Episode 5 - What To Do After the Doona
Presented by Pabbot and THE BABY GEAR GAME PLAN
Show Notes
In this episode of Baby Registry Breakdown, Paris and Kevin dive into the topic of transitioning from the Doona stroller-car seat combo to new travel systems. The Doona is an all-in-one infant travel system that combines a car seat and a stroller, making it convenient for parents on the go. However, it comes with limitations, including its weight and the fact that it only lasts for about a year.
Limitations of the Doona
Kevin and Paris discuss some of the drawbacks of the Doona. It is heavier than most infant car seats, weighing around 16 pounds. While it is easy to push as a stroller, lifting it into a car can be cumbersome. Additionally, the Doona is typically used for around 15 to 18 months, meaning parents will need to find alternatives as their child grows.
Reselling Car Seats
They also touch on the challenges of reselling car seats. Safety concerns and regulations often make it difficult to sell used car seats. Paris mentions that some stores, like Target, offer trade-in programs for old car seats, which can be a viable option for parents looking to upgrade.
Strategies After the Doona
Kevin and Paris share various strategies for what to do after outgrowing the Doona:
Premium Travel Strollers: Kevin suggests transitioning to high-performance travel strollers like the UPPAbaby Minu or Nuna TRVL. These strollers are lightweight, easy to fold, and ideal for travel. He also recommends pairing them with a slim convertible car seat like the Diono 3RXT for long-term use.
Wagons vs. Strollers: Paris prefers wagons like the Wonderfold W4, which can accommodate both a toddler and a baby with additional space for other items. While heavier, wagons offer flexibility and can even be customized with features like baby hammocks and additional storage. She also mentions the more budget-friendly Radio Flyer wagons, which are lightweight and easy to maneuver.
Budget-Friendly Options: For parents on a tight budget, Kevin suggests using an umbrella stroller or a combination of a lower-end wagon and an umbrella stroller. These options are affordable and can serve as temporary solutions until parents are ready to invest in a more durable travel system.
Conclusion and Baby Registry Basics
The episode concludes with Kevin and Paris emphasizing the importance of reevaluating your stroller and car seat needs as your child grows. They also mention their new free five-day Baby Registry Basics mini course, which covers essential categories like sleep, feeding, and travel. The course aims to help parents make informed decisions without getting overwhelmed by marketing.
Highlights
[00:02:00] "You're trying to sell a car seat. Yeah. That's hard. Right?"
[00:04:00] "You see a lot of these just on the, on Facebook marketplace and on the resale market."
[00:05:00] "I would recommend going into one of those high performance travel strollers."
[00:06:00] "Now you're into that toddler mode into, you're probably going to want to go with a convertible car seat."
[00:07:00] "When you graduate from the doona. You are never again. Doing the combo car seat stroller."
[00:09:00] "I say, go with a premium travel stroller. Then add in your longterm toddler car seat."
[00:10:00] "I like the, uh, the wagons a little bit better than the strollers."
[00:11:00] "The advantage of the w four. Is that you can attach a baby hammock to it."
[00:14:00] "Speaking of budget options, can I just throw another strategy out there?"
[00:17:00] "It's your chance to reevaluate what you want in a stroller."
[00:18:00] "We do have our brand new free five day. Baby registry basics mini course available now."
Transcript
Introduction and Welcome
Kevin: [00:00:00] the good thing is you're past the infant stage.
You're not buying an infant car seats. You're not buying bassinets. So you're not absorbing all these other costs
Paris: if you try and resell it to try and make some money to, put towards your. New travel system.
Well, You're trying to sell a car seat.
Kevin: I think the limit that a lot of people hit is
hey there. Welcome to baby registry breakdown, episode five. This is Paris I'm Kevin.
Overview of the Doona
Kevin: And today we are trying to answer the question that so many parents and expecting parents are asking and that is what to do after the doona
It's the ultimate in Spartan baby gear, because it's both a stroller and a car seat, and that makes it just a super easy for parents who are going places with their kids, because you don't have to worry about having the separate stroller. You just take the car seat right out in that transforms magically into the stroller.
