Hellobee Boards

Love the Chicco Keyfit 30!! LOVE LOVE. Everything adjustable is bright orange so any other caregivers find it easy.

We have the Chicco caddy stroller which I LOVE, but it looks like the Bravo has been updated to have a lot of the same features, so that's great.

A less-publicized aspect is I can put the folded-up stroller in my car trunk, fill the basket with stuff, then when I arrive at my destination I can open it without any of the basket items falling out. I've been meaning to take pics or video of this, maybe later today, bc it's a major benefit.

I have the Chicco Bravo system and have only used that so I can't compare to others. But I do love how easy the car seat base is to install and the ease of using the carseat with the Bravo stroller with the seat taken out and used as a frame.

However, there are lots of things about the Bravo I do hate. Depending on the Bravo you're looking at, if it's the one with the child food tray that is used to hold the car seat, that part doesn't fold down and just sticks out, so it makes the stroller take up a lot more space and is just awkward. I know they do have others now that is a bar that does collapse with the stroller.

Also, there's the size and weight of the item as a just a stroller. It's just very bulky and heavy to me, which may be the case for all full size strollers. I have a Altima and it takes up practically my whole trunk. Nevermind a big trip to the market or costco with it in my trunk and trying to jigsaw everything in.

Also, it's a little difficult to push one handed. I probably would have opted for a 3 wheeler like city mini if I had considered that in my purchase. It wasn't until my kid is screaming to be taken out of the stroller, but we still have to keep moving until I realized it was something I maybe should have considered.

I think if I could go back, I'd have gone for the Chicco caddy to use with the carseat and then bought a different stroller. But then again, if I did, I'm sure there would have been something not ideal about that too...

@karenbme: It comes with an infant insert and a detachable hood to cover the head that stows in a pocket. If you don't want the hood, the pocket it big enough to carry my Galaxy S9. There is a small pocket under baby's bum that can hold a coin purse. It comes with stirrups for feet of toddlers (also detachable). The shoulder has little loops that snaps to hold a bag on your shoulder. It easy enough to adjust yourself while baby is in and it is comfortable. I never nursed in it, but I can't imagine it is that much better or worse than any other SSC.

@Ms. RV: the ktan was a simplified wrap so it was snuggly and kept E really close. The lilliebaby didnt need an infant insert I used it from about 9ish lbs and has lumbar support. It also offers multiple carry options.
I second the idea of leaving the car seat at day care and having 2 bases and then later getting 2 convertible carseats. Also for a travel stroller the summer infant 3D lite is great.

@Sams Mom: even with an average or large newborn infant seats with no rethread harnesses can still push their heads forward, making them chin to chest. The fit is obviously different for every kid but it seems to be a common compliant. But those are the only major downfalls. It is almost two pounds heavier than the keyfit30 and even though it is possible for kids to use it until it's limits (height would typically be hit first) it can feel very tight on kids at the upper limit.

@Littlebit7: Totally agree that usually travel systems suck, but, the new Bravo actually allows you to take out the stroller part completely and turn it into a car seat "snap-n-go." So I wonder if your friends have the old Bravo or the new Bravo.

You're due in January and live in a cold climate? I'd really reconsider the stroller you get. Realistically, it's going to be too cold/snowy to use it until the baby can sit up. At that point you have so many more options. Our favorite stroller is the City Mini. We got it used and I cannot recommend it enough.

For baby wearing, I got a Tula Free to Grow and it was perfect. I would zip up my jacket over the baby and we'd both be warm.

@Littlebit7: i would echo this. we have the keyfit 30 and it was super easy to snap into our uppababy, we just left the connector in and used it that way for the first couple months, or to swapped between the seat and the car seat connector depending on what was best for us at the time.

i would generally agree also about not worrying about turning a stroller into a double at this stage--except if you find yourself leaning toward an uppababy cruz, just get the vista. the difference is size is minimal (they're both big) and you get way more flexibility with the vista. this is the advice i wish i could give my three years ago self. if you're not even considering either of these strollers then ignore me

I love my city mini - we got it in 2011 as a shower gift and still going strong with baby #3! It has gotten a ton of hard use. Only complaint is not a huge basket but even when we were city dwellers for 2.5 years of that (ie it was my car) I made it work fine. I had the connectors for my infant seats which is 100% worth it to me, then no snap n go needed (we had a Britax bsafe and a graco one and I think I preferred the latter! But tons of good options). If you end up needing city mini connectors I’m always trying to pass on mine

Our second infant seat (first expired) was the graco snuglock. I don’t know why this seat isn’t more popular because the base is amazing to install! It’s not super luxurious but I found it more than adequate and easy to do the straps.

