What New Parents Really Need

Transportation: moving baby from hospital to home (and then out into the world)

Nuna

Nuna Pipa Lite LX Infant Car Seat, $419.95, at Nordstrom

Nuna DEMI Grow Stroller, $799.95, at Nordstrom

Infantino Go Forward Evolved Ergonomic Carrier, $47.34, at Amazon

To get your newborn home from the hospital, you’ll probably need a car seat, stroller, or carrier. Depending on where you live and how you commute, you might even need all three. Make life easy on yourself and choose an infant car seat and stroller that work in tandem.

When it comes to a child’s car seat, safety is always the primary concern. Our son’s car seat was in the very top echelon of safety ratings, and that’s why we chose it. It also turned out to be surprisingly heavy, which was not ideal for my wife in the postpartum recovery phase or for anyone as the kid grew. As the birth of our daughter draws near, we’ve selected a new car seat, one that is in the top tier in terms of safety ratings but also blissfully lightweight. 

The Nuna Pipa Lite LX Infant Car Seat weighs less than 5-and-a-half pounds yet is rated to hold babies from 4 to 32 pounds. It has head-and-neck-support padding, an easy-to-use five-point harness, and washable, flame-retardant fabric. Also, the base installs in a car in about five seconds using the LATCH system, making it the least-frustrating car-seat-installation process I’ve yet to encounter. The seat is reinforced with aircraft-grade aluminum and shock-absorbing foam, so in the unfortunate event of an accident, I’m confident our kid will be safe — and that’s what really counts here.

But hey, convenience is nice, too, right? And the fact that the PIPA Lite LX seat can pop off its base and click right into our Nuna DEMI Grow Stroller is certainly convenient. This is one of the lightest-weight full-size strollers I have used (and I have owned three full-size strollers, not to mention two umbrella strollers, and used my fair share more), and it handles deftly on varied terrain even when laden with a child, groceries, toys, and the other accouterments of life.

While the stroller is large enough for two kids to use simultaneously in an over-under arrangement, it also folds down small enough to fit in the trunk of just about any car. Used in tandem with the car seat or with its infant seat, the DEMI Grow can safely accommodate infants. But its frame can also support a kid weighing as much as 50 pounds, so this stroller genuinely will “grow” with your family. Yes, it’s pricey, but it will last for many years longer than you’ll need it, so plan ahead to hand it down.

We’ll bring our daughter home in the PIPA Lite XL car seat and will then switch largely to walking for many outings. On some of those walks, she will be tucked into a baby carrier. We have two of these, but the carrier I’ll primarily use is the Infantino Go Forward Evolved Ergonomic Carrier. You really don’t need two baby carriers, but say you already have one and get another as a gift, I recommend you keep both. Then you can have one adjusted to each parent’s body and at the ready. And here’s an insider tip: In the early newborn days, you won’t use the carrier for days out, you’ll use it to strap a fussy baby to your chest so you can shuffle around the house at 3 a.m. desperately trying to soothe them to sleep.

I’m a fan of the Infantino Go Forward carrier because it’s designed to hold your infant in much the same position as you would with your arms. Whether facing in against your chest or turned out to see the world, the carrier gently but securely holds a child in positions that are comfortable enough for long periods of time and naps. It’s also rated to hold a child weighing up to 40 pounds, which is great, even though most 4-year-olds probably won’t want to go in a carrier anymore.

Source link