So a very neat idea in so many parents love it.
Paris: It's an all in one infant travel system is what it is. Really.
Kevin: Yeah, it does. , it doesn't take up a lot [00:01:00] of room. It's super easy.
Limitations of the Doona
Kevin: We see it everywhere we go, but it's not perfect. There are a couple, a couple issues.
One is that it's a lot heavier, right?
Paris: It is. It's about 16 pounds. The car seat alone.
Kevin: Yeah.
Paris: So if you're carrying it, you know, Um, most of the time, you'll be pushing it because it's a stroller, but when you have to put it into your car, that means you're going to have to fold up the wheels. Put that thing in your car with your baby in it.
Usage Duration and Alternatives
Kevin: Can you just tell everybody about how long parents are using the doona for?
Paris: On average people are using them for around 15 months. Some people end up using them for a shorter amount of time.
And some people they try and use them a little bit longer than that. I think the recommendation. Uh, for the doona is 18 months.
Kevin: It's really going to depend just like any infant car seat on weight and height.
I think the limit that a lot of people hit is like, they're backache. Yeah,
The average car seat is infant car seat is going to be closer to 10. So that's, that's a pretty big [00:02:00] difference. You know, with the lightest car seats. Uh, like the new UPPAbaby car seat, that's only six pounds. So you're talking a pretty big difference versus, the infant car seat that you're going to use with a travel system.
Paris: You have to understand that you will have to be searching for alternatives within about a year.
This is something that's not going to grow with your child. This is something that will last about a year.
Kevin: That's kind of what happened to us accidentally. Our stroller just up, wasn't working for our lifestyle.
If you start with an infant car seat, you're going to, you're going to run into the same thing you do with the doona.
Paris: Well, not entirely. Okay. Um, with other travel systems. You will outgrow the infant car seat but you can still use the actual stroller.
Kevin: It's like one of those things where your greatest weakness is your greatest strength. The strength is that you're not coming into anything, having to stick with the travel system so you get to make that decision brand new at a year, and that gives you certain advantages. But the weakness is now you've got to find something [00:03:00] else completely for both your stroller and your car seat.
Paris: Yes.
Kevin: You're moving on from that infant car seat, but you're also
Challenges of Reselling Car Seats
Paris: well, and you also have the kind of complicated factor of you are if you try and resell it to try and make some money to, put towards your. New travel system.
Well, You're trying to sell a car seat. Yeah. That's hard. Right?
Kevin: It, and you'll see a lot of these available used. We typically, and I think most experts that you talk to, they won't recommend buying a used car seat. Um, just because there's so many safety issues, it's actually in most places, you're not, you're not going to be allowed to sell any sort of car seat that's been in an accident.
Paris: They say you actually need to dispose of them and cut the straps to ensure that no one is able to use it.
Kevin: Obviously if you're buying someone else's carseat that you don't know what the history is, You know, whether it's, whether it's an accident or maintenance, you don't know what the history is.
You see a lot of these just on the, [00:04:00] on Facebook marketplace and on the resale market. We were looking at different cities. To research this, I was seeing, a lot of people trying to sell them. For over $400.
Paris: Yeah.
Kevin: There was a lot.
Paris: Yeah. Well, they want to make their money back and
Kevin: it's really hard.
Paris: Yeah. You are selling in a car seat is what you're selling.
There, there are also trade in programs. Um, occasionally I know target has a yearly trade-in program for car seats. They do
you can use, you can take any car seat in, um, And trade it. Um, for a new car seat.
Kevin: Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's actually really smart idea.
Strategies After the Doona
Kevin: Let's talk about some different strategies to do after the Doona.
And I think we both have our approach. So can I just lay one out there to start? And then you can, you can give me another scenario. Okay. The doona. One of the strengths is the performance for travel for mobility. Just being able to get up and go right.
