SnugRide SnugFit DLX Infant Car Seat (2156211)

Also, the harness fit him perfectly and could have gone smaller as well. He was 5lbs1oz at discharge and was 17 in long. Here’s a link to the exact seat I got: https://www.gracobaby.com/shop/car-seats/infant-car-seats/snugride-snugfit-dlx-infant-car-seat/SAP_2156211.html Also: ALWAYS buy from the manufacturer. Walmart and Amazon have had issues with counterfeit car seats. 

To piggyback: I had the exact seat you linked, the one that was the same but different trim, and also purchased the Snugride Lite for my parents.  The  Graco Snugride Lite does not have the Snuglock feature, and I had firefighters/paramedics compliment that specific feature in the Snuglock DLX  Because of this,  the Snugride Lite base does not get anywhere as tight as the one you linked. 

Graco with the Snuglock feature. 100% do not get any other seats. I had a fire fighter/paramedic compliment how good it was. I’ve also heard multiple car seat technicians say that Graco is the only brand they recommend.  It’s safe for 4lbs+. 

Some of my favorites at different price points (as a NICU based CPST): - Evenflo LiteMax (specifically [this one](https://www.evenflo.com/products/pivot-modular-car-seats-and-stroller-travel-systems) because I prefer this insert style, though the standalone versions also offer an excellent fit). If you expect a preemie or a smaller newborn, Evenflo seats have adjustments to give a truly excellent harness fit- but even for average or large babies they’re great. - Chicco Keyfit 30 or Keyfit Max: very user friendly- the only adjustments you have to make over the life of the seat are removing the infant insert at 11lbs and adjusting the harness height. The bases are also very easy to install. Lots of stroller options from Chicco as well as high end stroller brands with adaptors. Among the more compact seats for front to back space. - Joie Mint Latch: what I used for my youngest baby, and one of my favorite seats I’ve ever used. It’s baseless and has rigid latch anchors that attach directly to the vehicle’s lower anchor points. This is both convenient and very safe - rigid latch is a great energy management feature in a crash and the install is practically foolproof (and the safest car seat is the one that is always used and installed properly!!). The only adjustments necessary are harness height and removing the infant insert. Without a base, it has a very small front to back footprint. - Graco: the NICU nurse in me strongly prefers the higher end ones (with [this style](https://www.gracobaby.com/shop/car-seats/infant-car-seats/snugride-snugfit-dlx-infant-car-seat/SAP_2120493.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ba_grco_DTCSearch_2024&utm_term=conversion&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Greco_US_2024_National_NB_Shopping_Pmax_Asset-Less&utm_term=_-_&utm_content=19593340556_-_&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19593345500&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqs-ClufmkgMVakxHAR2G8hsZEAQYASABEgJSC_D_BwE)of headrest) because the body insert gives an overall better fit for newborns. Realistically any of the Graco infant seats are user friendly and reliable and if you’re on a strict budget, the Snugride Lite seats are a good deal and are usually easier to use than other options in the same price range. - Clek Liing: another seat I used for my own kids. The base is amazing, with features like rigid latch and a load leg that extends to the vehicle floor to help absorb crash energy. The recline adjusts without uninstalling the base, which is fairly unique. The seat itself is sleek, very user friendly (like the Chicco seats and the Mint Latch, the only necessary adjustments are removing the infant insert and changing the harness height as baby grows), and in my opinion comfortable to carry. Lots of stroller compatibility with Nuna/Maxi Cosi adaptors. Also very compact front to back. - Nuna Pipa Urbn: another baseless seat with rigid latch, like the Mint Latch. It has all the same benefits as the Mint Latch, as well as a slightly better fit for newborns under 7-8ish pounds, if you expect that may matter for you. Its biggest drawback is the fact that it only comes as a travel system with Nuna strollers - it’s a huge bummer because I really liked using this seat with the Bugaboo Butterfly (better than the stroller it came with) but I also recognize that most people don’t have extraneous baby gear laying around like I do. - Nuna Pipa RX: this seat has similar base features as the Liing - rigid latch, load leg, adjustable recline without uninstalling the base. The biggest drawback imo is that it can be pretty upright at maximum recline if your vehicle seats are sloped steeply. Otherwise it’s a really user friendly seat with a pleasant user experience. And it also has a huge range of stroller availability. Alternatively, some seats I’d personally avoid: - Baby Trend. Any of them. More trouble than they’re worth, and anything by Graco/Chicco/Evenflo in the same price range will be easier to use. - Uppababy Mesa V2/V3: I really dislike the way newborns are positioned in this seat (admittedly more experience with the V2 than the v3) and do not find it to be a pleasant seat to use in general. If you must have Uppababy, go with the Aria V2; but if you have an Uppababy budget (or stroller), go with a Clek or Nuna seat. Chicco seats are also compatible with some Uppa strollers with the right adaptor.

