with a Convertible Car Seat
Alright, this is the part of this article that people are going to want to read and/or have an opinion about.
I left the hospital with a convertible car seat with my newborn babies twice. If you’re in my area, it was UHNBC (University Hosptial of Northern British Columbia) in Prince George. The first time I was a naive first time mom and my husband brought the seat in and the nurse did her ‘check’ and then we snuck out of the hospital. The nurse that day was adamant we could only leave with the baby in the car seat. Needless, that is not a safe option to transport an infant from the maternity ward to the vehicle. The second time, we just left. I walked out of the hospital with a baby in my arms and we put her in a warm truck at the door.
I’m sure your hospital has a “policy” on the issue, and for many valid reasons because they want the baby to be safe and you to be prepared.
This is what you need to know. If it is legal to use your car seat with a child of that size, then there isn’t a problem.
What’s the worse thing a nurse at the hospital is going to do?
Call CPS? Call the Police? And then what? Are you going to show them your safely secured baby in a convertible car seat in your car? They probably have bigger issues to deal with.
Check out what CTSFL has to say on the issue.
If someone told you that it wasn’t legal to leave with a convertible car seat, or that you could only leave with a bucket seat, then they misinterpreted things. Just because its’ always been done that way, doesn’t mean its the only way.
Be strong mama and stand your ground. Ask the nurse to come with you to your vehicle if it’s going to be an issue. If it stresses you too much, considering borrowing an infant bucket seat for the occasion from a friend. Our hospital even rents them and you could do the job to the parking lot, and then return it.
Leaving the House in a Convertible Car Seat
The best part about using a Convertible Car Seat from Birth is no sore aching back. Carrying around a 10-15-20 pound child in a 15-20 pound car seat is not good for your body.
It’s simple to leave the house.
I just dressed baby appropriately, plopped into the seat, blanket if really cold, and then went.
When we arrived at our destination, I would baby wear or maybe a stroller in certain situations.
A simple ring sling is my favourite tool for newborns or even a fancy baby carrier from newborn to babyhood would be ideal. I find even a sleeping baby transfers snuggly to me.
I lost this Sakura Bloom Ring Sling and it makes my heart heavy with sadness.
Infant seats take up too much room in the seat of the buggy to fit what you need. Infant seats should never be placed precariously on top of a buggy for fear of injury/damage. Infant seats are just a nuisance.
Rarely did I ever have a doctors appointment I couldn’t’ go to with baby on my chest, but when things go older and more difficult often the receptionist would take ten minutes to enjoy my baby. Sometimes I would pull out the stroller, and a gentle recline makes for a great baby experience.
With 2 kids sometimes I wish I could just plop down an infant seat, but really the chaos of it all is worth it to me. Is it worth it to you? Is it worth one less baby thing to buy and dispose of. How do you feel about your impact and is that something that’s important to you?
I found chasing toddlers easier to do with a baby on board, but it’s also easy to chase them with a baby in a buggy.
If you have any questions about using a Convertible Car Seat from Birth leave me a comment below.
I completely agree! Even my winter baby went straight to a convertible. I would hop into the back, snuggle him up in the baby wrap, then go out.
I just personally could never fathom carrying around a huge, bulky carseat when I could just wear the tiny baby instead
Thanks for the shoutout! I love this post and I’m going to share on my social media 🙂
I’m planning for my first baby due in June and definitely thought the infant bucket seat was a must have. Now I’m rethinking my decision. I agree with you that I tend to see a lot of parents leaving their newborn in the car seat all… the… time. Thank you for this perspective!
I’m thinking of skipping the infant carrier and sticking to baby wearing, but I do have some questions about doing it during winter that I’m hoping I can borrow from your experiences!
1) how do you handle wearing a winter coat and bundling yourself with a baby wrap of some sort?
2) how have you kept baby warm while in a baby wrap in winter? The infant carrier seems extra convenient in that case because you can buy those covers and use blankets. I’m assuming there’s some easy to be done fixes when babywearing, but curious to here what you used?
Thanks for this post! Never would have really thought this an option until reading this. Baby #1 on the way and due end of October!
Hey,
For winters, I typically wear both myself and the baby in thin layers and then use a babywearing sweater or jacket like the belly bedaine to keep us warm. This way I felt that everyone was warm. There’s nothing more reassuring then feeling warm baby against your chest in -20C
http://www.simplymombailey.com/dress-for-winter-babywearing/belly-bedaine-babywearing-sweater/
Truthfully, I also limit my outdoor activities in the cold. I wouldn’t go out deeper than -15C if I didn’t have to, and mostly just wrap baby in a wool blanket for transporting from the house to the car, from the car to the store.
Thank you for sharing this helpful info. I am pregnant with my third, but donated the majority of our baby stuff . We thought we were done having children, but changed our minds years later. My goal is to not buy anything new and really only get what we need. We happen to have 2 convertible car seats so I thought I would ditch the infant seat too. Any time I mention this to a mom, they think I am crazy. So I begin to defend, such as explaining my babies never slept in these seats very long any way once it was removed from a moving car. So your post helps me believe it is possible to do without. Thank you!