Premium Travel Strollers
Kevin: I would recommend going into one of those high performance travel strollers, like [00:05:00] the, um, Minu or the, Nuna Trvl. Cause it's so fast to fold with just one hand. It's self folding. Oh, that's awesome. Um, also the bugaboo butterfly. Some of those types of strollers. If you really need to save space, if you're flying a lot, maybe something like the yo-yo. Um, there's a lot of good options, somewhere between four and $500 is typically where those land, just for the stroller itself. Yeah. But the good thing is you're past the infant stage.
You're not buying an infant car seats. You're not buying bassinets. So you're not absorbing all these other costs where you have a lot of times these full systems are are going to a thousand dollars really easy to fold up and go. Yeah.
So what do you do with a car seat, with a car seat?
Convertible Car Seats
Kevin: Now you're into that toddler mode into, you're probably going to want to go with a convertible car seat, something that is going to grow with them. Um, maybe be their last car seat. If you're in the city scenario where, maybe you have a smaller car or you're putting in potentially smaller cars. Car's if they're going in, um, Uber's or something. Then, [00:06:00] then I would recommend doing like a slim car seat, something like the, um, the Diano three XRT like our car seat. Yeah. Where you get like a really nice car seat, but you don't have that. You know where it's taken up all the space.
Paris: Actually folds up
Kevin: and it folds up, right.
It's a little bit heavy. It. Okay. Yeah. Let me just point out to, just to jump back real quick. When you graduate from the doona. You are never again. Doing the combo car seat stroller. Because
Paris: it doesn't exist. I
Kevin: think there might be one option out there that I saw, but like, it's not functional because it's so heavy.
It's like the bigger convertible that clicks in.
Paris: The big converitble clips.
Kevin: To the stroller, but it's a terrible idea because you're not taking it. You would not be taking your kid out of the stroller with all that weight. I mean, Imagine that you've got a 40 pound kid in the 25 pound car seat.
Paris: I can't, I can't. I actually [00:07:00] cannot imagine.
Kevin: This is so.
Paris: That sounds awef
Kevin: You're just done. You're done with that. You're done with that solution. So at this point, you're always thinking about your car seat and your, your stroller separately. And if you want to go lightweight, I would say the quick fold, travel stroller and the slim car seat, something like the Diano three. XRT or like the, um, even flow 360 slim. I think those are both good options. Uh, that's, that's what I would do.
And if you're on a budget, this is where it, it's nice that you, you know, didn't invest in the travel system earlier now you can just worry about the stroller separately from the car seat.
Right. Because you're thinking about a car seat that stays in place that doesn't have to integrate into the stroller.
Paris: Oh, yeah.
Kevin: Now, when you go to look at it resale, you're going to see a lot better deals on some of those travel strollers, where it's just the stroller and they need to move.
They need to move away from that because what a lot of people do is though. They'll come to the end of that first year. And then they'll sell their accessories. [00:08:00] Like, you'll see a ton of UPPAbaby bassinets. On on marketplace, right? They'll sell. They'll even sell their infant car seats, but the hold onto the stroller. So then it's harder to move and if you're on a budget, you can get a really nice stroller.
That's really quality built. A second hand. If you're doing that, looking for a system. Then you would need to be like buying all these accessories separately.
Paris: So
Kevin: I think that's a, that's a smart move. If you're on a budget.
Paris: The bassinets, you can find those pretty easily for really cheap,
Kevin: really cheap.
Paris: We almost did that, but then I found out that the actual stroller for the twin strollers or. Oh,
Kevin: yeah.
Paris: We're really expensive.
Kevin: Yeah. Yeah. Especially when you're having to like put it all together. So that's my strategy. I say, go with a premium travel stroller. Then add in your longterm toddler car seat, you're coming into the first birthday.
It's something you can register for their first birthday. And the combination of those two. Are going to do really well. TRavel [00:09:00] stroller and slim convertible car seat. Okay. What do you got?
Paris: All right. Well, mine is similar to yours.
I would also, um, part of my strategy would be the same car seat, actually but the stroller would be a little bit different.
Kevin: Okay.
Paris: Now.
