Graco - Modes Element Travel System

You don't need to get a crazy expensive car seat & stroller for it to be good. Britax is a pretty good brand and is what I got for my son. [Here's an example ](https://a.co/d/5HYr8Li) [If you want a more budget friendly option, Graco is pretty good too.](https://a.co/d/1tKJGoW) [here's a comparable price to the Britax with a Graco system ](https://a.co/d/3jBqUKr)

I have a deep hatred for the Doona. It's dangerously misused. For babies under 3 months, it is ill-advised for them to stay in a car seat longer than 30 minutes though it can stretch for two hours. *For literally everyone else, infants and adults*, you are not supposed to sit in the car/be buckled into a seat for more than two hours at a time. This car seat is great for plane travel, popping into the gas station, or a grocery run that takes less than 20 minutes (when the drive was also short). It is NOT good for museums, outings, walks around town, big grocery trips or most of the things people in these comments are using it for. These comments show me they've never spoken with a CPST about it (which is infuriating on another level.) Not only does sitting in the car seat too long do damage to the spine and hips, the risk/chance of blood clots goes up and that is very dangerous. Adults too, on the blood clots part. [This is what we got. The car seat *can* click into the stroller when needed, like a quick trip in the grocery store. But the stroller reclines to become a flat surface with a 5 point harness that is safe to use from day one. ](https://a.co/d/3eoOD9c) OP, also know that using a car seat anywhere that's not properly installed puts the baby at risk for positional asphyxiation- on the floor or couch at home, in a shopping cart, etc. And the shopping carts that have the bucket looking car seat attachments aren't safe either. They aren't produced by a specific manufacturer so they aren't safe for any particular seat. It's just not safe and there's no clearer way to state that.

We like our Graco Modes Element LX Travel system. Unclick car seat from car seat base, click into stroller base, off you go. Haven't tried it in snow, but it handles great on crappy sidewalks and in fields.

I don't find those name brand items to be any nicer than my Graco travel system stroller, personally. Its wheels are so smooth, I love how big the basket is in the bottom, and it has a full coverage visor. I see some of those name brand strollers and the seat looks like it's just got a piece of cardboard as the back base. Theres no padding whatsoever. And while the car seat that turns into a stroller is a cool concept, that thing is heavy.

The Graco Modes Element LX Travel System. I bought it almost 2 years ago. Graco had a sale going on where I was to get the stroller, infant bucket seat, and 2 car seat bases for less than 350. I love it and am happy with the purchase. But I will say my son ended up getting the graco turn to me car seat after 3 months because the infant bucket seat caused him to spit up the entire drive.

I have one of the graco modes travel systems. Can't remember which one exactly as I bought it 1.5 years ago. But the infant bucket seat can be attached directly onto the stroller, which is so nice if baby fell asleep in the car seat and you need the stroller. It rides really smooth. Graco also has great deals sometimes. I got the stroller, the infant bucket seat, and the car base for under 300 bucks. Im 4'9 so being super small, it was important that I could easily lift the stroller into my suv too and I'm able to with ease.

Idk but I will say I have a Graco travel system and the wheels are super smooth on the stroller. I’ve had it for almost 2 years. Target and Walmart usually has a few on display you can test.

We have the Graco Modes Element travel system. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't curse the thing haha. It's heavy and clunky, has zero shock absorption so it's impossible to use the cup holders, and the click and connect functions are great on paper but finicky and stiff in practice, so you sometimes have to wiggle and tug and hope for the best when changing it up on the road. It's a pain to fold too. If I could do it again, I'd want something with much higher quality wheels and one hand fold that is way more compact.

First 3 months — in no certain order! 1) my breast friend pillow - helped with positioning a tiny newborn to breastfeed 2) SO MANY burp cloths - I love the cheaper muslin ones 3) a carrier that you and your partner can easily use - my husband loves the baby bjorn and I love the boba wrap 4) the spectra s1 5) we love our inexpensive/lightweight/easy to use car seat/stroller system — Graco Snugride LX. We took walks every day and it was great for my mental health! 6) lots of diapers and wipes 7) a bunch of two way zip sleepers For us — that’s about all we needed to survive!

We initially had a convertible Greco set and then bought a Doona for our first baby because we had to travel for a work conference. We kept the doona and now plan to use it as an infant car seat for our second and I am so excited for it. I remember my husband having to awkwardly carry our first born out of the hospital in the big car seat. This time, we’ll be rolling our baby girl out in style 😂

Hi- mom to a 10 month old. We’ve loved our Graco system. The 3-4 way travel set is the way to go. Car seat, car seat base, bassinet, and stroller all comes in one box, $399. He’s finally outgrowing his car seat now but he’s also 99th percentile in height. And we just purchased the Graco toddler car seat, love it already!

We have the Graco 3-in-1. Car seat clicks into the stroller seat or stroller frame (either one), seat can be a seat with variable recline or bassinet. The basket underneath is huge and holds like, 20 lbs easily, and the frame is super sturdy. It's not the fanciest and most expensive, but it works great and is super affordable. Our stroller has been used almost daily for 2 years, still works great.

Stroller can be amazing, especially if you wind up with a baby like mine who HATES babywearing. We've put ours through its paces. But you also don't need the super fancy brands. We have a Graco Modes, it's like, $250 brand new for the stroller (and has all the accessories some other brands charge as extras!). Almost 2 years of daily use and going strong. Convertible car seat, yes, you'll need that eventually. You could get one with a low weight limit and skip the infant bucket seat, but you'll need a seat that can do rear facing, front facing harness, high back booster, and regular booster (or multiple seats that cover that span collectively. Those are just the phases you need covered). Our convertible can do the first 3, and we'll get a basic booster when needed. Some seats do all 4 phases. Again, you don't need a super expensive brand. We have a Graco that was $160 and it's been great. High chair: highly kid dependent. Our 20 month old recently decided all configurations of her high chair are awful, she wants a big chair. My friend's kid the exact same age loves her high chair still. Crib: we have a convertible one. But I fully intend to modify it to fit a full size bed frame, so it's gonna be super convertible 😅 some come with that ability, but we just got the 4-in-1 and figured I've got power tools for the big bed. But really, all you *need* for a baby to sleep can be safely and completely met by a pack and play. We used one for several months around our kid's first birthday because we moved and all our shit was in storage. It's perfectly acceptable to do that and just get them a twin size bed when they outgrow the pack and play as a toddler.

We have a Graco Modes (ours doesn't have adjustable handle, but I've seen one that does and otherwise looks the same) and it's been great. Kiddo is about to turn 2, the stroller gets daily use (multiple long walks a day), has survived a cross country move, multiple planes (with gate checking), in and out of car.... It's put in more work and survived more than most of my friends' much more expensive strollers 🤷🏻‍♀️

Im at 38 weeks and have two strollers already purchased, the uppababy vista and a lighter weight graco 3 in 1 system. I keep second guessing my choices and getting FOMO with other strollers! Moreso with my Vista, which is SO bulky and heavy and im just having a hard time seeing how I will practically use it as a petite woman.  All is to say that even for some of us that already have strollers, we may still feel overwhelmed and anxious!