If you’re going to splurge I would go with Nuna over uppababy for the stroller and car seat. But my advice to your question would be to get the cheaper infant seat and splurge on the convertible car seat a little later on. My baby was only in her infant seat for 2 months before we moved into a convertible. We got the Nuna rava and she loves it. It’s so comfortable. More on reddit.com

I have this one for my daughter and it’s a great seat. It fits in most cars and works both forward facing and rear facing (and booster I think?). Technically, no, you wouldn’t need an infant car seat on top of that one but infant car seats have their perks of being easy to take in and out of the car, fits on strollers, etc, which is extremely useful when your little one is young. More on reddit.com

I’m reading through the comments here and… where to even start. Hello, I am a Child Passenger Safety Advocate. I have not yet taken and passed the Child Passenger Safety Technician course, there has not been an opportunity in the past 2 years due to the pandemic. It is important to me though, so I will be traveling to finally take the course at the end of summer. Without doxxing myself, I am a “someone” in one of the major Facebook groups who does car seat install and fit checks. This has been an important resource through the pandemic as in-person checks were cancelled pretty much everywhere. All car seats pass the federal safety standards, since test results are not published it is a “pass or fail” test. (Only Clek publishes their results.) There are 3rd parties that do their own testing, but it is not as comprehensive as the federal test. It is very, very expensive to crash test a car seat with all install methods and all dummies. That is $$$$$ in crashed car seats, dummies, test sleds, and crash facility rental time. So those 3rd parties make up their own (limited) crash testing standards, they just can’t afford comprehensive testing when relying on ad-click revenue and/or membership revenue. To answer your question… The SAFEST car seat is one that is installed and used correctly. Graco infant car seats are fairly easy to use, but some of them do have ease-of-use features that make it simpler to check for a proper install. Look for a base that has a recline indicator (a bubble or bubble-type system that shows baby is at the correct angle.) Newborns do not have head control, they rely on their car seat to be installed at the proper recline angle to keep their airway open. Some Graco bases don’t have a bubble but instead have a line on the side that must be level with the ground - this is safe IF it is actually level. (Ever have an argument about whether a picture is level or not?) A bubble is easier and can be leveled more accurately, plus it “looks wrong” when it isn’t installed properly. Consider skipping the Graco SnugRide 35 Lite. It’s crotch buckle is much farther forwards than the other Graco seats, so it often requires a “crotch roll” to fill the gap between baby and the buckle - to keep them from sliding down and slouching. Using a crotch roll is safe but inconvenient. Over half of all car seats are installed/used incorrectly. (Yes that link is from 2017, but the pandemic has absolutely not improved that statistic. So many kids riding around in outgrown car seats.) Have your install checked by a CPST. Either online or you can find one locally here , but their search engine is a little strange. Don’t give it too much info - try state/county OR city/state OR zip/state. Do not show up at a random fire station. Firefighters are kindhearted and will do their best, but they are unlikely to have any training on proper car seat use. Some of the worst installs I’ve seen were with the “help” of a well-intentioned firefighter. As for the Graco seat names… they only make a few bases and a few “buckets” (the seat that goes on top.) They pair those together in different combos to make a seat name. Scroll through their seats three times: First, look at the bases. The different ones have different knobs/handles to adjust the recline. There are maybe 3-6 of those depending on where you shop. Next, look at the buckets - specifically the handles on the buckets. The buttons to fold the handle and the “hand grip” vary, they’re what to look at to tell them apart. Finally, look at the inside of the bucket - the headrest and insert type. That’s the last part of the seat name, what makes a seat an “LX” or “DLX.” More on reddit.com