Graco - SnugRide 35 Lite Elite

I have a graco snugride 35 lite that I am finding very easy to clip and unclip from its anchor for an infant seat but will transition to a peg perrego infant to tot one that doesn’t come in and out of the car soon as baby is a chonk and I much prefer taking the stroller into the store than hauling around the heavy seat

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.

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

I’m a CPST and in my unit we stock even flo lite max seats as they’re rated 3 pounds and up and are super adjustable to fit smaller kiddos. I also agree that graco snug rides generally are good for the smaller kiddos. As comfortable as the uppa and nuna seats look, unfortunately a lot of the padding isn’t adjustable and can tend to cause kiddos to be positioned less than optimally and leave minimal room to adjust and keep their airway open. Obviously I am not seeing your kiddo in their car seat so this could not be the case with you, but these are generally recommendations that have worked for me historically. Good luck!

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.

When my first was born we didn't have a car, I bought a Graco snugride bucket seat without a base and used it with an adapter on our uppababy cruz. I used it in Ubers a lot and it was easy and fairly light. We did eventually buy a car when she outgrew the bucket seat and got a Cosco Scenera Next for when we travelled which could be an option for you when baby is a year plus.

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. 

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 don’t have a Graco turn2me, but had a Graco bucket seat, and my oldest is still in his extend2fit at 4 (but forward facing). We upgraded my second to a Chicco fit360 (so still not a luxury brand). The rotating seat really makes it easier to get my 18 month old in. She’s reached the stage where often times (especially in the morning before school) she fights getting in. It was so hard fighting my oldest into a traditional rear facing seat that we flipped him between 2-2.5 which was earlier than I would have liked. I went with Chicco because I liked that it still rotates in the forward facing mode, where Graco didn’t (I think they have a new model that does now though but not turn2me). As far as needing two seats, yeah, it’s just easier that way. Target usually has a trade in event in March-ish and puts a lot of seats on sale so you could try to hold out until then and trade in one bucket seat base for a discount which can be used on two items.