My full review of the Doona Infant Car Seat and Stroller
We’ve all heard about the Doona. So many influencers have it and are always saying they love it. Well, consider me influenced. I bought the Doona. Read on to see my full review of the Doona Infant Car Seat and Stroller and whether or not I would repurchase it if I knew then what I know now.
One of the many benefits of having a second baby is that there are far fewer items to purchase this time around. We kept most items from our first baby so when we began thinking of what we needed for this new baby, the list was far smaller. One of the items we did still need was another infant car seat. We have our old one from our first child but there’s some obvious wear and tear and we made the decision that we wanted a new one for this baby.
Truthfully, when I began searching around for a new infant car seat I did not expect it to be as confusing as it was. I’ve done this before: how hard can it be for a second child? Well, it got confusing and fast. Our stroller from our first travel system is still in great shape, and we have quite a large age difference between the two (4+ years), so I really did not want to get anything that would need a new stroller. By the time this new baby is ready for a stroller (6+ months) our daughter will be closer to 5 and probably not sitting in the stroller anymore. In addition, when choosing a car seat, I did not want to get the same one I had previously because I felt it was heavy. It was a Baby Jogger City Go carseat. Great quality, otherwise very happy with it, but heavy to carry. This led us to move our baby to a convertible car seat at only 7 months old because it was so heavy with her in it that I could not carry it anymore!
So begins the process of figuring out what infant carseats are compatible and have adaptors for the Baby Jogger stroller. It may have been one of the most confusing moments when I began trying to figure this out! It felt like with a new infant car seat, as well as new adaptors, things were getting expensive very quickly. So, this led me to the Doona…
I knew the Doona would be a huge investment. I had not really considered actually getting it until I was knee-deep in trying to figure out the configurations. I realized, the Doona would serve as an infant car seat and would remove the need for any new adaptors for our old stroller. In addition, I would not have to keep a stroller in the trunk of the car (which takes up space) anymore. The last thing I realized: since the Doona is also a stroller, it will allow me to keep my baby in her infant car seat longer since I would not have to carry around the heavy car seat anymore since instead I could just put the wheels down and push her.
Now that I’ve explained my thinking and how I ended up at the Doona, let’s go over some pros and cons.
Pros
- Built In Stroller: Having a stroller that is not separate, and is built into the car seat, saves a ton of space in the trunk. It also is going to save your shoulders and posture. Day after day of carrying a 15 pound baby in a 10 pound car seat really adds up. You can end up with a sore back and fast!
- Convenience: Being able to press a button and the wheels come down save the time of having to set up a stroller and place the car seat into it. Of course, this is not a life-changing amount of time, but it is definitely a more simple process! I envision myself running errands and having such a more seamless experience with the Doona!
- Longer Use Time: Baby can stay in this car seat for a longer time frame (unless they hit the weight or height limit) because as a parent you will not have to carry them around, making it easier for you.
- Smooth Ride: I am very impressed by how smooth the ride is for the Doona. The wheels are small, as is the whole thing, but the wheels make for a very smooth ride for the baby.
Cons
- Price: At $550 dollars, this item does not come cheap. There are much cheaper options you can find, but keep in mind that if you are a new parent and need a stroller as well, the cost of these can add up quickly as well. I plan to reuse the Doona if we have another baby in the future.
- Heavy: The Doona, when held as a carseat, is heavy (similar to the Baby Jogger City Go carseat). In my personal opinion, this matters a bit less for the Doona since at any point you can just put the wheels down and can wheel it rather than carry it.
- Safety: There is some discussion regarding the safety of the Doona. Much of the discussion is regarding that having the wheels allows babies to be left sleeping in the Doona for a longer period of time which can be unsafe. I felt this was not an issue as this is true for any carseat, not just the Doona.
As always, it is so important to do your own research and find what will work best for you and your lifestyle. The Doona seems to be the right fit for me and my family based on many different factors. I am excited to try this out once the baby is here and put it to the test!
5 Month Update: How is the Doona Car Seat and Stroller holding up?
We’ve officially been using the Doona for five months now. My feelings on it have definitely changed. So far, we are still using it because (obviously) it was expensive! There are also things about it that I definitely do like. Changing now would be more of a hassle than it’s worth, but here’s my update on how I feel now that I’ve used it.
Pros
- I do still think having a built in stroller is a great option. I pretty much use the wheels every time I use the Doona. There are very few times that I haven’t used the wheels. It’s made life a lot simpler when we go places because my four year old holds the handle of the stroller while we walk so everyone is safe and in one place and I am not having to decide between carrying 20+ pounds or getting the stroller out of the trunk each time we get out of the car.
