One Year Later, The Doona

Disclaimer: I won the Doona in a giveaway. All opinions, however, are my own!

A little over a year ago, I posted about how excited I was to use certain products. Well, after nearly a year of use, I can certainly say that the Doona was worth the hype. It has been the single most useful item we have had for Chloe. 

If you’re not familiar with the Doona, it is a car seat that converts to a stroller. Instead of a travel system where you pop the infant seat into a stroller with an attachment, this is all one piece. The handle bar moves and extends, wheels pop out of the bottom part of the car seat, and it becomes a very handy stroller. 

It’s safe, it’s convenient, it saves precious real estate in your trunk. Need I say more? Chloe just turned one and we are still using it. We actually JUST got a new lightweight stroller for her because I feel like she would enjoy sitting up more. But really, we could keep using it for a while and she would still be fine. As a matter of fact, the height limit is 32” and the weight limit is 35 lbs. Chloe will outgrow it lengthwise before she does weight-wise (she is just over 29 inches and 19 pounds), but she still has a couple of inches before that happens. 

Let’s talk pros and cons. 

Pros: 

1. Compact. You don’t need an additional piece after taking the seat out of your car, which means no bulky items in your trunk while you are using this exclusively. It’s also smaller than a regular stroller when open, so you fit through tight spaces really well. 
2. Maneuverability. I could steer it with one hand, which is a necessity when you have a toddler, too. 
3. Lightweight. It clocks in at just about 16 pounds. It’s not the lightest, but definitely not the worst out there. 
4. Travels well. If you purchase a seat for your infant on a flight (or get lucky enough to have an empty seat for them), you can take it on and use the Doona in the seat as it is an aircraft approved seat. It is also easy to buckle it into a car without the base attached, so it’s great for taxis, rental cars, or even the grandparents’ cars!
5. Secure. With the headrest, I never felt like Chloe’s head was flopping to the side, which used to make me crazy with Caleb when he was an infant. It also has an infant insert that helps keep their bodies perfectly in place  As she got a little bigger and we removed the insert, she was still comfortable in there, and I never felt like she was in an awkward position. Even now, her feet hang over the side, but she is not uncomfortable. 
6. Sightline. Obviously in the car, baby is rear-facing. But when you have the seat in stroller mode, you are looking right at baby, which means you can make all the silly faces you want and keep your paranoid parent watchful eye on standby 24/7 (or as long as they are in the stroller). 
7. Simplicity. You open and close with minimal effort and steps. When you’ve got a toddler running around, the last thing you want to be stressing over is that you need to complete twenty steps to get the baby in or out of the car. The cover and sunshade are also really easy to take off and wash.  
8. Quality. The fabric never looks dirty. The plastic is SO sturdy. You can tell that quality material is used to make this product.
9. Safety features. The Doona has three layers of side impact protection (memory foam headrest, eps foam beneath the textiles, and a honeycomb design in the legs designed to absorb impact), and the handlebar doubles as an anti-rebound bar. It is as safe as any other infant seat you can purchase on the market. 

Cons: 

1. Small sun shade - I wish it covered a little more, but it does the job. They do sell an extension for this, as well as a sun and insect protection layer. 
2. No storage - although you can purchase a bag that you can attach to the back of the Doona (while it is open) and a diaper bag that attaches to the handle. 

Price: The Doona rings in at $500.00. I know many would list this as a con, but I think it is well worth the price tag. Odds are, if you are considering this, you’re considering a travel system that clocks in at just as much or double this. Since we haven’t used anything else for Chloe up until now, I can tell you that the investment is well worth it. 

Overall, way more pros than cons - and I can tell you that when I was in a rush at morning drop-off with Caleb, it was nice to just release the seat and go. Not having to take the extra step of opening the trunk was so helpful. Caleb only uses a stroller when we are doing something like Disney or something with really heavy walking, which is why this worked so well for us (we ended up just taking two strollers with us when we went to places like that, and it worked for us). 

Clearly, this is a product I love. I will continue to recommend this product, and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to use it! 

Questions? Ask away in the comments below! 

Xoxo, 

Jenise