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It seems to be a natural scene: parents going out grocery shopping, lugging their baby in a bucket seat that they set in the basket of the cart, parents lugging their baby in a bucket seat into the school to pick up their preschooler, parents lugging their baby in a bucket seat into the clinic waiting room where the baby hangs our while mom or dad fills out paperwork.

So it might seem totally weird when I tell you that we didn’t use an infant bucket seat at all, not even when Mac was a newborn. Right from the beginning, we had her in a convertible seat that had a padded insert and could tilt back for newborns. (In case you are wondering, we use the Britax Marathon G4.1 Convertible Car Seat . We have never had any problems. It fits in both of our small cars and Mac has been comfortable in it from birth until now! In fact, she is still rear facing in it at the age of 2.5.)

You are probably curious about why and how I came to this decision. So here are the list of reasons I picked to skip the bucket seat and what I did instead.

Development Depends on Freedom of Movement

It is so important for babies to have freedom of movement, whenever possible. Carrying baby around in a bucket seat all the time restricts their ability to learn about how their body moves. Having a baby lay at an angle like they do in the bucket seat is not good for their development, especially their core development. All of their future physical development will rely on their core strength, from sitting up to walking. (Don’t despair if you do use a bucket seat. Just make sure baby isn’t spending all of their time inside of it! If you need some ideas to do with baby, check out my post about activities to do with a Montessori baby.)

Bucket Seats Aren’t Actually More Convenient

Now, I totally get wanting to make things easy for yourself as a parent. It gets tiring both mentally and physically to have to lug around a baby all the time. So why would you want to make it even harder by adding a 10+ pound infant seat? When I took Mac to the store as a young baby, I wore her in a wrap until she was old enough to sit in the cart seat. For me, that was much easier than lugging around the heavy seat.

Car Seats Are Expensive

Car seats are expensive, but they are necessary. Andrew and I decided we would rather buy a more expensive, convertible car seat that we could use for several years instead of having to buy multiple, cheaper car seats as Mac grew.

Let Baby See the World

Mac has always loved to be out and about and see people. When I had her in a front carrier, she could see everything I could see. Most babies that are stuck in a bucket seat end up staring at the ceiling lights because that is all they can see. Mac was able to look at faces and products on the shelf. Plus, I didn’t have to worry about strangers touching her when I was wearing her on my chest.

Now Onto a Little Rant and How I Did It Instead

I have seen parents still lugging around their one year old child in a bucket seat. Not only is that totally unnecessary, but it is also just a pain in the butt. I really don’t want to carry the extra weight of a car seat along with a baby and a diaper bag. Add that to the fact that I often see parents putting the bucket seat in the front part of the cart, which is totally unsafe, and I’m not seeing the “convenience” of a bucket seat.

I will admit that at first, I was unsure what to do with Mac when I went out and about. I spent a lot of time at home with her when she was a newborn because not only was it February, but she was also a needy baby who had an unpredictable schedule of eating and sleeping. Once she was a few months old, I had the routine down.

If we were going somewhere like visiting family or the doctors office, we just carried her in our arms from the car. Once we got inside, we were typically passing her around to relatives or able to lay her down so she could play.

Going to the store meant I would wear her in a wrap. I used a Moby wrap that I would put on myself before I left home, covering it with a jacket. When I got to the store, I only had to transfer her from the car seat to the wrap and head inside. Once I was in the store, I could make any needed adjustments. Doing it this way meant I didn’t have to try and wrap her while standing in the cold or lay her in the cart while I put on the wrap. (Read more about how we went out and about.)

Overall, I think a bucket seat is totally unnecessary for most people. I would save the money and buy a convertible car seat. The Britax Marathon G4.1 Convertible Car Seat has a removable pillow that goes in the bottom to make it safe for newborns. We have used it for over two years now.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. That means if you buy through my link, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. For more information, see my disclosure page here.