Bring car seat without the base???

[two-foxes]

Okay, soon to be first time momma here and the biggest stress I have about our planned December trip with our little man who will be 6 months old is "what to do about a car seat!" (Renting one is not on the list of options.)

Several options I am toying with....

1. Getting a $80 Graco Comfort Sport and save it exclusively for travel for as long as he fits in it....so it should last a couple of years. Check it as luggage. (Opting for the cheapest best option so if we check it and it gets damaged, no huge financial loss.)

2. Bringing the Chicco Key Fit infant seat that he'll be in in December with out the base, carrying it to the gate and gate checking it. Worry about a convertable seat later. But how safe is using an infant seat without a base?!?!?!

3. Bringing the Chicco and check it with the base as luggage and hope for that Frontier Airlines is nice and gentle so there is no damage done.

I have read lots of different things that folks have done here, although I never remember reading about bringing/leaving bases at home. What option seems most logical for you experienced moms and dads?

 

[dsneygirl]

We have travelled with just the seat and not the base and had no problems. I would practice at home several times so you are comfortable installing it.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Are you renting a car? If not then you will not need the carseat at all.

 

[all4fun]

We never traveled w/ds when he was still using the infant seat so I never had to decide whether to leave the base at home or not. The only real downside to not taking the base is that when taking the car seat in and out of the car, you'll have to reinstall the seat with the vehicle belt every time you go somewhere, instead of having the convenience of just clicking it into a base. That may or may not be a big deal to you. As long as the seat is designed to be used w/out the base, then it's safe to do so, provided you can get a tight enough install w/out it (best advice - practice at home in your own vehicle so you're at least comfortable with it once you reach your destination).

The only other thing I would recommend is not buying a Graco Comfortsport but getting a Cosco Scenera 5-pt instead. This is a basic but good seat, fairly easy to install and use, and only costs $40-50 (Walmart/Kmart/Target carry them). The Scenera's top slots aren't much taller than the CS (about 1/2") however it does have a higher r/fing weight limit (35#) and you really can't beat the price. Just wanted you to know there was another option out there. We used it's predessesor, the Touriva, for a travel seat and in MIL's car and ds actually seemed more comfortable in it than his cushier AO 3-in-1 seat (another one to avoid, btw).

hth.

 

[bumbershoot]

Please don't stress about this yet.

The baby-gear question caused me SO much stress before DS arrived. And once he was here, decisions like this just faded away. Well, not the decisions, but the stress over them. So don't worry now. (while pregnant I used to leave BabiesRUs in TEARS, and I wasn't even getting much from them, not being big on "gear" other than safety stuff, but it was just SO overwhelming!)

Especially because you have NO idea what sort of body this guy will have! (and since I know of several people whose babies were not the sex determined from ultrasound, I must mention that it might not even be a guy... )

Neither my hubby nor I are very tall, but our son outgrew, by height, his infant seat (Graco SnugRide) BEFORE he was 4 months old!!! I did NOT expect that. Had I known the wee boy would be 22 inches on arrival and 27" by 4 months, I surely would not have wasted my money on an infant seat (DH and I each took the stupid thing out of the base ONCE, and left that heavy beast in the car until we retired it), and just gotten the Roundabout we're still using. 22 inches...yowza.

So by 8 months he might be in something completely different than what you expect. But don't worry about that now, it will all become clear when you meet him and see how he grows.


Now, should the questions you have still be valid all that time from now... as long as that seat has instructions on how to use it without the base, it should be totally fine. Base or no, a good, solid fit is the MOST important thing. Same goes for seatbelt vs LATCH. A loose fit with LATCH is worse than a tight fit with a belt, so you go with the best fit for your car and carseat combo.

I don't know the seats you're talking about....by the way.

For traveling, we also got a Scenera, and it's a REALLY good seat, IMO. Hubby can *sometimes* get a better fit with that than our Roundabout by Britax (when that happens, he re-does the Britax). The Scenera is light, inexpensive, and has good reviews.

On our first Disney trip, we checked it at the gate (using a seat bag we got from Target, Eddie Bauer brand). Later I realized that we had NO idea of the forces it was being subjected to. Next and last Disney trip we brought it on, b/c we had to get him his own seat. In the future, we would likely NOT check a seat as luggage, but would rather gate-check it, if we have another baby and decide to not get a seat for him/her.


