Chicco - KeyFit 30

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 had an infant car seat then switched to rotating convertible at 4m and wish I went with convertible from the start. We never used the infant car seat as a method of transportation if you want to call it that, it always stayed in the car and we just took baby out into stroller or carried her home or baby wore. Our main stroller is the UB vista and our infant car seat was the Chicco key fit and our convertible was evenflo 360.

I have the clear Tex keyfit 35 and love it! Is it heavy? Sure. I have a 20 lb 6 month old but I’m only ever carrying it from inside to a car or vice versa so it doesn’t really bother me. If I did it again I would probably get the 30 though. Save a few dollars and when they get too heavy you’ll want a new seat anyway

My baby is 9 weeks old. Here are the things we have: [Huggies](https://www.target.com/p/huggies-sunshine-pack-diaper-bag-black/-/A-92118189) diaper backpack: lots of storage, easy to wash, unisex, not too expensive. We like it. Chicco Keyfit 30: infant bucket car seat that fared very well in safety ratings. No complaints. Chicco Keyfit Caddy: super lightweight, basic stroller frame for the car seat. We take this in and out of stores, doctors appointments, etc. It is a very simple solution and we like it! Uppababy Cruz with infant insert: this stroller is a dream for walks. I imagine we’ll use it more as she grows. We do not take it in/out of the car unless absolutely necessary, because it is HEAVY. I think we’ll keep all of these things for our next baby. They work well for us, no complaints.

We got the Keyfit 30 with two bases (one for each car), and then found an adapter for like $50 so it would fit into our Uppababy stroller. I’ve been really happy with it and it’s worked really well to be able to have options when we’re out and about. We’re almost 9 months old, still in the same car seat, and still using both the stroller adapter and the regular stroller seat, depending on the situation.

Chico key fit is one of the top rated car seats on consumer reports. (#2 I believe) and affordable. I got the jogging stroller that is compatible and we love it. It’s very maneuverable and the large Wheels are great for sidewalks. It’s much smoother than other strollers we have with smaller wheels.

Not all carseats fit your car. We have smaller vehicles so we needed a compact bucketseat that was compatible. Most strollers will have adapters so you dont have to stick with the same brand across the board. We have a Chicco keyfit infant bucket seat and a Uppababy stroller. We liked the UB strollers and got the bassinet that you can swap the seat with when they're small. Most strollers require babies to have some kind of head control before you can use them in a more upright position but the UB reclined back and paired with their infant insert made it usable from day 1 if we wanted. But as we do a ton of walking, we have the bassinet that clicks in and is also safe sleep rated. So she sleeps there at night as well at our bedside. Eventually I will probably get a smaller travel stroller to keep in my car but our OB Cruz2 is perfect for our neighbourhood and the long walks we do from home. It mostly fits into my trunk so I can take it places but it does take up room.

My baby ended up sleeping in the bassinet part of her playpen until 6 months. It’s bigger than most bassinets and I think she liked the black mesh walls. I bought a real bassinet for her but she hated it and we got the best sleep in the playpen so just stuck with that. We got the silver cross playpen and I love it. For car seat you’re going to want one that’s compatible with your car and the stroller you want. So I’d start there. I got the Chico key for 30 because I have a small car and the car seat has a high safety rating. And then I got the attachment that made it work for my stroller.

 I personally don't recommend starting with a convertible car seat just because in my experience they dont fit newborns/small babies well. Even my high percentile 4 month old felt too small and didn't have the neck control for the extend2fit when we tried to switch at 4 month and didn't fit well until closer to 6. If you do go that route the only one that would probably be okay is the cosco next from what I've read from CPST. Even though its convertible though it only works rear facing and baby will probably out grow it around 2 year old and you'll have to get a second seat. I think the Cleks convertible also fit newborns well, but they're very big back to front so I'm not sure it'll fit your car tbh.  We have a Kia Soul and got the chicco key fit 30. It worked pretty well and we used it a similar amount (or even less tbh) than you plan to. We ended getting a travel stroller that was compatible with it to leave in the car instead of our big stroller. Like everyone said the Graco and Clek Lling would work as well. I will say I think I wish I had gone with the Lling instead but it just seemed too expensive for a seat my son outgrew by 7 month. 

This was >6 years ago, so take it for what it is. We had the Pipa Lite, our cousin had the KeyFit. When we flew to go visit, we borrowed it bc by this time her cousin was in a convertible. The KeyFit was HEAVY compared to the Pipa. Made us miss our Pipa sooo much