Choosing the Best Car Seat for Newborns and Infants

A good car seat is a priority for your newborn, even if you’re not sure what other gear you’ll need! Here’s how to choose a good car seat for your baby…plus our favourite brand of car seat!

As a first-time mom, I was completely overwhelmed with the challenge of figuring out what gear we needed for our Little Dude!

I really value having a simple home, so I made it a priority to limit the amount of new things we brought into our house. Still, if you’ve never had a baby before it’s tough to know ahead of time what you’ll actually need and use. On top of that, it’s hard to know what brand to buy for the items you do decide to get!

If you’re in the same first-time mom boat that I was last year, here’s my advice: first focus on getting what you know is a necessity for your baby! And thankfully, you’ll find there’s not a whole lot that is truly, really an absolute necessity.

The top of my list? A car seat! If you want to take your baby anywhere in the car (like home from the hospital!) you need one. Get your baby’s car seat, and you’ll already have much better peace of mind. You can figure out clothes and blankets and swings and even the crib after that!

How to Choose a Car Seat: Pros and Cons

There are two main types of car seats you can get for your baby: infant, or convertible. Infant car seats are rear-facing and can only be used until your baby reaches a certain weight. The major advantage is that infant car seats are very portable. You can remove the seat from the car (either snap it out of its base or unbuckle it), and carry it into restaurants, a friend’s house, etc–all without disturbing the baby inside!

The other option is a convertible car seat, which can be rear-facing (for infants), or forward-facing (for toddlers). The upside here is that you might not have to buy a new car seat for your baby as they grow! The huge downside is that you can’t remove the seat from the car and carry it around as you would an infant car seat.

We opted for an infant car seat. I heard from many mom friends that an infant car seat is a lifesaver for keeping a sleeping baby asleep! And now I’ve verified that for myself. Little Dude used to fall asleep in the car very easily, and it was great to just be able to carry him around in the seat once we reached our destination, rather than have to wake him by taking him out. We also buckled him into the car seat while we ate dinner, and occasionally used it as a bed during the first few weeks of his life! (Because sometimes babies just don’t sleep where you want them to…)

After deciding that we wanted an infant car seat, the next task was to choose which brand!

Our Car Seat Solution: the Chicco Bravo Trio System

My husband did some research online, and found that Chicco is a highly-rated company and has great consumer reviews. We ended up getting the Bravo Trio System for our car seat, which includes an infant car seat, car seat base, and convertible stroller.

Here’s why we love the Bravo Trio System:

• All of the components (car seat, car seat base, and stroller) are extremely sturdy and well-made
• KeyFit 30 car seat easily snaps in and out of the base, and in and out of the stroller
• Car seat is well-padded and comes with newborn insert
• Car seat base is easy to install in your car
• Stroller converts for a toddler, once baby outgrows the car seat
• Stroller folds in half for easy storage (it fits into the trunk of our Toyota Camry!)
• Stroller also includes a sun shade, cup holders, and pouch to hold the diaper bag

I love how the car seat easily goes from the car, to the stroller, to the house! Every component of the Trio System is extremely user-friendly. Once you practice snapping the car seat in a few times or folding down the stroller, it’s a cinch!

The only downside to the Trio System is because the construction is so sturdy, it’s also a bit heavier than some other strollers and car seats on the market. However, it’s still quite manageable, and I’ve used the car seat and stroller with Little Dude many times when Eric’s not around to help.

If you need a car seat or stroller for your baby, I would highly recommend looking in to getting one from Chicco!

Other great products from Chicco

Besides a car seat, we also have a couple of pacifiers made by Chicco. Little Dude loves his paci! It’s made completely out of non-toxic silicone rubber, which we prefer over plastic since it’s in his mouth so often! The pacifiers came in this NaturalFit feeding system, although you can also buy them separately. The feeding system also includes a silicone teether, bottles, bottle sterilizer, and bottle brush. (I love the bottle brush! It’s hard to get bottles really clean without one.)

Chicco also makes baby clothes, convertible high chairs (which I reviewed HERE), toys, playards, and more. You can browse their website here and read more about the company here.

[question]What car seat did you get for your newborn or infant? Have you tried any of Chicco’s products?[/question]

Disclosure: I received products from Chicco in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are 100% mine. I was very pleased with the products I received from Chicco, and I am happy to recommend them!