Wagons vs. Strollers
Paris: I like the, uh, the wagons a little bit better than the strollers, but I understand that, you know, that's not always the greatest option for say if you want to have a second child, That might be a little bit more difficult. If you have a little baby to put in just. Into a wagon with a toddler.
Probably. Isn't a good idea. Um, However. You can do that with one wagon out there. Which is the, wonderful wagon. W four.
Kevin: Okay.
Paris: So it is big. It's really big, it's heavy, but this thing is amazing. It's amazing. [00:10:00]
Kevin: You're going W. You're going W4 on them. So the complete opposite from the travel, like.
Paris: Oh, no. So this. Okay.
Convenience. Yes. This thing is very convenient. If your toddler is having a meltdown and they just need to take a nap, they can nap in it.
Kevin: Yeah.
Paris: It's it's that big? It's that big, you can literally like attach things to it. Like toys, like games. I've seen people have attached iPads and like all kinds of stuff.
You can put speakers in it. If you wanted to, like, you could turn this thing into like just a moving little mini, like playroom almost.
Kevin: You're going from like the super nimble, just grab the stroller and the carseat, the all-in-one to the toddler mobile. Like mobile nursery. Okay. All right. That's not too light.
That's not too jarring on your lifestyle.
Paris: The advantage of the w four. Is that you can [00:11:00] attach a baby hammock to it. Okay. So it is a, like a bassinet. That attach, it attaches to either side. You can also attach a, baby carrier. They have, um, conversion clips for it that, um, you can attach your, uh, Uh, baby carrier car seat to it while also having the seats for your toddler. And having room on the floor for goods or in, you know, the various bags or bins or whatever that you attach to your stroller. Um, yeah, it is very heavy. So it's not something that, you know, you'd easily just, um, You know, be carrying around upstairs and stuff like that.
So that would be one option. Um, the second option would be.
The W2. Which is just a two seater wagon. Wonderful wagon. It's very similar, but you can turn the whole top of it into a bassinet. If you had a [00:12:00] second baby. If you did that, then you wouldn't be able to. You know, sit your toddler down in there.
It is a little bit lighter. Those two options are also expensive. So that would put you with the, um, with the Diono car seat.
Kevin: Right.
Paris: Um,
Kevin: You're three 50 on the top, the top end of it.
Paris: So you would be running into about a thousand dollars plus yeah.
With. Those options. Um, Not cheap.
Kevin: Right.
Paris: If you want it to go with the cheaper route, I would just do, the radio flyer wagon, which I love.
Kevin: Yeah,
Paris: I really loved the radio flyer wagon. It is. Um, just really, really lightweight. Easy to move around, easy to take places.
Um, it's not the most compact.
Kevin: I think as far as wagons go, it's pretty compact, but it's not, I mean, it's definitely not. The size of a Wonderfold or a Veer or one of, one of the more premium ones.
I think the really [00:13:00] interesting thing is, is, you know, if you're, if you're out in all kinds of places, The aquarium. The zoo. The fair. How many places do we go? Where like three to one. It's a radio flyer wagon like this.
Paris: And you almost never see the same one. Yeah. The great thing is they have, they have so many different kinds of
Kevin: variations. It's
Paris: just a variety of price ranges.
Um, I just really loved the radio flyer wagons they're fantastic.
Kevin: So just noticing so many of these out and about the, the one thing, if you do go with the radio flyer is make sure you get the handle so you can push it. Yeah. Because you see a lot of people, like, you know, they're probably not going to use it long-term they're struggling. They're trying to pull it up a hill. They're like three feet out in front of their kids. Being able to push it is, is everything. So as far as those options, you do have to pick the right ones. Yeah. It's frankly, they're not as durable as the premium wagons, obviously.
Paris: They [00:14:00] aren't, but you're not at home if you're on city
Kevin: streets.
I don't know, like if a lot of people are like outgoing hiking with their like premium wagons with like their big like trail wheels and stuff. Oh,
Paris: You can get. Well, you can get better wheels. Yeah. I know for sure you can actually, they have, um, radio flyer. Uh, has a build your own wagon thing on their website, so you can build it to your specifications.
