Car Toys: Carseats & Stroller Picks
Due to our love of travel, being in the car is a part of everyday life. Whether it’s a quick trip to the grocery store, or a weekend getaway, using baby gear related to planes, trains and automobiles is a requirement. I did SO much research about carseats when I was pregnant. I wanted my little bundle of joy to be in something safe, durable, and maneuverable for our daily lives. Strollers of course are no different. I wanted something that had storage, smooth to push, and naturally could fold up nicely into the trunk of our car without being too cumbersome. I also included all of our travel gear here as well, since some of these items we use daily!
NUNA PIPA INFANT CAR SEAT: Nuna is an awesome company. It’s a bit expensive for a car seat but I would highly recommend it. 1. The infant car seat has a built in cover on it with magnets so you don’t have to always have a carseat cover with you when you’re on the go for naps. I chose the Pipa over the Pipa Lite because you can travel with it without the base and utilize the car seatbelt to secure in a vehicle. It has a euro seatbelt system that you can buckle into cars where the shoulder strap loops around the back of the seat for extra coverage and safety. It’s next level for traveling and so worth it to not lug the heavy base around the airport. 2. The Nuna infant car seats are compatible with several strollers with adapters which is way more handy than I thought it would be. That way you never have to wake that ticking time bomb of a child up when you get to your destination. Just click the seat out of the car and pop on a stroller when you’re on the go. If you don’t want to shell out for 2 car seats, just get the Nuna Rava. It also has infant inserts available, so it can be utilized from birth to 6+ years old. Only down side to that is it’s stuck in the car so when you’re out and about or going to dr. appts etc. you can’t take them out while still in the carseat, which when they are really little is a major pain point. Which is part of the reason we got the Pipa as her first carseat. LBB has spent many miles in this carseat and really loves it!
Also random fact that I didn’t know, car seats expire…so it’s sort of worth it in my mind to invest in the two types of seats if you’re planning on having more than one kiddo. That way when you transition the first into the big kid seat, the littlest one can have the pipa.
NUNA RAVA CARSEAT: We transitioned LBB into the RAVA around 11 months old. The Pipa infant seat rule of thumb is 32” or 32 lbs whichever comes first, and our little sunshine was 32” around 11 months old. So she was getting a bit squishy in the Pipa at that point. I was a bit devastated to loose the nap shade from the pipa when we transitioned to the Rava, but she learned rather quickly how to nap in the car without it. The Rava is not a travel seat IMHO. Could you travel with it? Yes. Would you be happy about it? No. It is quite a bulky and heavy seat. Which is great for safety but not so great for moving it from one place to another. We took a year hiatus from flying with LBB once she started walking, so we didn’t have to figure out what we were going to do about a travel carseat until this last spring when we went to Paris. So we happily left the Rava behind in Bijörn Big Fabulous (my mommy mobile) and rented a carseat for the few days that we needed one. But on the plus side, the Rava has handy cup holders on either side, and is very easy to buckle into your vehicle which I very much appreciate.
WAYB PICO TRAVEL CARSEAT: This is a major investment. But holy hot sauce am I glad we pulled the trigger on this. It has saved our bacon on so many accounts and we have only used it on 2 trips so far. Not only does this thing fold up into a backpack, but it only weighs a mere 8 lbs. Which for the traveling dog and pony shows that is parenthood, that is maj. This also stores in an overhead compartment, so if you are wherry of the dreaded airline damage threats to car seats, that helps. Or, if you have a wiggle monster like ours, it’s extremely easy to buckle the carseat directly to the seat on the plane. I personally felt that it made flying with LBB much more manageable for domestic flights. We have yet to bring it in tow for an international flight, but after this last trip to Paris and renting a carseat for the first time… (gag, gag, gag) Needless to say, I will not be repeating that experience, and glad we got this carseat for the future.
UPPABABY VISTA STROLLER: Strollers are somewhat of a necessity of motherhood. Even if your child doesn’t want to spend a ton of time strapped to a moving chair like mine…The storage capacity is worth bringing it along. The Vista is the largest of the Uppababy collection, with the most ability to transform over time. You can clip in the bassinet, a nuna pipa carseat with adapters, and the rumple seat in the main connectors. And if you choose to have another bundle of joy, you can adjust for two kiddos and it becomes a double stroller. The storage basket underneath can hold a small country so it’s great for trips to the zoo, beach and day of shopping! Since this is a larger rig, I do not use this thing for daily use. I tend to use the Yoyo much more often since it is so compact in the car. We have only ever traveled with the Vista once… Even though we bought the UppaBaby Travel Bag due to its warranty guarantee that if the airline damages your stroller, they will replace it if you use their travel bag and register it online.
BABYZEN YOYO: This stroller is a lifesaver. Not only is it small enough to fit in an overhead compartment on a plane, but it is basically the equivalent of a bougie transformer. We love this stroller so much that it has almost replaced our Uppababy Vista as our most used ride for LBB. I like to keep it in the trunk of Bjorn Big Fabulous at all times since I can pop it open one handed. This stroller also has several add ons that you can get to customize your ride. We’ve purchased this leg extender to make long rides more comfortable, and this Petunia Pickle Bottom Mickey Mouse Stroller Hook to add additional bags to the stroller when you’re on the go. The leg attachment allows LBB to stretch out her legs without having to bend them allowing for longer stroller rolls. It’s also great for stroller naps on the go… even though LBB has never taken a stroller nap once. Unless she was in her carseat as an infant. Just not her vibe I guess.
Make sure you get the YOYO2 if you invest because it is their updated model that has a slightly better suspension than it’s prior model counterpart, and it has a faux leather handle which the first version I believe has foam that doesn’t hold up quite as well. SO worth the investment. Another accessory that we have bought for this stroller is the Nuna Pipa carseat adapters, if you choose that type of carseat!
Fun fact… when we went to the local fire station to do our fist carseat check and training before having LBB, the officer kindly reminded/instructed us to not get an infant mirror to attach to the back headrest of the seat your child is in while reverse seated. She said that it is a huge cause of accidents because of distracted driving from the parents. So because of that…we never got one. I know there have been moments where I would love to understand why LBB is screaming her lungs out in the backseat. But I also know that if I had that little mirror there, I would constantly be looking at her and not the road.
Other fun tip to keep your car clean & stocked with all your emergency needs is a car box for your trunk. I got something similar to this one at Target and keep it stocked with extra diapers, wipes, and clothes for both me and LBB. I also usually keep a towel in there too so that when you go to the park in the winter months you have something to wipe the slides down with, and in the summer you never know when you’ll be visiting a sprinkler or splash pad!
