NextFit Zip Convertible Car Seat - Carbon

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.

The Chicco is cool also because you can remove the seat and buy two bases moving just the seat back and forth. I don’t think any of the other brands do that. It’s a convertible that goes all the way up to like 65lbs and like 40 something inches. This could be the last one you buy. My wife got the Nuna rotating ones and the weight cut off is like 45 lbs. unfortunately we’re going to have to buy new car seats later.

Car seats have 10 year expiration dates. The plastic goes through extreme temperature fluctuations being strapped in your car continuously for years. All of them have to meet crash test safety minimum specs. At a certain price point like Chicco and Grayco, you’re paying for your kid’s comfort above the bare bones models. At another higher price point, you’re paying for the branding, at another point, you’re paying for parent conveniences. I liked my Chicco infant bucket seat and then convertible seat. Graco has higher rear facing limits but feels to be less padded seats. Strollers, I prioritized large, thick wheels for being able to better handle gravel and grass. If you think you’ll go for a small age gap (shoutout 2under2), I really recommend getting a stroller capable of converting from a single to double stroller. I liked my Chicco stroller and the great storage in it… until we bought an old (i mean the OG 2010-2014 model old) uppababy stroller secondhand for cheap. It’s so freaking well built! I wouldn’t personally spend $1200 on a stroller as it doesn’t have that much value * to me *, but if you can get an old one secondhand, it’s sure worth a couple hundred more than a new, cheap one. I have a Larktale wagon, and I like it, but the thing is a behemoth and feels a bit oversized for festivals and neighborhood walks tbh. Great for the zoo though! Up to you how bougie you want to go on crib mattress. We got rid of the crib early and opted for larger beds with adult sized weight limits so we can snuggle the kids to sleep, so I’m glad we just got a Serra or something from Target. Do definitely buy a few sets of sheets and mattress protectors and do lasagna bedding. High chair, I got an infection seat with the storable tray that you strap in a normal chair for $20 on fb marketplace. Ditto a fisher price bouncer $20 on fb instead of $80 new, but this thing was worth its weight in not just gold, but in platinum. Best thing in the whole world according to both my babies. Tbh get most non-car seat, non-teething baby stuff used if you can. Most of it barely gets used before the kid outgrows it. And babies are little people who might hate the thing, and you’ll be glad you didn’t spend high dollar just to be the one to sell it lightly used on fb marketplace to get rid of it.

I was overwhelmed when I was pregnant with all the choices and ended up getting the Graco Modes Nest stroller. We used a convertible car seat from birth. We brought baby home from the hospital in it. I looked on consumer reports .com and ended up getting a Chicco convertible seat for my car. The plan was to use the infant bucket seat in my husbands car but we never installed it in his car and just used my car when we took the places. The Graco stroller is heavy but any big stroller like that would be heavy. I liked that the bassinet and toddler seat where one piece so we didn’t have to spend extra money or store extra items in our small condo. I like that the Graco stroller came with the snack tray cup holder. My kiddo ate a lot of snacks out of it while on walks. We used the bucket seat in the stroller exclusively because once kiddo was old enough he didn’t want to lay down in the bassinet he wanted to be sitting in the bucket seat and looking at everything. I liked that the basket was very large and could hold lots of groceries, toys, pool stuff. I liked that the seat was reversible so I could see baby on walks. My toddler started walking well at 12 months. He has a ride in plastic Step 2 car that I can push him around in for walks that he prefers now. I want to get him a push trike soon. For not needing a giant big stroller really past 12 months I’m happy I didn’t spend $$$ on an uppa baby or nuna. I bought a $70 travel stroller that I preferred to use once he could sit up because it was easier to pick up and get in and out of my car.

Chicco LE has lay flat infant insert which is suitable from birth. It replaced the bassinet/pramette that other strollers have. Chicco has the best infant carset ratings and their LE corso has advanced suspension with excellent ratings … and a 1 hand fold 🙌🏼. We went with it and couldn’t be happier with safety, performance, and price.