Graco - SnugRide SnugLock 35 LX featuring TrueShield Technology Infant Car Seat (2053220)

I agree that it’s been hit and miss for us. Specifically: Snap&Go Double Car Seat Stroller Frame - life saver EZ-Lift Pro Infant Car seats…. My mom had a set for the twins and they were fine as a back up pair but I much preferred the buckle on my Graco SnugRide 35 XL. Cool thing is the Graco car seats fitted into the Snap&Go double without issue.

We got the Graco SnugRide SnugLock 35 LX infant car seat (in the $200 range) and a Graco click connect stroller. My husband is a composite technician and I’m a SAHM so we don’t have luxurious spending money but want to prioritize safety ratings especially when it comes to a car seat. How do those car seats rate safety wise should be your #1 priority and not aesthetics. We love our car seat especially with blow outs, the inserts come right out for easy cleaning and I don’t have to practically take apart the entire car seat to wash. Also… IMHO, a jogging stroller is the way to go if you’re planning on being active and outside. The regular stroller is nice for grocery stores and stuff but being outdoors, I feel like a jogging stroller holds up way better. You don’t need to break the bank for something baby will only use for a short time frame but also don’t want to cheap out for something meant to potentially save their life.

I bought myself the coach baby bag to have more room to pack things for my 3 year old and newborn. It’s a great bag but also works great for going into work where I want to bring my laptop. It’s something I plan on using even past the diaper era. A pure diaper bag is kind of pointless because you eventually learn to/can leave the house without a ton of things! Any bigger bag would work and you can use ziplocks or smaller bags to organize different things in the bag. Don’t get hung up on getting something labeled “diaper bag”. I personally think the swivel seats are a gimmick… you end up detaching the car seat from the base and bringing it inside so the swivel is pointless in the beginning. Then you have a short period of time where you have to pick up your kid to put them in the car seat. Soon enough your kid is climbing into the car seat themselves. I have the graco snug ride snug lock car seat. I didn’t worry about having a whole stroller system because the baby is only in the newborn carrier for a short period of time. You’re also not supposed to leave baby sleeping in car seat for long periods so I didn’t want to use that as a container for her during walks. When I would run errands/ go to a store I would just put the baby carrier in the shopping cart. I have the uppababy Cruz v2 for our stroller. We purchased the bassinet attachment for while baby is super young. It’s nice cause you can also detach the bassinet if baby falls asleep and bring it inside with you. Now with a newborn and a 3 year old, we bought the piggyback attachment for our 3 year old to hop on and get a ride, she loves it. The piggyback attachment made it so we didn’t need a double stroller. Though if you have kids closer together you may want to consider something that can convert into a double stroller like the vista.

Currently 23 weeks pregnant with baby #3. We’ve used the Graco SnugRide 35 LX infant car seat for both of our previous babies, and plan on using it for #3 as well. We have 2 bases (one in my car, on in my husbands) and just one actual car seat. My oldest was in the infant car seat until they were like 9 months. They seemed to enjoy it, and didn’t exceed the height/weight limits until then. My second was in it for about 3 months. They absolutely despised being in the car seat, so we went ahead and switched them over to a convertible car seat. In my car, both of their car seats are the Graco 4Ever DLX 4-in-1 convertible car seats. In my husbands vehicle, he has one of the 4Ever DLX and on Graco Extend2Fit convertible car seat. We like both options, but I definitely prefer the 4Ever. When I just had one kiddo, we used the Graco Modes stroller. And now that we have two kiddos, we use the Graco Ready2Grow LX 2.0 double stroller. I’ve liked both so far. Both were compatible with our infant car seat. And the double stroller even has a small seat on the bottom by the storage space where you can buckle in an older toddler if needed. Both fold easily, but the double stroller does take up a good amount of trunk space. I have a 3rd row SUV with the 3rd row laid down, and it takes up like half of the space if it is laying flat.

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+. 

2021 rav 4 2 forward and 1 rear facing Left is graco slim fit 3 in 1 with latch Middle is graco transitions with seat belt Right is graco infant car seat with latch. A lot of trunk space This setup also works with my 2019 Mazda cx5 but trunk space is way less than rav

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.