We use the Uppababy Mesa Max carseat and Vista stroller. She's still under 30lbs, so we shall use the carseat for a while longer. We also have a convertible carseat ready (it was a gift from one of my SILs, I think the brand is Britax)
We didn't skip the infant (aka bucket) seat BUT we did not have a stroller that it clicked into. My SIL gave me her used bucket seat so we trusted that it was in safe condition, but it's an Uppa Baby and we didn't want to buy the corresponding stroller. Even so, we did still find the bucket seat really handy and i would not recommend skipping.
- handy when visiting people. Easier to be able to enter a house and put her on the ground in the seat for a sec while we unload etc. Gave her a moment to adjust as well before being handed off to someone.
- handy when in offices and appointments; didn't necessarily have to disturb her by hauling her out when she was comfy/calm or sleeping.
- easier to get her buckled in safely inside our home during summer heat and winter cold, rather than trying to do it outside in a parking lot. Just logistically easier to do this in the comfort of your own home, particularly in the early days when we weren't confident about the straps and took a little longer to get it right. Also in winter we knew we could bundle her up well inside our home and then just hustle to the car and click her in. No faffing around.
- easier for quick errands like picking up a pizza or the like. Could bring her into a store in the seat, she was calm but got a little change of scenery rather than having to haul her out and then strap her back in. It takes like 5 mins to get a tiny floppy baby out or in, and they don't usually like it. It can get really flustered and reducing that stress is valuable.
The bucket seat can be clunky to haul around but you get used to walking with it for the short distances you need to (home to car, car to store, etc). We had a lay-flat stroller (Bumbleride Indie) and I used a carrier alot for our June baby but nonetheless the bucket seat made a world of difference.
Congrats! I’m due in May as well, my second baby. With my first, we got the UppaBaby Cruz stroller which we LOVED and used so much. The stroller is light, compact but has a lot of storage space. And we got the UppaBaby Mesa baby car seat that clicks directly on the stroller. I could not recommend it more.
Then for the longer term car seat we got the Graco4Ever which we’re still using for my first (he’s 7yo).
Interesting, the cpsts are always saying how compact it is. We had the mesa but a bigger car. If I could go back in time I would have gotten a smaller, cheaper seat though.
We love our Vista with Mesa car seat. Whatever you end up going with, I would highly suggest getting an infant car seat that can clip into your stroller. It’s been a lifesaver.
I found the bucket seat way easier. That said, never put either of my infants straight to convertible so maybe it would have been okay and I just never experienced it. I was so scared of “breaking” or hurting my newborn (especially my first - just first time mom things), that I liked to be able to bundle her in the bucket, then move her IN the bucket after. Getting a newborn into a convertible seat would be harder because you’re straining yourself outside the car, trying to get them in place, buckling, it’s cold out, etc. bucket seat you can do that all inside. That said, I’m sure you’ll hear from ppl who used convertible from birth and I’m sure they got by fine.
Just as an example - I had the uppa baby bucket seat, with the uppa baby Cruz stroller. The bucket seat clips into the stroller so made outings with a newborn so easy. I did get my stroller used, and car seat new, which offset the higher price of the uppa baby stuff.
Top Travel Car Seats on Reddit
1
Cosco Kids
Scenera Next DLX Convertible Car Seat
78% positive of 250 users
Super light, cheap, great for air travel, but outgrown fast.
Orisha_Oshun
