Fit2

CPST here- do not get a doona for a 10 month old. Get a Chicco fit2 with a chicco frame stroller. You’ll get a year of use from it. And it’s a better car seat and a better stroller.

The doona is hard to install correctly and most people do it wrong. I’ve installed it at least 50 times, never once have I seen a family install it correctly. It has no storage so people attach stuff to it which is unsafe. The Chicco frame stroller has a huge storage basket. Also the fit2 is outgrown at 35 inches, the doona is outgrown at 32 inches. Without knowing how tall this child is, there’s a far lower chance of the seat being too small if they go with the higher limit seat.

Agree with Chico fit2. This was our car seat when our kids were at that age and they are designed to be very seat belt friendly with the install. We live in a city so use frequent Ubers as transit. We also had a light weight car seat that we would check as well and stuff a ton of shit in the car seat bag. Side note… when your kids get a bit older the ride safer vests are fantastic.

IMO not worth the high cost. We love our Chicco Fit2 - it lasts longer than most other infant seats and has worked beautifully for 2 babies now!

I have a Chicco and love it. My mom has a rotating safety first car seat which was about $300. Honestly, once baby is big enough to face forward which is around 25lbs and up depending on the seat, the rotation isn't important. Some parents choose to keep the baby facing the seat as long as possible. So it's your choice if you want to spend extra on the rotating seat. The chicco and safety first feel comparable as far as sturdiness goes. I also have a Chicco stroller and infant car seat duo which has been excellent. I don't consider these fancy just well made.

You’re going to get a range of opinions here, and that even mirrors the professional reviews online - for some reason even the big review outlets seem to be very mixed on them. Personally, we absolutely love ours and that was even more confirmed when we bought a non-rotating car seat for my wife’s car (spoiler: she hates it and wishes we bought another rotating model). We bought the baby jogger city turn (https://www.babyjogger.com/car-seats/toddler-car-seats/city-turn/city-turn-rotating-convertible-car-seat/SP_1397014.html?srsltid=AfmBOorSfSdSwFnSJkl1rlWYK6FQ1i3S2JTJUSupZclVLxRdjrXBJ_uG) because we also have a baby jogger stroller and liked the build/construction of it. It’s definitely spendy but the convenience has paid for itself many times over. My kid also has never complained about it being uncomfortable or similar, even on long road trips. I read wire cutter on The NY Times website a lot for product reviews and was shocked that they wouldn’t recommend any rotating models as part of their toddler car seat recommendations. IMO I think people get clouded by the extra cost of the rotating feature and think it lessens the quality of the seat overall, but our City Turn is built as solid as any other car seat I checked out in stores. My wife wanted to save a few bucks on the second seat so we bought a cheap non rotating Chicco model and that thing sucks. After going through the buying process of both infant and toddler car seats, while there are some small exceptions here and there, I’m pretty convinced that in general you get what you pay for. If you want a rotating model, spend the extra bucks and get a quality one and you’ll be happy.

I looked at safety ratings, and then I was able to feel the padding on a couple of car seats. I think it was at one of the bigger targets and determined that one of the graco ones was really hard and uncomfortable despite the decent safety rating ultimately, I ended up with the Chicco Corso LE modular after reading reviews . And I love the chicco 35 car seat and just like the stroller. I wish that the seat was at more of a 90° angle. It reclines too much and it’s most upright position in my opinion. Also, when you buy the travel system, the stroller does not come with the newborn insert.

We have a new defender and used a Nuna infant car seat. Newer cars have latch bars that the car seats click into hut they also have ways to secure them using a seatbelt. So long as your seatbelts function properly you shouldn’t have an issue fitting most brands. Our kiddo outgrew the infant car seat so we just got Chicco brand convertible & reversible seat and base.