Graco - SnugRide 35 Lite Elite

So it all depends on your budget and what you are looking for. For a car seat I went with the Graco snugride 35 lite, as it is one of the lightest car seats, that also has a high safety rating, but also doesn't cost a kidney to buy. 7.2lbs car seat +7.9 lbs baby = lifting 15 lbs repetitively. For our everyday stroller we went with the baby jogger mini GT2, I love it as it is a more heavy-duty stroller now that he's older. I did regret it in the beginning when he was so small, I wish I got a stroller with a bassinet attachment since I love to go on walks. But now that he's older and bigger and can fit in the straps and not have to snap on the car seat all the time, I love it. For a travel stroller we got the baby jogger City tour 2, it's only 14 lbs and it's overhead bin carry on approved size and comes with a carry bag to protect it. For a convertible car seat, I'm looking into the evenflo 360 extended, but more searching and reading is needing to be done. But I am favouring ones that rotate, my must have is extended height and weight limits. Edit to add: both strollers have attachments to be able to snap the car seat in that we have to make them a travel system. The Mini GT2 came with them, the city tour 2 we had to buy separately.

We have the 35 lite car seat and love it! Very easy to install and pretty lightweight which is nice both when you’re recovering and when baby grows. Can’t speak on the stroller but we’re really happy with the seat

We did the graco bucket seat and stroller that it clicked into, but ended up switching to a convertible seat pretty quickly because my daughter had bad reflux. I found a mockingbird on marketplace and we love it!! We’ll be getting the car seat adapter for our second baby coming in February. Also, a lot of car seats go on sale on Black Friday, so if you know which one you want, that might be a good time to buy. We saved around $100 on ours.

Nobody has addressed this, but you don’t keep the bucket car seat in your car. You bring it inside and keep it inside until you use it, so it’s not like you have to go to the car to get the car seat whenever you want to use your stroller.  As others have said, you’re meant to use the car seat in a stroller only temporarily. I have a Guzzie & Gus stroller that lays flat as a bassinet for my newborn. My Clek car seat doesn’t clip into it but I don’t use it like that anyways. I had a Graco bucket and stroller system for my last baby and I would definitely prefer that to those strollers that are just wheels with a spot to clip in your car seat. Feels like a scam for more money lol just be a stroller??

I have to have a truck. So I got a Nissan titan it fits 2 Chicco one fit and 1 graco 35 just fine.

We got a graco travel system with the infant car seat. I loved it. The infant carseat we were able to use it for awhile. I know a lot of people complain the infant carseat gets too heavy to take out all the time, but that's what we did. I loved the bassinet feature with the stroller. And then it converted to toddler stroller. We still use it and my daughter is 2. It is not the smallest when folded, but that's my only complaint. We mainly use it in the neighborhood so keep it open in the garage for easy use. I have an umbrella stroller to take on errands that I know I need it to keep her contained, like the DMV.

We bought a graco travel system on sale (Black Friday) for like $250. The infant seat was great, I loved that it locked into the stroller, and the basset function was great. We never used the toddler seat because we got a BOB stroller. We then got one of the Graco rotating seats after we were done with the infant car seat.

My advice would be to find a stroller you like and get the infant car seat that’s compatible with it! You can usually get a travel system for a decent price and it includes both the stroller and the infant car seat. I personally have the Graco and I love it but I’m sure others are great as well!

I had a January baby in New England!  I went back and forth depending on my preference, the surface, and how cold it was.  We used a graco stroller and car seat combo a lot, with the baby in a fleece jacket and tucked into a blanket.  We also got a fleecy bunting thing that could go in the stroller seat (not the car seat), and if it was frigid I would put her in the baby carrier and zip my coat around us both.  We had her in a hat all the time.  I loved our walks.  I would flip flop the car seat attachment for the stroller seat pretty easily, so I kept both in the car and would just use whatever I felt like at the time.  Takes up the whole trunk lol but otherwise this worked well for us.   I’m pregnant and due in January again lol and the only thing I might change is to get the bassinet for walks, as i think it would be nice for napping. I would do fleece plus bunting or blankets again with that.

Yeah, we paired a Graco with a Mockingbird, and we have no issues.

Keep in mind you really might not use the infant seat for very long. My baby boy was 16 lbs at 4 months and it just got too heavy to carry inside. I ended up switching him to a convertible because he’s much more comfy in it and it’s easier to put him in/take him out. I personally hold not splurge on an infant car seat, my graco was absolutely perfect

Have an infant car seat (graco) and an evenflo giant car seat that I call the captains chair in my cx5. It’s tight but both my husband and I are under 6 feet tall so it works for us. You can’t recline well and you can’t put the front seats back too far. We had the car before the babies though so we make it work.

I wanted Greico since they are super reliable and more budget friendly than premium brands. I found a car seat I really loved and it turns out it came in a seat/stroller combo. The strolled didn’t matter too much to me but it has been great for walks and is easy to fold. It’s a little tricky getting the seat to snap in but after a few tries, it’s no biggy. Definitely happy with my Greico!

