When used correctly, it is entirely safe to bring a baby home from the hospital in a convertible such as the 4Ever. That said, there are a couple of things to consider: Hospital policy may make things challenging. It’s true that some hospitals will make life very difficult for you if you don’t show up with an infant bucket seat. You should call your hospital and clarify. Often talking to the charge nurse in the postpartum wing will be your best bet. All-in-one car seats can just be overwhelming. There are at least 4 different modes of use on that seat, and frankly the learning curve to use it isn’t something I typically recommend to first time parents. This is an over-generalization but typically the newborn bucket seats are simpler. They only do one thing. So… while it’s ok to get the 4Ever if you want one, I’d say it’s even more important to visit with a CPST to learn how to use it before you bring the baby home, as well as planning to make follow up visits occasionally (especially at milestones like changing the mode of use) as the baby grows. The longer I work with families and car seats the less I’m a fan of the Swiss Army Knife style of car seats for this reason. They are, however, safe when used correctly. And, full disclosure, this is my personal opinion and does not reflect a general opinion among CPSTs. Now - in terms of the safest car seat - it’s whichever one fits your car, fits your child, and you can use correctly every time. This really is the truth. Yes, Nuna seats are great and usually very user friendly. But you should not feel like you have to spend that much to keep your child safe. The more important thing is to read your vehicle manual and your car seat manual, and reach out for clarification on anything you might need help on. You don’t mention what kind of car you drive. That could help us tailor recommendations for you. More on reddit.com

The best carseat is the one that is installed properly in your car and gets used correctly every time. We used the Grado snugride click connect 35 for an infant seat and now use the Graco mysize 65 and the Graco extend to fit.

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The result of my “research” put The Graco 4Ever at the top of my list (research is in quotes because as you can see, it’s not scientific by any means!)

When I researched it a few months back it was 1) the highest rated on Amazon 2) has several recommendations by friend 3) has several recommendations on reddit 4) is #2 for Consumer Reports all-in-one seat 5) is #1 for best all-in-one on BabyBargains.com (that’s the same people who wrote the book Baby 411).

After that, Chicco NextFit, Brittax Marathon and Graco Extend2Fit were all top choices as well. They shared a 3 way tie as far as their rating on Amazon and all were recommended on Reddit. Chicco NextFit is Consumer Reports #1 pick for convertible seat (different category than all-in-one) and Britax Marathon is #2.

So I bought a Graco 4Ever before they announced Babies R Us was closing because they happened to have a sale and it was $100 off and I had Endless Earnings to use up and then just bought the Chicco NextFit too since I was told that one is decently easy to install and my husband often needs to fold down the back seats in his SUV so it’ll be nice to have something that can go in and out. I grabbed that one because again, has a coupon before Babies R Us stopped accepting them.

The reason I’m mentioning why I bought them is because Haven’t used them yet LOL So can’t speak to how they work. Hopefully in another month or two when LO is sitting well in his own and we don’t need to rely on the infant seat to go places, w’ell transition. But—that was my logic and in my opinion, the picks that had the best reviews! Hope that helps.

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Someone once told me that car seats actually have expiration dates. Conspiracy me thinks this is just a gimmick of car seat manufacturers to sell more car seats. What's the truth? Is there any scientific data to back up the need for expiration dates if they're real? More on reddit.com