Mesa V3

Get a bassinet for the 4-6 months as baby will likely be sleeping next to your bed. Any crib would be fine tbh, I wouldn't recommend a mini crib (we thought babies are small, want do they need that space for). We end moving our kid to a floor bed at 10 months. We did a newborn seat (rear facing) then upgrade to a convertible at 10 months (big baby). Having a newborn seat that is compatible with your stroller is really handy. The stroller was the most important part, my kid is 3 and we still haul it out for trips with lots of walking. We are also in a very walkable area, so your milliage may vary. We got the Uppababy Cruz +Mesa car seat. If you are close to a retail store, definitely go try out a few brands. I'd suggest a convertible seat that is easy to disassemble and wash. We got the Diono Radian 3RXT and it's work to clean.

Uppababy Mesa but the new V3 which is a redesign of the previous Mesa. I understand the seat holds them better/more comfortably than the V2.

Uppababy Mesa V3 car seat fits. We just graduated to the Nuna Rava. It fits too. When going into the seat, watch baby’s head with the Nuna rava. I have it backward facing and reclined to position 1 and still have to be careful. But once little one is seated, clearance is good.

We are getting the Uppababy Cruz 3 stroller with the Mesa V3 seat and adding a bassinet attachment as we go on frequent walks. I like how sturdy it is for our cracked/brick city sidewalks, and we get snow and ice so we like the wheels on it. Goes up to thirty pounds for the car seat and can be installed without a base if need be. I was a little uncertain as it’s pretty pricey system but we already got the bassinet and seat purchased for us from our registry, so it will definitely be it!

I have the mesa v3 and love it for its looks, easy install (latch system) and adjustability, but for some reason it forces my newborn into a hunching over position that doesn't seem comfortable, and has her chin almost always touching her chest. I scheduled a consultation with their carseat representative and while helpful, its seems it's just built that way :/ My husband and i have found that stuffing a burp cloth behind her back helps make her more comfortable. I kinda wish we went a different route ( i was eye-ing joie + nuna) but we found the vista for a good price on marketplace, so we figured we'd buy the mesa (purchased new of course) as well. Congratulations and good luck!

You can gate check a stroller and a car seat (you can also use the car seat on the airplane if she has her own seat.) you can check these items for free. When our babies were that age, we just took our car seat (the uppababy mesa without the base) onto the plane, used it with the rental car, and gate checked a smaller travel stroller. Traveling with a baby can seem overwhelming but it’s really pretty simple if you just take a breath and think about it. Buying a Doona for this would be overkill. Your normal car seat probably would work? Idk why you’d need to buy a new one

Oh my gosh, when I tell you strollers and travel systems had me spiraling out of control, I’m not kidding. It was like weeks and weeks of hours of research daily and comparisons. I was losing dang mind. Ultimately, I went with the Uppababy vista v3 and the aria v2 lightweight car seat because if we have more kids it can be easily used as a double/triple. I liked all the different ways to use and co figure it even though most strollers on the market now also have similar features but the actual frame of this stroller felt more sturdy, long lasting, and of a little high quality. I wanted something that glided and was smooth and easy to push and this was definitely exactly that. Easy to collapse and throw in the car. As for the car seat I chose, I wanted something lightweight and easy to carry. Something safe, compatible with my stroller that I didn’t have to buy adapters for. It’s not big and bulky. I was pretty torn between the aria v2 and the mesa b3 but for my personal preferences, the aria seemed to work better for what I need. Now- I’m not the type to splurge on things at all but I got a hecccck of a deal on this so I pulled the trigger and bought it! 10/10 no regrets. I’m due in July! Hack: Grab a free crappy car seat off your local Facebook market place and go bring it in to target and get your 20% off coupon and then start your target registry if you haven’t already (even if you aren’t using it as your actual registry) and set it up so your due date is in like a month and you’ll get a 15% registry coupon that you can stack together. If you have a red card that will be another 5% off so you’re looking at 35-40% off your travel system of choice!!!