But really, please don't worry about this. It will all be clear, later.

 

[Spart02]

We will be traveling in December as well, but with a 4 month old. We have decided to go with the Chicco carseat but to leave the base behind for the trip. The stroller that comes with the Chicco Discovery just looks like it can't be beat for long days at the parks. We have taken several different strollers to Disney and after a thourough inspection of the Chicco, have decided that it will be the best choice for us. That way, when the infant is sleeping, we don't have to move her from her seat to move her ot the van or monorail, etc. We can just let her sleep. We will have to gate check the seat and stroller because we don't have a seat purchased for the infant, but we're going to try to find a stroller bag or giant garbage bag to stick them in for a little added protection.

 

[laughinplace199]

We're leaving next week with a 5 month old. I was on the fence about bringing the base. We bought DS a seat on the plane, but we won't need the base for the plane. DH wants to bring the base for the rental car. He is the car seat installer in our family, so I let him decide. We use the base in our car, so DH just wants to go with what we're used to. He feels that for us, not using the base would be a pain since you have to install the seat with the seatbelt every time you get in the car and we're not used to doing that.

Try not to stress too much over these things. You have a while before you need to make a decision. Once your little guy is here (congrats, by the way), it won't seem so overwhelming to decide on stuff like this.

 

[jenseib]

Why is renting one not an option? Just curious?
I would bring the base myself. I think it is safer, and easier toget the child in and out. But If you are using Disney transportation you won't need the seat at all.

 

[TiggerStac]

We just returned last week, this is what we did and did w/our DS #1, when he was younger as well.

We brought the infant car seat and used it on the plane and checked the base w/our luggage. It is much easier to take in and out of the carseat base than having to strap in w/out the base each time the child goes in and out of the car. I have an xl LL Bean duffel bag that I use to hold the car seats in. The base for one son and my others booster seat.

 

[NotUrsula]

I agree that you're over-thinking the whole business too soon. The odds are that a healthy full-term boy will be too large to use an infant seat in a car at 6 months. (You may still be using it in restaurants, etc. if he hasn't mastered sitting up unaided by then, but for that kind of use it doesn't matter if he's a bit big for it.)

About the base: the KeyFit works just fine without one, and you may find that you hate the base anyway; sometimes the snap-latches are very hard to lock securely. If you fly with a base you should remove it from the seat when gate-checking it, because unsecured in the hold it could detach fully or partially from the seat and damage the latches, and if it does become detached there will be no check-tag on the base, meaning it will not come back to you. (You need to securely label both sections for a gate-check.) Also note that most bases will not be useable on board an aircraft, because the aircraft seatbelt latches in the center, and would probably be resting on top of the base in a way that would prevent the seat from latching into it.
All in all, travelling with the carseat base is often way more trouble than it is worth.

If you are going to buy a second "Grandma seat" anyway, I'd probably make that one a less expensive lightweight that will be easy to travel with. The previously mentioned Scenera is an excellent travel seat; it is usually pretty easy to install in most domestic car models.

 

[two-foxes]

Thanks for all the great responses. Unless he is way overweight for his age, the chicco infant seat should still work. But, I know that is still unknown! Part of the reason I am extra worried about getting a seperate convertable seat is that my showers are coming up and it wouldn't hurt to get the convertable seat for a gift Anyway, you guys have given me some great ideas and new mom reassurance. Thanks.

Oh, yes, we are renting a car, but between the cost of $10 per day to rent a car seat ($80 plus tax) and the condition that I hear some of the seats are in, I would rather bring my own....that is why I have ruled out renting one as an option.

And, we are sure it is a boy, bumbershoot! We even have it in 3-D! (I should be embarrassed to say that!)

 

[eh24fan]

I have a 3 month old son who is going to be out of his infant seat within weeks. He weighed 17lbs and was 23 3/4 inches at his dr. visit 2 weeks ago. I would certainly not worry about this until you need to. You might end up with a linebacker like we did! LOL

 

[SaraMc]

Are you renting a car or using ME? If your using ME there is no where to attach the seat . We went with DS when he was 6 months and didnt even bring it because we were using ME. What about getting a Graco snug ride? The base is really light so it doesnt add much to the wieght. Also most airlines let you check with a lap baby a stroller, car seat and diaper bag.

