Premier Modes Merge Stroller

Need to chime in with some love for Graco products. We were gifted a Graco modes pramette stroller and snugride car seat plus a couple car seat bases. I then bought us a Graco Ready2Jet travel stroller for our plane rides and I love how the car seat can click into the stroller. My baby is on the tall side so I’ve already leveled up and gotten a Graco Turn2Me convertible car seat for my car. I also bought a Graco Premier Modes Merge stroller as our main stroller off of an overstock website so it was like $300 instead of $400, and if I were to do it over again I would have started with that line of travel system (includes the car seat) because it feels really high end for probably half the price of the actual high end brands.

Graco modes nest; and then we purchased one of the Graco 360s when he was about 10 months old. BUT I still use the stroller w/the toddler seat attachment. It was also great while using the infant seat that it just clicked right onto the stroller!

I had the graco premier stroller for my first and it was definitely luxurious but it was HUGE. I would recommend something smaller and easier to get in and out of the car. Once my son turned 1.5 I switched him to a $20 umbrella stroller and I’ve loved it. Now he’s almost 2 and we’re about to welcome our second baby. We purchased a BabyTrend SitNStand second hand. I can’t give much of a review yet because baby #2 isn’t here yet but it seems like it’s going to be great. Lighter weight than our first stroller despite being a double.

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 🤷🏻‍♀️

We got the Graco 3 in 1. It's closer to $400 but It's a car seat that snaps into the stroller. And it comes with the bassinet option that changes into a toddler seat. I'm very pro multi use/multi stage. I will probably drop money on a jogging stroller this summer because we like to go hiking.