I’ve had a few now.
Graco click connect 35 infant seat. Agree I miss the convenience when it’s gone. For this one we has 2 bases
I had the Graco trio grow. Actually I had 2. The first was great. Then I had to replace it after I got rear ended. The second one had a defect and the straps came loose while driving and I had to have a huge fight with Graco to get a refund and they havent recalled it. I won’t every but graco again.
Replaced it out of pocket with a Britax grow with you (forward to booster) love this seat!!!!!
Second baby is just moving into a Britax Poplar. Love it too.
Honestly I love Britax seats. They have no chemical flame retardant, metal frame, easy click tight install, comfortable, no thread height asjustment. Love em.
As for how many vehicles. This will depend on your family. Im a sahm so I do most of the driving. We had a second base in my husband’s car and we have a cheap booster, but I’m not shelling out for a second convertible. It’s too much. We take my car for family outings or we swap cars if he needs to take the kids somewhere. If I go out without him and the kids I take his car and leave him the carseat vehicle. Basically we just designate one car the carseat car.
If you’re a family where one parent does daycare drop and the other does pickup then you’ll need 2.
I will say if you’re planning to swap the seat get something with a click to install and do a seatbelt install. You do not want to be fussing with LATCH pull tight installation regularly. Especially with a rear facing seat. It’s soooo hard to get then in tight enough.
Why not start with one high quality seat in the vehicle you use most. (My rec is the britax polar or the britax one for life) move it around as needed/ swap cars with your spouse as needed. If you’re finding it cumbersome but a second less expensive seat for the vehicle you use less.
I’d recommend Graco Snugride LX (no rethread harness, the easy latch install, better padding than lower models). Then buy a cheap Graco stroller off marketplace. The car seat will click into almost any Graco stroller.
People avoid Graco because it’s so common… but there’s a reason it’s so common. They are well-made, affordable, and safe. And if you get one of their moderately priced instead of the cheapest, they have features like Click Connect that make it very easy to move from car to car.
My latest baby we have an Uppababy for our primary system and then bought that Graco for our secondary.. it’s actually easier to use, install, attach to the stroller, and lighter than the UB.
Graco’s stroller really doesn’t have much suspension. It’s a pretty bumpy ride but we keep one in the trunk for outside use like going to grocery store and malls and some well paved trails. I bought it off of fb marketplace for like 75$ and it gets the job done. We also have an infant car seat that’s compatible with it which is another big reason for having it in the car. We were gifted an uppababy that we keep in the garage for local walks. The contrast in stability is pretty clear but would we have invested in an entire uppababy travel system (on par with Nuna’s price)? Definitely not 😂
I think you gotta consider how you want to move the newborn. We opted for a Graco infant car seat and stroller because the seat just snaps in to the stroller and on we go. That way we dont have to take the baby out, especially in the cold. If you buy a Nuna stroller but not the infant car seat, then you’ll need to figure out how you want to transport the baby
Also have the Chicco Fit360!! It’s great. We upgraded from a cheapy Graco infant seat that we got for like $150 WITH the stroller included so it feels very fancy in comparison though lmao.
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
WildFireSmores