We’ve never had a true double. My kids were further apart than I planned as we had some struggles. We have a cheaper graco sit and stand we used some when my second was born and it was fine.

Our first was born in January in Boston and my go-tos for keeping her warm were the shower cap style jj Cole cover or using the infant insert in the ergo. Both kept her super warm, with a hat and a blanket inside the cover (over straps of course) she was always super toasty!

@periwinklebee: i do! we really love it (which explains this novel). we are in the city so we use it every single day, and often load it down with TONS of stuff and weight (eg, groceries, i literally used it when i was moving to haul stuff, etc), and it has held up amazingly well. the wheels are great and it handles so well. we like that you can do multiple arrangements with it, so my son (who's older) can go in the rumble seat facing out or facing in if he wants to have his own little cave seat down there.

one note is that the rumble seat, which goes on the bottom (and can't go on the top), is smaller than the regular seat. my almost 3.5 yo DS is really pretty close to too tall for it (he's tall and skinny and i think he exceeds the height limit but not the weight). we have to really remind him to keep his feet up on the foot rest when he's facing forward because he can easily touch them to the ground. but we've been reluctant to put DD down there because she's not yet one. when number 3 arrives in November i think it will be perfect for us because we'll move DD down and she'll fit great in the rumble seat. DS1 will have to move to the ride along board. among the strollers i looked at, though, i don't know that any were better with the second seat. i think you'll probably be good with your LOs slightly closer in age than my first two, but definitely something to be aware of if your LO is on the bigger side for his age.

i also love uppababy customer service--we had the cruz before, and they systematically replaced basically every part of the stroller for free for us while we were using it.

final note--when set up as a double it is a bit of a pain to fold up if you're packing it into the car regularly. it's pretty easy to actually fold, but you have to take the rumble seat off. it's not bad to lift once you take the seat off though.

@karenbme: do you live in the city and walk a ton or in the suburbs and take the car more?

I lived in Boston when my kids were babies, and had the UB Vista. Zero regrets, it handled just fine in the ivy or slushy weather and very light snow. Once the snow was deep (I was there the winter we got historic amounts of snow) I don’t think any stroller would have gotten through it so I baby wore. As a double it was good, but I had the older version. The new one lets you put the rumble seat in either position which is really nice. It is a bit of a beast to push with a 3 year old in the lower rumble seat and the infant car seat snapped into the top, but once my younger was old enough to be in the front rumble seat, it was way better. I loved that baby could face me as I pushed her long after I started using the stroller seat instead of the car seat.

Down side is it’s big and requires two hands to fold and takes up a good amount of trunk space. Again, living in the city and hardly ever driving, that wasn’t a concern for me. Also know that you can’t fold it with the seat facing you- it can fold with it forward facing or you can detach it, which it takes a few seconds. But it definitely confused me a lot at first!

I walked so so many miles with the stroller. I just passed it on to my sister and was sort of weepy (my kids at almost 6 and 3.5 now).

If you walk a ton I recommend a good stroller and a car seat adapter. If you are in the suburbs and mostly drive I don’t think it’s as big of a deal.

ETA: oh and the basket was huge! I generally did my weekly grocery shopping and walked a mile home with the groceries in the basket, maybe one hanging from the handle (when we only had one kid- the rumble seat does limit the basket space)

@karenbme: if you plan to walk a lot in that environment, I think it’s perfect for you, even if you only end up using it for one kid. Except it’s expensive of course. You could try checking for used ones or previous season colors, but it was worth every penny for me.
Also living in a village where you have some space but also walking distance to many things sounds awesome.

@karenbme: I haven't tried the vista (@Foodnerd81: is making me drool for it, as we'll be in the market for a double). If it's really important to handle well in snow and trunk space/navigating in tight city spaces isn't a huge concern, you may also want to look into a jogging stroller designed to go off road + adapter for whatever infant seat you want. I have the Thule and might rank it as my most valued baby item (I also run, which is the reason I got it to start with, but we used it so much to walk around the neighborhood when DS was a newborn, he stayed warm bundled up and it was the only way he would nap...) With the suspension and huge wheels, that thing handles snow like a beast....

this is very random, but i have STRUGGLED to find thermometers that i really trust--both forehead variety and even rectal thermometers we've had will tell us baby is at something crazy like 93 degrees when they clearly have a temperature.

just got this one and have been SUPER impressed by how easy it is to use and how consistent the results are: https://www.amazon.com/EXERGEN-TEMPORAL-ARTERY-THERMOMETER-TAT-2000C/dp/B01455CYS6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=11YBDWZ99NQDR&keywords=original+exergen+temporal+scanner+thermometer&qid=1562158157&s=gateway&sprefix=original+exergen%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-3 [pretty sure this the right version, i picked up mine "the original exergen" at target]