I found your post to be very opinionated and judgmental! Stop to consider that their are situations where a mother would need a car seat and it’s not because she is lazy and doesn’t want to hold her child or because she doesn’t care about the environment. Maybe she has twins? Maybe it is to stressful for her to manage a baby strapped to her body and a toddler at the same time. Maybe she just wants to go for a walk with her toddler and baby without the sore back and that comes with wearing a carrier for long period of time. Or maybe her baby is premature and needs proper neck support. Which your newborn does not have in any of your photos!! Shame on you for making mother’s feel like they are anything less than the best mother they can be because they don’t follow your views!!
I didn’t intend for there to be any judgement. I was merely sharing why I chose to skip the infant bucket seat. This was a reflection of my personal opinion, and not once did I tell a parent that this was the only way or the best way.
Yes, the environmental concerns around stuff do hurt and sting when coming face to face with the things we do for our situation but that’s on you, not you on me.
Parents ask me all the time why and how I made it work with no infant bucket seat, so I thought to share my story here.
If you feel judged because of this that is all on you. This Mommy War game has to stop. Let parents share their experiences, their opinions, and if you disagree move along. We all like finding like minded people on the internet. I’m sorry you’re not one of them.
Thank you so much. I told my family that this is what I wanted to do and they are so against it. Thanks for the inspiring words of wisdom.
I love everything you said here. I have one question for you. I also live in Canada (Nova Scotia) and wonder how you handled the really cold weather, the trips to/from the car both temperature wise and I’m afraid what if I hit ice and am carrying the baby), etc, etc. Did you ever use a stroller? How did you adapt to that without doing what everyone uses these days and just clicking the infant bucket seat into the stroller? Thanks!
You can still hit ice when carrying baby in a carseat and it can be scary. I did hit ice once when babywearing and it did suck, but would happen both ways. I typically just carry baby into the store wrapped in a blanket and then put them on me, or I would do it at the car. I feel a baby can handle a brief exposure to cold being tucked int my coat for example and be fine.
I did use a stroller, I have one that lays flat and I would put them in their, but with my second I baby wore becasue my first was in the stroller.
Hey, I’m in Canada too, and with some consistently -20C to -40C I found it very difficult to do without a bucket seat, and I had grand plans to use it as little as possible for fear of flat head syndrome, and plagiocephaly. I have come to terms that choosing this method can be quite difficult in Canada, especially since it is not safe for babies and young children to wear bulky layers in carseats (it can prevent you from tightening the straps tight enough). During the winter when my son was a baby, we would dress him in warm layers, hat, mitts, blanket, and had a carseats cover was had an elastic go over the whole top, with a flap that would open for baby’s face. Now that he is a toddler, we are big fans of a thick fleece carseat poncho, with various layers underneath (long sleeve shirt, fleece sweater, hat, mitts, neck warmer).
We had good timing, my son was grew out of his bucket seat around springtime, so it was a really good transition for us we
weather wise, and I was happy to put the bucket seat away for now. We have a small apartment, so I was happy to be rid of the clutter near our front door.
If it was -20 to -40C and I had a newborn and no bucket seat, honestly wouldn’t go outside. I have very little reason to ever leave the house at those temperatures. Even this past winter I avoided it. Wasn’t worth the risk driving. For me it’s not enough of an issue to trump the environmental concerns of purchasing a secondary seat that I see as unnecessary for my family.
Also, did you ever have an issue with the car seat being too cold for baby? How did you handle winter? Lol
No. We typically preheat the vehicle, and I felt comfortable placing fleece bundled baby in with a blanket over top. I never thought she was too cold, my hsuband would disagree, but I tend to feel babies are resilent and was comfortable. I also just don’t go a lot of places with baby in the first month because I really believe in rest and healing.
Hi! I was wondering if you find the convertible to not be as reclined as the infant carseat, causing their head go dangle a little, or their chin to be tight against their chest. I ask because read mixed reviews on this. I had already decided on getting a convertible and now I’m lost! Thank you!!
If they are approved for use with infants they will be safe for breathing. The Clek we use had an angle for under 20lbs that was quite reclined. IF anything, I’ve heard the angle and positioning in a convertible is a nicer ride for babies especially if they struggle with reflux.
I honestly found this article through trying to confirm my own conviction that I would like to only have a convertible car seat. Many people Who I have talked to about this make it seem somehow crazy or unsafe, which it is not. Thank you for the validation and additional info! Also, former Mother-Baby unit nurse and our hospital policy was Baby in car seat at discharge or mom rides to car in wheel chair with baby on lap for protection. Our hospital did not allow nurses to perform car seat inspections for “liability purposes”. Our only task was to visualize the car seat and listen for a “click.” Thanks again!
Hi, your article is super interesting to read, and helpful because I’m also planning on just using a convertible carseat and live in northern Canada. I’ve been worried about how to handle the baby with the cold, so your article had some great suggestions. Did you have any issues with the hospital not letting you leave? I know it’s legal to leave with a convertible carseat rated for infant weights but am concerned the hospital staff may not know this. I’ve also had friends tell me I’m crazy for not buying the infant car seat so your article is reassuring that I’m not the only one who has tried this strategy.