Stroller I have the Mockingbird Single to Double. It’s a single stroller that can be changed to a double stroller with an attachment. It also has a car seat adapter for tons of infant car seats. We’ve had ours for 4 years and we love it. It’s super durable, folds up easy, and is easy to pop out and open. It also has TONS of storage. For a car seat we did the Graco infant seat and when they grow out of that we change to a convertible seat that adjusts to fit all of their needs until they don’t need a car seat/booster anymore.

In my opinion, it’s absolutely not necessary. I had a graco infant seat and I borrowed the clock connect stroller piece that my sister wasn’t using anymore, but my baby outgrew that car seat by 5 months old. She has the evenflo revolve 360 extend car seat now, which I love because rotating the seat makes it super easy to get her in and out (especially when she’s asleep) and it’s safe for use all the way from newborn to booster seat with rear facing up to 50lbs. As far as strollers, once we were done with the Graco car seat I bought an umbrella stroller from Walmart for $30. That ended up getting moldy while were were living in a camper for a few months so I tossed it and I’ve realized I actually don’t really NEED a stroller anymore. She’s a year and a half old, almost, and I usually either carry her or hold her hand while she walks.

Don’t splurge on the infant car seat, there’s no need to spend 500 dollars on something they’ll use for a year at max. The Graco infant seats are well regarded, and many strollers will have adapters for it. I bought a nuna seat and somewhat regret the money spent but it is what it is. For a winter baby I definitely recommend an infant seat, we live in a cold climate and it was so convenient to pop our seat into the stroller. Strollers are so personal and honestly you won’t find one that really checks all the boxes if you want to do things like travel. We have a nuna demi grow because I originally wanted kids closer but that didn’t happen, and I’ve barely used that stroller with baby #2. I have the uppababy minu that’s been our go to because it’s light and we bought car seat adapters for it, but the basket isn’t very roomy at all. My friend has a Thule jogger which is great for slushy and snowy weather, and she got adapters for her car seat. I would have picked the uppababy Cruz for my daily stroller if I could go back!

I think you’re just having weird luck. Majority of parents are certainly not rich in many countries. We got a graco stroller + car seat combo for $350 from Walmart. Worked plenty fine. Got a second hand halo bassinet for $70 from a friend of a friend. I got a baby bjorn carrier for $20 on marketplace, a used wipeable changing pad for $10 on marketplace, and I gave a friend $100 for her medela breast pump she used once (she paid a lot more for it). I took hand me down clothes from friends and coworkers and have probably bought my son a handful of clothing items in 15 months. Graco pack and play - $100. As far as feeding stuff - ikea simple high chair $25, although I got a used graco high chair on marketplace that was ugly as crap but it worked great for $60, and I buy bowls, plates, utensils and cups from Amazon or Walmart. We warmed our bottles in hot water rather than buying a bottle warmer. I have a skip hop sound machine from indigo/chapters - it was $45. Crib was brand new for $200 (my choice), dresser was used from a family member and free, and we upgraded to a mattress on the floor when my son turned one which I bought for $75. The only thing I had to spend money on to buy brand new was sleep sacks and bottles. I have also had luck with used stuff at thrift stores. I got a snow suit for my son for $20 and used winter boots for $20. For baby number two, we’re keeping all the same stuff. I may buy new bottles or at least nipples. I probably will need a new breast pump or replace the parts. Baby is a girl and my first is a boy, but she will be in his swaddles and sleep sacks, she will be in majority of hand me down clothes from her brother or her cousins.

We're due in a couple weeks there's snow on the ground - so we got an infant car seat for about $200 CAD (Graco) when it was on sale. Just check if there's adapters for the stroller if you drive everywhere and don't plan on grocery delivery. Infant car seats still have a 2hr window for baby

With my first I had uppababy cruz with an infant insert, she was a July baby so we did outside walks in it pretty much right away. For car seat we had a Graco snug ride, we didn't have a car at that time so needed something light and easy to bring on Uber rides. We got a car when baby was a year old and at that point she outgrew the bucket seat and we got a clek fllo. This time around I'm due in Feb. Planning to use the same cruz with infant insert with a clek liing car seat. I don't find the bassinet attachment to be very important. I love my cruz though, it's a great urban stroller.

That’s nowhere near Bart either. Buy a $120 Graco snug ride and take an uber or a cab.

So, in a Hyundai Kona you're going to need a very compact seat. We have a Mazda CX-30 which is a similar sort of situation and only had a few options. Even then, the front passenger seat is not useable if you're over 5'5". We have a Graco Snugride bucket seat. I believe the Graco Extend 2 Fit is the most compact front-to-back so I'd probably recommend that for a convertible. I have never put a newborn in one though.  One thing to consider with a December baby and no bucket seat is that it's a lot more unpleasant to get them buckled up and such from outside the car vs. doing it inside and then just clicking the car seat into the base. Unless you have a midwife or your GP is walking distance, you'll be trekking your newborn to the doctor at least 3-4 times in the first 8 weeks in the absolute dead of winter, and that doesn't account for any other driving you might have to do.