Downtown DC resident: is relying on Doona stroller a good idea?
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Anonymous
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I live in a tiny DC apartment and we don't have the space for a bunch of baby gear. I like the idea of the Doona stroller because we can just have one item for the car and around the city. My one concern is the general lack of storage on that thing. Did anyone run into issues with this? Any other pros/cons of relying solely on the Doona?
i'm aware that the Doona will only serve me for a year, but will to do that if the convenience is all that it's cracked up to be... |
Anonymous
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I have a tiny apartment and a doona. I got a bag which attaches to the back from my buy nothing group and while it doesn’t hold a lot - it holds enough. (Like whatever I needed for the baby for the day plus some extra items.) If I need to carry more I just bring along a backpack.
Personally I think the convenience of the doona outweighs the inconvenience of lack of storage. |
Anonymous
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The problem with the Doona is that a year is optimistic. Lots of babies outgrown them sooner. And then what do you do? Convertible seats are a pain for travel and putting in and out of cabs.
I recommend the Chicco Fit2 for your situation, plus the city mini stroller. There’s an attachment so you can snap the car seat right into the stroller. And kids fit in that car seat until they’re TWO on average - it’s the longest lasting infant bucket seat on the market. At two, you can switch to something lightweight and forward facing for cabs, like the WayB Picco. |
Anonymous
pp who loves her doona here, that is a consideration but many people also get use greater than a year. I saw a review of someone who got use for 17 months and I got at least that (my daughter is 21 months and her head is still more than an inch from the top - it's no longer my every day car seat but I still feel comfortable using it in an uber/lyft. In addition to having a tiny apartment I have a tiny car and definitely super great not to have to have the trunk filled up with an additional stroller. Since I only have one kid I basically store the doona in my car now (also have a convertible car seat installed) and still can use it as stroller in a pinch. The doona is absolutely the best baby purchase i made hands down. The lack of storage is the only downside. (not great for the farmer's market) |
Anonymous
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Baby zen yo-yo+ with newborn attachment and attachments for car seat.
Unless you are planning to cab it everywhere and therefore would need a car seat—the babyzen yo-yo is great because it collapses down small and is easy to carry. When the metro elevator is out, or you get on bus and have to collapse your stroller, babyzen is where it is at |
Anonymous
| This was my exact situation and it’s all I had when my baby was born. Noped out of that real quick and bought one when my kid was 2 months. Walk enough with that thing on DC sidewalks and your kid is going to have brain damage. If you don’t go on walks it would be fine, if you like to even walk around the block, you need a real stroller. I don’t think storage is a dealbreaker but once you use a normal stroller it will be. |
Anonymous
| We live in a tiny rowhouse and love our Doona. Will transition to a gbpockit when she grows out of it (and separate carseat just for the car). |
Anonymous
| I found the Doona was too heavy to be useful after about 6 months. |
Anonymous
| FWIW, the Doona has awful crash-test ratings. If you plan to use your Doona in the car regularly, it'd be reason enough to skip it. |
Anonymous
All car seats pass federal safety standards. Those private crash test ratings you refer to are worthless. |
Anonymous
I'm sure you have a house full on things where minimum competency is not your accepted standard. |
Anonymous
That’s not the issue - the issue is the private crash tests are not valid and don’t mean anything. Bad methodology leads to bad and misleading results. Bogus data is bogus data. The doona is amazing. I personally have taking 2 mile plus walks with it with no issue. It is just so so convenient. So worth the money. And it’s safe. (Don’t get their trike stroller though - that thing is a terrible stroller!!) |
Anonymous
| It seems like it wouldn’t be able to handle the bumps on the sidewalks very well. |
Anonymous
| The Doona is literally illegal in Canada but I can see why people who already own it are committed to defending their decisions. |
Anonymous
Well a bunch of people who didn’t get a doona are also defending their decisions NOT to purchase without any real life experience of it. Except the doona car seat is literally the only expensive baby item I got that was hands down worth it. I enjoyed its convenience every day. Expensive baby bay side car bassinet - not worth it Doona liki trike - so not worth it (May still be able to redeem itself as a trike when my dc gets tall enough) Lovevery playgym - not worth it (Everything else I have is from buy nothing group.) It is massively convenient not to have to deal with a stroller and car seat during the infant/young toddler time period. Just press a button wheels release and go. Space saving is also amazing in my tiny apartment. Downsides of doona - lack of storage, need a stroller cover because sun gets into the eyes easily and yes will, if you are not paying attention get hung up on an uneven sidewalk crack at times. I didn’t find lifting it in and out of the car a problem - you never have to carry it otherwise. (Although I have very rarely done a flight of stairs with it and there it definitely is heavy!) For me these minor inconveniences were extremely minor and the convenience factor and small space advantage of the doona - major. |