NICU based car seat tech here. I agree baby’s positioning isn’t great in this seat. Unfortunately that’s extremely common with the Mesa v2. It’s… not a good seat for preemies. It’s the single hardest seat I deal with for getting babies to pass their car seat tests and one of the only seats that I sometimes just truly *can’t make work* when the baby is otherwise stable and fine - in those cases, I typically recommend parents to get a different seat that I recommend if possible, and I’ve never been wrong about the baby subsequently passing the car seat test in the new seat (I have a short list of recs that I personalize with parent input when acting in my professional role). Did baby pass a car seat test before discharge? If so, you don’t need to *panic* right now - the car seat test serves to show that baby can tolerate the car seat positioning, so that would be reassuring. You may be able to raise the headrest by one click and have the straps still correctly positioned just below shoulder level- that may help slightly. You can alternatively try to remove the insert (you’ll also have to move the headrest/harness down so the straps come out of the car seat just below baby’s shoulder level) and see how that looks - but unfortunately the harness probably will not tighten enough around such a small baby without the insert in. Occasionally I’ve had it work out okay, though, so it’s worth checking. The burp cloth thing is not safe from a crash performance perspective (may increase risk of ejection in a crash) so if that’s the only way you can achieve acceptable positioning then it’s time for a new seat. I’d also check your base install. The Mesa base has a really wide range of “green” on the recline indicator, but they don’t specify or recommend that the base be as reclined as allowed for a newborn. If you haven’t already extended the recline foot, reinstall the base with the recline foot fully extended (lowered) and see if the indicators are fully green. If so, great, if there is any red then retract the recline foot by one click and try again - rinse and repeat until the seat is at the maximum reclined angle that doesn’t show any red. While the main problem with this seat is the shape of the seat itself, ensuring maximum recline can help slightly (and it’s what you want for a newborn regardless, for improved airway protection). If you do prefer to get another seat, and you need something compatible with an Uppababy stroller, then your main options are the Chicco Keyfit 30 or Keyfit Max (I slightly prefer the Max and recommend removing the extra head insert it comes with; but both are excellent), any Nuna Pipa model (The Pipa Urbn is one of the single best car seats out there for babies this size, though unfortunately it only comes with a Nuna stroller so that may be redundant) or the Clek Liing (another fave of mine with an excellent preemie fit; this is what one of my 27 week twins used at NICU discharge in 2020, before the Urbn existed). If UB stroller compatibility isn’t a concern, I would consider the Evenflo NurtureMax (a very bare bones, basic seat that I personally consulted on with Evenflo to ensure an ideal fit for preemies); the Evenflo Litemax (I prefer [this one](https://www.evenflo.com/products/pivot-modular-car-seats-and-stroller-travel-systems?_pos=7&_fid=6df9cb69c&_ss=c) because it has my favorite insert style; it’s only available with the travel system but the standalone options also work well); or the higher end Graco seats (the ones with headrests that look like [this](https://www.gracobaby.com/shop/car-seats/infant-car-seats/snugride-snugfit-dlx-infant-car-seat/SAP_2156211.html)- there are a few different “trim levels” of this headrest style but the seats themselves are all the same and work better for small newborns than Graco’s lower end seats with smaller headrests and less supportive inserts).

Do you have a budget in mind? A Joie mint latch + nutmeg travel system would be a good option. With a Doona or your current Graco, it would be a pain hard to install in EU cars - seatbelts don’t lock for seatbelt install there - so you’d either need to take the base (no thanks @ extra stuff to carry, imo) or use a locking clip to do baseless seatbelt install (just difficult to do). The rigid latch baseless install gives you a secure and fast way to install the seat without those challenges. If you have a current Graco compatible stroller you’d want to bring you could also look at the Graco GoMax and avoid buying a separate stroller.

Lightweight infant car seats are a myth, everything is heavy af when your 6 month old weighs 18lbs and one car seat weighing 2lbs less than another won’t make a perceptible difference. Carry handle shape is more important in my experience re: what’s comfortable to carry around and Chicco beats Graco there

Yes, I love having carseat compatibility with my stroller! We have the Graco snug ride snug fit DLX with the Graco Fastaction Jogger, we've used this with both kids and I love the ease it folds up, and the "real" tires which helps on all terrain. We also have the Cyber Gazelle with Graco adapter, because we have 2 under 2 and sometimes need the double stroller option. This stroller is so smooth and turns really easily even with one hand but is not so great in loose rocks or dirt. It really isn't a big deal to pop the carseat in to the stroller at home or get baby ready in the carseat and then take him out to the garage to pop it in when we go for walks. I like it because he then faces me, plus most strollers are not recommended until at least 6 months of age on their own so you either need to use a carseat or one with a bassinet attachment.

We did the graco snugride snugfit with my first and it was nice! I just hated lugging it around haha- not the seat’s fault, I’m just short and my baby got too heavy for me to carry it comfortably pretty quickly. She also had reflux so we switched to a chicco fit 360 at 6-7ish months. I’m due with our second in a month and we just went straight for the convertible this time. We still have the infant seat/stroller if we need it, but I figure with two we’d be using a double stroller most of the time anyways.

We used a bucket car seat up to a year for our almost 9lb at birth baby. He grew fast, and he still safely used it for a year. It was sooooo helpful for when he fell asleep in the car and we wanted to stretch the nap a little longer. I know people say don’t let baby sleep in the car seat - but sometimes continuing the nap was really worth it for us. We always kept our eyes on him if he was still asleep and stayed nearby. Also if baby doesn’t transfer well out of the car seat, keeping them in the infant seat makes it a little easier.

We use all graco :) we have the snugfit dlx for baby and the extend2fit for toddler!