RAVA Convertible Car Seat

Another thing to think about is how big car seats are. We basically had to go with the nuna rava as while we are rear facing it was the only one that would fit and still let us put the front seats back enough to be comfortable or safe to drive. A lot of them are just too big for our small ish suv (Mazda cx5)

Love them. Have the Pipa and Rava.

The seats they require are convertible-Nuna RAVA. The need for advance order doesn’t make it ideal, but I have had a great experience with the Uber car seat option in DC every time I used it. We actually got the same driver several times so I think the drivers are limited/selected so it’s reassuring it’s not any random person throwing a broken car seat in their trunk.

This is what we have. Rava in my Highlander and an extend2fit in my husband’s truck

I have the Nuna rava, I bought it for my oldest and he used it after he outgrew his infant seat around 6/7 months until he was about 3.5 years old. He’s a 99%ile boy and by 3.5y, the 5 point harness was too snug in the crotch area, so we switched him to the Nuna Aace at that point. My baby is currently using the Rava and it seems comfortable for him at 9.5 months old.

I have the Nuna rava (primary family vehicle) and my husband has graco extend2fit in his truck. Both are fine seats! The biggest difference I see is in the installation. I can swap a Nuna from vehicles in 1-2 minutes, versus the install for others is more challenging (not technically, but more manual pulling to make sure it’s secure). I had no issues at all installing my uppababy mesa for my child in my vehicle at 8 months pregnant. That being said, my 99%ile height babies both grew out of the infant seat by 6-7 months… so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend investing in an expensive infant seat!

I am the odd duck here. I have a 3 year old who I have traveled with quite a bit since they were 6 months old and I have always purchased the additional seat to fly them in their car seat. I also travel with their daily Nuna Rava carseat. It is nice to have piece of mind, safety wise and be hands free and know that they are extremely comfortable on the flight. Internationally, I have used a Graco SlimFit which is lighter than the Nuna Rava. Navigating through the airport…my toddler walks on their own two feet through the terminal and I stopped traveling with a stroller around their 2nd birthday. I check all luggage and just pack a backpack with necessities (i.e., phone, wallet, charger, change of clothes for little one, snacks, and a toy and book for LO). The carseat, I strap to a carseat dolly and just roll it through. Unfortunately, of course airplane aisles suck so boarding the plane I have to take it off the dolly. Then I just have LO walk in front of me to keep eyes on them and direct them with my voice as I carry the carseat back and get it installed. Taking a carseat is so worth it and I would love to see more parents kids prioritizing do so. I also want to point out I have done this MANY times traveling with just my little without my husband. Our go-to destination is about a 5 hour flight and LO does great in their seat.

The convertible seats can fit a newborn, but the recline will be so large that the seat is no longer compact. Extend to fit is the most compact, but not at the most reclined position which is what you’d need. I’d actually look at a nuna rava, it only has one recline position which is more compact than the most reclined position you’d need on the extend to fit. Hopefully that makes sense!

Just got a britax poplar for baby #2, our daughter has a rava but it isn’t as great in Canada as it is in the US so I wouldn’t recommend. The britax is just as nice and also flame retardant free.

I love Nuna’s they are easy to install and have the best crash test ratings. I have the pippa and the Rava. They also are naturally flame retardant without the use of chemicals which is a big win for me. I only shelled out the cash for Nuna for our main vehicle though. My husband’s car has a Britax. If I were to put a seat in my mom’s car it would probably be a chicco as some of their seats crash test really well at a lower price point. My main concern was crash test ratings and I priorities which vehicle is used most.