 

[bumbershoot]

Unless he is way overweight for his age, the chicco infant seat should still work. But, I know that is still unknown! Part of the reason I am extra worried about getting a seperate convertable seat is that my showers are coming up and it wouldn't hurt to get the convertable seat for a gift

And, we are sure it is a boy, bumbershoot! We even have it in 3-D! (I should be embarrassed to say that!)

I stand by believing it when I see the kiddo on the outside.


I just looked at the pdf manual for the key fit, and it goes to 30 inches. FWIW, while the SnugRide only went to 26 and DS was out of it before 4 months, he was also 30 inches at the 8 month mark (another issue is that DS has most of his height in his torso, bringing his head up too close to the top of the shell, which is also a problem in the SnugRide and it seems in the Key Fit, too). I tell ya, it was unexpected! I'm only 5'3", and DH is 5'10". His dad was that height too, as is his brother. The generations before were shorter. His mom is 2" shorter than me, as was my mom (and her mom was 4'11"). My dad, however, is over 6 feet, so we just assume it managed to work its way through those genes, even though my brother is only 5'10", too! My half-sibs are tall, but their mom is 5'11" !

Ya never know.


And you do NOT have to decide on these things now! I think that's all anyone is REALLY saying. Allow it to be known that you wouldn't mind the convertible seat as well (though usually people at showers are really just focused on the newborn stage, so unless you are ONLY going to use the convertible seat at the beginning, only a seriously nice friend would get it in addition to an infant seat), or WHEN you get doubles and triples of things, return them and get one yourself.

Baby stuff is confusing, especially when you're trying to plan ahead like this. You should see me, going back and forth about planning a future cruise, and wondering if we should book for 4 with 4th "to be determined", just in case I ever manage to get pg again...then ultimately NOT booking b/c it's all just too depressing. Planning ahead with uncertainty is rough! Good luck!

 

[NotUrsula]

Unless he is way overweight for his age, the chicco infant seat should still work.

The thing is, with infant seats weight is a non-issue unless your baby is unusually chubby. What matters is height. Once the top of baby's head comes to within one inch of the top of the shell, it's time to go to the rear-facing convertible seat. Most normal-weight full-term US babies make that height mark by the time they are about 6 months old, if not before.

Do go ahead and register for the convertible seat; it will be one of your priciest needs, and unless you plan to be a SAHM, you are definitely going to need two of them; one for each parent's vehicle.

In fact, if no one gives convertible seats (or if they give you seats that you don't like or that don't fit your car), I would suggest you use all your gift cards on this purchase, and also return ALL of the "newborn" size outfits you get for credit to use for the convertible carseat. IME, full-term infants are moving into size 3 mo. clothes less than a month after birth, and before that you won't be taking them much of anywhere, so the only tiny clothes you need are undershirts and onesies -- if you get them, trade 'em in for something useful, or at least trade them in for larger sizes that you can use the following year.

 

[all4fun]

Part of the reason I am extra worried about getting a seperate convertable seat is that my showers are coming up and it wouldn't hurt to get the convertable seat for a gift

Just keep in mind that car seats do expire so it's really best to wait until you need one to buy it, that way you're sure to get the full use out of it. Most seats expire 6yrs from Date of Mfgr, so it all depends on what kind of seat you buy (higher weight limit convertibles can easily last a child until they are 5-6yrs old) and also if you'll have another baby to possibly pass it down to in the future.

 

[TravelinGal]

I vote for bring a car seat (whatever your child fits in at that point - 'bucket' style without the base is fine) and USE IT! Pay the money for the seat. I wish I'd seen this video (link below) before I took my child on a flight as a lap infant. We were lucky, but if our flight HAD had problems, I can't imagine the risk of losing him because I was pinching pennies.

Well - y'all watch the video and decide for yourselves. I can't tell anyone else what to do. Make the choice that is best for you and your family. But I know my decision. No more lap child for me.

From a National Geographic special Seconds from Disaster: Sioux City: Lap Baby Segments

 

[jessica52877]

If you bring your infant seat I would check the base and bring it too. It is simpler and since that is what you will be used to better in my opinion for ease in use. At disney everyone is tired and making sure the seat is installed properly every time does take time and patience, some things that seem to run short at disney.

With that being said, my son was out of his infant carrier at 3 months, so I wouldn't be surprised if you have a regular convertible. In that case I would bring whatever you were using at home, install in plane, then in rental car. Everyone is used to it and probably top of the line!