So if you want the big, heavy duty wheels. You got em'..
Kevin: Yeah.
Budget-Friendly Options
Kevin: Speaking of budget options, can I just throw another strategy out there? And this would be like the super budget option. So this would be like, I spent all my money on a doona. And I just.
Paris: Lost all my money.
Kevin: Yeah. Okay. This would be like the, the, the red alert. Go umbrella stroller, because they're so easy.
It's obviously not a long-term or do the combination, uh, that we did for a little bit, which is the umbrella stroller and the wagon on the lower end side. Yeah. All these great compact folding strollers in [00:15:00] like you can actually get really compact, great folding stroller for around a hundred dollars. You know, a lesser known brand, but. An umbrella stroller you can get for like $20.
Yeah. So it's a nice move if, especially like to throw into a second car, to just have like, when you just need to be able to push them.
Paris: Those umbrella. Strollers. The handles are so short. I'm an average height. I'm five, five, and it was too short for me.
Kevin: But I think if you're, if you're coming from the doona, you might be used to that because you are kind of having to reach all the way out to get that handle.
Paris: Yeah. Maybe, maybe you were already short, so it doesn't.
Kevin: And then the other thing too, is that, is that the doona you have. It's not the only stroller like that. The shift is very similar. Oh, What did the even flow shift? It's very similar, except that one actually, the. The. Uh, car seat comes off of the stroller. But you get kind of that same functionality where it can fold up together and be in the back seat. I think it's nice because you don't, you [00:16:00] have nothing to throw into a trunk.
Paris: Yeah.
If you're, if you're looking for like more like, Um, of the convenience of it all. Aside from like factoring in the second kid, I would say,
convertible car seats that rotate.
Kevin: Yeah.
Paris: Some of these strollers, like they go up and down.
Kevin: So fast. Yeah.
Paris: Yeah, but like, I mean the actual seats, like, oh, the seats go up and down yeah.
Kevin: Okay.
Paris: Adjust the height of them. So like literally you could just rotate the thing. I have that have, have your stroller seat for the kid at the same height.
Kevin: Yeah.
Paris: And then.
Kevin: When you do the doona, because you're only using the stroller for the, basically the first year.
Paris: Yeah.
Kevin: It's your chance to reevaluate what you want in a stroller. So now you can really think about, do I value. Just quickly being able to, you know, get it out and get the baby in with the travel stroller. Do I want to do a jogger stroller? Do I want to do I want to go. More with [00:17:00] that mobile nursery approach and, you know, do one of the larger strollers am I, do I want to change my stroller plan to accommodate a second kid? Do I want to do a wagon because I'm thinking about, Multiple kids over the next few years. It does buy you a little bit, of time to that first year to really reconsider. What you want your stroller approach to be,
Paris: One other thing that I wanted to add about the wagons is with the, um, wonderful wagons, they have an excellent resale rate. They go so fast. Even the older ones.
Great resale item, even in the heavily used. Like six-year-old wonderful wagon is going to selfer. Uh, pretty penny.
Conclusion and Baby Registry Basics
Kevin: Obviously figuring out what stroller, which car seat. You're probably going to end up going down some rabbit holes anyways, but if you want to get off to a quick start with your baby registry, we do have our brand new free five day. Baby registry basics mini course available now.
Of there's going to be a link below in the description. Make sure to go there, sign up for that. you are [00:18:00] going to have such a huge headstart if you do the five day free baby registry basics mini course, because we get into things like where to register for getting into each of the categories that you, that you need to look at for your registry. Not just strollers, not just car seats, which actually both fall on the travel category, but looking at sleep feeding, we're going to talk about reviews.
How you can actually maintain your focus and not let the marketing get to you. There's a lot there in the baby registry basics mini course. Go in and enroll in that is soon as you can, because you're just going to find it so helpful. It's just like having this huge shortcut, this huge headstart.
