Product spotlight: Car seat/Stroller travel systems

photographerwife

What are you planning on buying? Any good experiences previously? I’m considering buying our stuff very soon since we’re having a bit of a shipping crisis in the US. 

photographerwife

I had the Chico keyfit 30 travel system with my son and liked it mostly. The infant seat was super heavy, so I’d love something a little lighter, and possibly more compact for the stroller part. I have a GMC Terrain and the stroller took up nearly the entire back hatch. Another thing I’m considering is the height and weight. My son is tall and big, around 90th percentile and always was, so I’d like to get the most use I can out of a infant seat before upgrading. Considering the graco set now, but I don’t have experience with their infant stuff. 

kaf1788

We lived on the second floor of a city condo when my first was born so my top priority was a system that was as light as possible and easy for me to carry up and down the stairs by myself. I got the Cybex Aton Q carseat and the Cybex Mios stroller. Loved the extra safety features of the carseat and the easy fold of the stroller. The Mios had a solid combo of being able to steer easily over cobblestone and uneven side walks but folded down super small and was way lighter than the Uppababy Cruz, the other system we were considering. Didn't love that we needed adaptors to put the carseat in the stroller even though they're the same company. Overall we liked it though and will use it again for our second baby!

photographerwife

@kaf1788 thanks! I’ll look into it! I know the uppababy brand was out of budget for us before. They are nice though! Especially considering this will be our last. Hoping we can find what we need more around the mid range! 

angelz429

I am not so patiently waiting the Doona to come back in stock. 

We had an I don’t even know Eddie Bauer travel system with my son 11 years ago. Then had a Britax with my 5 yo and used the stroller like Snap n Go which I highly recommend if you want an infant seat and aren’t ready to commit to a stroller… or have the room in your car for a full size stroller. 

chgilmore

Getting the Doona...hopefully. It's on the registry. We live downtown and like to travel, so it seems like the best fit for our family. I'm also hoping to wear her for as long as she'll let me.

makingbacon

We have a Graco jogging stroller with the infant seat option. We used it for both boys, and it has held up well. The only complaint is the actual stroller is huge, and I can’t fit it in my trunk unless I take the front wheel off. Even then it takes up a good chunk of the trunk. So we don’t travel with it at all. 

JEM2014

We had the Uppababy Vista with my son and it was good but honestly too big and heavy. We sold it so need something new now, so will probably look for something a bit more streamlined this time. Not sure what yet!

kaf1788

@chgilmore I wish I knew the Doona existed last time! We only have one car so I Uber'd around a lot with Samson when I was on maternity leave while my husband was at work. Seems so easy! So tempting to get it with this next baby but who knows when I'm ever going to feel comfortable getting in an Uber with a newborn again.

photographerwife

@angelz429 @chgilmore the doona looks so nice! It’s high for the amount of time we use a stroller with an infant since we baby wear too! But if I could splurge on an infant seat like that I would! Don’t you think you’ll miss the under carriage storage though? 

photographerwife

@makingbacon good to know about the wheels! I definitely don’t want to do that! 😂 we mostly will travel with it since I’ll want to keep it in my car, and all of our trips involve a commute! 

@jem2014 I’m surprised that for a luxury seat it wouldn’t have been better than that! 

photographerwife

I ended up ordering a chicco again. This one is pretty widely rated as one of the best overall sets, and I liked my chicco from the first time. This one is more compact than the last one I had. So hopefully it’ll fit in the hatch well!

Chicco Bravo Trio Travel System - Brooklyn https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VS8D513/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_GS9JPFASF3DP54V1VC9Q?psc=1

chgilmore

@photographerwife I don't know if I'll miss it, and there are attachments for some storage on the stroller handle that might help. I've walked others' kids in the typical strollers and I found that even though the space underneath was convenient, maneuvering the whole thing just felt cumbersome.
the big issue is that we don't have a lot of space (~700 sq ft in this condo) and so there is zero room for a separate stroller. we're trying to be really minimalistic in general but particularly with baby stuff, only getting what we absolutely need and whatever we do need, making sure it doesn't take up a lot of valuable space (ie - convertible mini crib, dresser as changing table, very thin bouncer/lounger, "high chair" that attaches to the dining table directly, etc). 

angelz429

@photographerwife I’m getting the storage attachment. But also, we’re using a backpack diaper bag this time, so much easier to carry. 

JWatt5

We have the Nuna Pipa car seat we’ll be using again for this baby. I love that car seat base and the dream drape. 

With Parker we had a City Select as our main stroller & City Tour kept in the car. Sold the City Select last summer and bought a Veer Wagon that will be our “double stroller” with the car seat attachment. We love it!
I did still buy a regular stroller in the end, got a good floor model deal. I went with Valco Baby Snap Trend Ultra. https://valcobaby.ca/product/trend-ultra/

photographerwife

@chgilmore okay! I didn’t know they made extra storage. I’ve only ever seen them used as the base model. And I understand about not having as much room, and kid stuff adds up so quickly when they get bigger. We moved almost a year ago but the house we brought my son into was about that size, but we made it work! He was in a corner of our bedroom and we kept his stuff minimal. 

@angelz429 @chgilmore I also have this old back pack style diaper bag, it’s a skip and hop brand that has these loop clips on both sides of the top for strollers and buggies. I didn’t think about it earlier but you reminded me. It’s a nice bag so that might be a good option for that stroller too! 

JWatt5

@angelz429 - backpack all the way! I loved the basic skip hop one I had but upgraded two Christmas’ ago and asked for the Fawn Design bag since they finally came to Canada and had an awesome sale! I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to have another kid and wanted something nicer to use long term. 

@photographerwife - I had the same Skip Hop. I always used the clip straps. I loved them. 

Edit to add 
@JEM2014 - check out Valco. A lot of the same features/look but much lighter and a better fold. 

makingbacon

@chgilmore We have a high chair attached to a dining chair, and we love it. I couldn’t find one that I really liked for DS1, so we went with that kind. I’m so glad I did because it’s a huge space saver for us, and I don’t have to find somewhere in the dining room to store it between uses. 

chgilmore

@photographerwife @angelz429 +1 to a backpack diaper bag! reeeaaalllly hoping it's all enough to not need a full on stroller so early. I think the one on our registry is eddie bauer via Target but it's a basic generic-looking diaper bag backpack so MH won't have an excuse not to carry it himself lol.
@makingbacon they look so cool and convenient! glad to hear it works

lexilougolden

MH has a Britax stroller so we'll get the carseat and holder to match.

makingbacon

@lexilougolden I was always 100% a Graco person, but I bought DS1 a Britax booster seat a few months ago and love it. It had better reviews for comfort level than the Graco version. DS1 likes it, too, but he was more excited about the cup holders lol. 

JWatt5

@lexilougolden - Britax is a great car seat brand. One of my favs to install is their Boulevard convertible. Great ratings (I’m a car seat tech on the side for my town). 

kaf1788

@chgilmore I've honestly never used the under stroller storage! Since we live in the city anything that was stored down there would then have to be lugged up a bunch of stairs along with the folded up stroller + baby so it was not practical to lug around more than what could fit in my backpack anyways. I've never missed it! Especially in this never-ending season of Covid I don't foresee myself bringing baby grocery shopping or anything like that where the storage would be particularly helpful. I think you'll do fine with just the Doona!