I got this car before becoming a dad and now my kid is going to be 1 year old.
For car seats, new born; Joie mint latch baseless car seat. It fits perfectly and there is enough room still. Nuna has a baseless option too but Joie is more affordable and it's a sister company.
For toddler (still rear facing): Graco turn2me. I tried a total of 5 car seats and returned them all. Nothing fits comfortably. With the turn2me, I have it behind me fully reclined (I'm 5'8"). Its comfortable for 6+ hr road trips. You can get away with other car seats and place them behind the passenger but at the cost of taking away leg room.
Strollers; Joie nutmeg and Joie Kava. The nutmeg is a travel stroller that takes half the space of the trunk. And the Kava is a full size stroller that takes 2/3s of the trunk space. One for the groceries, the other for the zoo.
And if you need more space, get a roof box. Lol
We don’t check car seats, we buy bubs a seat, but honestly the whole thing is super easy to travel with. If you’re comfortable checking the seat, I suggest a padded bag.
We are OAD (this matters some in stroller math) and had a good three year run with our Cruz. When he was younger than one for the most part we’d wear him and take a diaper bag backpack. The Cruz is a TANK (which you know if you have a Vista), but the basket capacity is elite and we found so much freedom in being able to walk long distances or have it out all day. We are only now in the market to sell it and have chosen the joie nutmeg to replace it - the joie was the winner after a lot of research on travel strollers + basket capacity. The Minu is a great choice for this as well, even better basket capacity, slightly larger and obviously more expensive which was not for us at three but would be a great choice at your age IMO.
At any rate - the advice would be to just go for it and get out with the kid and the stroller. Use the MTA elevator service map to confirm service status, and switch to bus routes when necessary. And then just go. Between the uppa and my kid I’ve been pushing some 60 lbs around for the last couple of months and I will tell you that this stroller is my *most sentimental baby item* because it got us *everywhere.*
Oh can you say more about the extended canopy? I’m shocked I don’t hear more about the nutmeg given its price point (and the basket!!!!) and the fact that it’s made by Nuna - the canopy did seem small and my tot gets very complainy about wind
I love my joie! I have a nutmeg but wished I had gone for a stroller w a bassinet like your ginger choice for neighborhood strolls when theyre super young. you had to pry the latch out of my cold hands once my baby sized out of the latch lol but now I have the chili spin by joie and I really like it. like ppl have mentioned, super similar items (nuna vs joie)
I started getting the Joie nutmeg stroller and honestly it has been great! My reasons to get the nutmeg stroller were:
•It had almost full recline (which means I could use it with my newborn)
•It’s light weight
•One-hand fold
Once I began using it I liked it and didn’t think much of it, I would only use it just for light walks.
I had the chance to travel internationally and having the Joie nutmeg was a game changer! The ease and convenience made it way easier and on top of that, I took the stroller through different types of terrains and here is how the Joie nutmeg is a game changer!
Compared to other compact/travel strollers, the Joie nutmeg’s wheels are bigger which makes it way easier to take around rough terrain and extra suspension in your ride as well as its light weight. I have used other travel strollers like the Cybex coya and it was impossible with it to go through the type of terrains I have gone with my Joie nutmeg.
Later on due to my travel, I needed a car seat and I got the Rue one and it has been good so far, comfortable, lightweight and it’s compatible with my stroller, it can be used with and without base which is something I have liked.
My humble opinion, I think that getting the Mint latch is good because it doesn’t need a base although the Rue is lighter and can be used without a base which is why I think the Rue is a smarter decision since the car seat will be used for less than 2 years depending on how big your baby is.
I forgot to mention that the cons of Joie:
• Rain cover is necessary but the Joie one is almost impossible to get and the generic ones from Amazon aren’t the best fit sometimes.
•Joie padding can’t be remove to wash it in the machine! It had to be hand cleaned and left to dry without removing it from the stroller. There are YouTube tutorials showing how to remove the padding and wash it in the machine but it’s a headache and screw drawer is even required. I have had strollers where all the padding can be removed and washed in the machine and is a nice and convenient thing.
Other than these 2 things I don’t find any other cons
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Joolz
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Travel-friendly, city-nimble, but tiny storage and struggles off-pavement.
anowlnamedcarl
