Doona - Doona i

+1. The Doona is one of few baby items that is worth every penny.

He probably won’t fit in the doona. Infant seats can not rear face, even on a plane. I would bring a cosco seat and use it on the plane. That’s what we did when we took our 18mo to Europe. She did end up being held for sleep but she was in her seat otherwise. Good luck!

Best infant car seat for its convenience. We lived in a city and had a large stroller to go in walks and the doona for anything if we had to take a car.

Wife and I had a “stroller off,” and I wanted the Doona, and she wanted to get a uppababy whole shebangabang… So we bought both. Uppababy Bassinet on wheels was great with a newborn/infant… but once baby grew out of bassinet/didn’t care for it, we basically use nothing else but the doona… If I were to do it solo, I’d have been perfectly happy with the Doona… she still thinks we really benefited from the bassinet part of the uppa… but I don’t think so… it was a silly pointless luxury. Anyways… food for thought.

It is the perfect stroller. We travel often, and it’s been the best thing ever. It’s a stroller! It’s a car seat! It goes in a plane!

Just an fyi a doona is an infant car seat. My baby only fit until he was 6mo (but he was over 90 percentile). We switched to the cosco scenera

It really depends on their size. We had a big guy and had to move away from it at 6mo. The doona is an infant car seat. Is there a way for you to try one? Otherwise, lightweight travel car seats are popular like the cosco scenera (though bulky). How much do you need an actual stroller there? IMO the doona isn’t great as a stroller unless it’s a quick thing like a coffee, pop in to a store etc. it’s low to the ground, no storage, etc plus with bigger babies it’s super heavy to lift in and out of the car. If you don’t need a stroller much and your baby still fits into it properly, it could be a good option. I’d definitely try your baby out in one before renting it though since I found it pretty small

Omg same with everything, even the c section. I never once lifted the doona in and out of the car. By the time I felt “healed”, it probably would have caused pain to lift it in and out of the car (my baby was 20lbs at 4mo). By 6mo, he was too big for it and we switched.

The Vista is great--I definitely wouldn't travel with it, though. I was a serious Doona hater until my baby was about 4 months old and we started to travel with him, and it was SO worth it. All the complaints are valid (it's a dumb little stroller and I looked ridiculous at 5'10" pushing it around; it's not the lightest-weight option; they grow out of it in a year) but ultimately were unimportant, because I simply would not have taken all the trips I took, especially alone, if I'd had to deal with more complicated gear. If your daily driver is a travel stroller, anytime you want to actually travel anywhere with it you've got to get the carseat out, get all the crap out of the storage basket, fold the stupid stroller, install the stupid carseat, get yourself into the car, then do it all again in reverse when you get out--and that's not adequately describing the emotional stress you feel as a new mom leaving your baby in the backseat of a taxi while you go put the stroller in the trunk. With the Doona, because there's no storage, I had all our stuff in a backpack, and just had to fold it down and lift it in to install, and I never had to be away from the baby for even a second. I know that sounds like a small thing, but it's not when you're a new parent. If you're traveling together it's less of an issue, but there were so many little trips to museums farther uptown or to the beach in the summer that I just wouldn't have taken otherwise. It made the first year so much more fun.

We loved our Doona and are using it for #2 now! Our first got to 19 months before they outgrew it (small kid lol).

We loved our Doona! Our LO was on the smaller side so we were able to use it until they were 19 months. We are using it for #2 now. FYI the weight/height limit is 30lb or 32 inches or if there is less than 1 inch of space between the top of their head and the car seat shell, whichever limit they reach first.  Also to note, don’t get any knockoff car seats. There are another legitimate brands that make a car seat/stroller, in the USA there is the Evenflo Shyft DualRide which is cheaper than the Doona.  https://www.safeintheseat.com is a great resource and they even have a car seat finder! 

We like the doona for running around. We got a bag that hangs on the handle. It was also gifted to us. My husband is over 6’ and I’m just over 5’. We have a Thule Urban Glide 3 for long walks but he also just likes being worn. He is 13 months now and all have been good. The lack of under storage can be annoying but we don’t usually pack a whole lot anyway. The homes we go to are fully stocked (aka grandparents and auntie) and for others we just pack the small bag. Has he ruined outfits? Totally. Has he hung out in diapers while we wash? Yup. When he was little, we used a backpack diaper bag and that was fantastic.

Buy a car seat that is designed to be used with or without a base. Doona is one option but they are expensive. Uber drivers in NYC are accustomed to families with babies; in my experience they have been patient while I take 2-3 minutes to strap the car seat in.

I understand the frustration but to be frank, there are dozens of airplane models across dozens of manufacturers across dozens of carriers and none of them are building/buying their plans with fitting every type of car seat in mind. We took our Doona on the last trip with our 13mo old and booked him his own seat. The Doona is listed at 17” and Air France economy bulkhead is 17”. It just barely fit and then the seat belt also just barely stretched enough over to buckle. Our kid spent maybe 2hrs of the 9hr flight in his seat. If you’re set on using a car sea and spent thousands of dollars on flights already then your best best is probably just spend a few hundred bucks to buy a Doona and take that instead of the Cosco Scenera Extend. Regardless of the travel struggles, enjoy your trip with the kid. It’s awesome to watch them learn about the world while traveling to new places.