- Not having to lug around a separate stroller base has been so helpful. We have a mid-size SUV so saving space is everything! There is such a limited amount of storage, so having an empty trunk when getting groceries or anything else is so great.
- Height. Because of the wheels, I like that the baby can be in the car seat at a higher height than if the carseat was without wheels. Prior to having the Doona, my first child had to be placed on the ground in the car seat if we were out anywhere. With the Doona, I can have her up at stroller height rather than on the ground. I like this – I do feel like it’s a bit safer for her, especially when we are places where there are pets (such as at home since we have two large dogs).
Cons
- I had “longer use time” on my list of pros prior to the baby being born. Now that she’s here I quickly realized that I don’t think I’ll be getting a longer use out of the Doona. For my first daughter, I switched her to a convertible car seat at 7 months because it got so heavy to carry her past that point. It was easier to get her out of the car seat and carry her where we needed to go. I assumed that with the Doona, I’d continue to use it until the baby outgrew it. However, at five months, I’m probably going to do the same thing I did with my first and move her to a convertible car seat at 7 months or so. My reasons for this are because the Doona is so heavy, even though I don’t have to carry it far, it’s still extremely difficult to pick up and get out of the car. My daughter is also so alert and out of that newborn sleepy phase so she wants to be awake and watching everything! She’s far less content to stay in her car seat now, so getting her out of the car seat makes more sense for us.
- “Smooth Ride” was on my list of pros as well. This has switched over to a con for me. I find the ride to be anything but smooth. Of course, this isn’t designed to be a difficult terrain stroller, but going anywhere that isn’t sidewalks or a store flooring is difficult. Going over grass, gravel, brick, or any other surface is extremely bumpy. There have been times I’ve actually felt it was unsafe because it was so bumpy and had to put the wheels up and carry the heavy carseat because of it. Obviously this is a personal preference on whether or not you’re willing to deal with this, but places we frequent like parks, our families’ houses, kids events, etc., all have these surfaces. For us, it has definitely complicated things and made times harder to get our four year old out and about because we always have to consider where we can or cannot take the Doona.
- Price. Like all baby items, it’s expensive. The longer I use it though, the more I do believe it’s overpriced. There are great features and it is an innovative product, but there are many limitations with it, so if it were cheaper it may feel like a better choice so people are left with more room to switch and get other items as they need it.
- Heavy. I did mention this on my initial list when I got the Doona, but it has only been progressively more difficult as time has gone on with the weight of this car seat. Obviously, having wheels attached will add weight, no way around that. But truthfully I think the weight errs on the side of too heavy. My daughter is on the higher ends of the charts for height and weight, so at five months she’s over 18 pounds. Add 16.5 pounds to that and we are at 34.5 pounds! It may be easier if you have a smaller baby, but truthfully adding 16.5 pounds to any size baby is hard. Yes, the wheels are available, but you still have to lift that weight each time you’re getting the Doona clipped in and out of the car.
- Cleanliness. I once saw someone mention they thought it was gross that the wheels stay with the carseat because it was dirty. At the time, I hadn’t used the Doona yet so I was confused and truthfully thought that idea was a little much. However… I now agree with it, ha! I don’t generally think about this, but there have been a couple times that I felt it would have been nice to be able to just remove the wheels. I’ll give an example. We recently went to a wildlife center. The wildlife center is near a river and because of this, geese often flock here. Due to so many geese often being there, the trails were covered in goose poop. I tried to avoid it, but there was no way to completely avoid it! When we got in the car, I did feel like it was absolutely disgusting that the wheels covered in goose poop were now in the car right next to where someone else was sitting. I would have loved to be able to throw the base of the seat into the trunk.
- Lack of storage. I did not know how much I needed some form of storage on a stroller until I got the Doona. There is not as much space for storage since the wheels fold up, but for $550 dollars, I’m really not sure why the company would not include some clip on attachment for a basket underneath or at the very least a clip on attachment for personal items like a cell phone, keys, cup holder, etc. There is an option to purchase some attachments as extras, but sometimes it’s just not worth it to spend extra money on something that was so expensive in the first place. I think overall the company could do better about providing something with the initial purchase since customers are already spending so much. Pretty much every time I’ve used the Doona I find myself dreaming of having a place to put something whether that be a toy for the baby, my car keys, or my phone.
Final Thoughts
As with anything, there are pros and cons to the Doona. I am super happy to have tried it, but my overall decision is that I would not buy it again. If I had to choose again, I’d get a super lightweight car seat that can attach to a jogging stroller to allow an easier time on all-terrains. I think that would solve most issues I’ve had with the Doona. Not having the wheels attached would add a bit of difficulty and be a bummer, but for me, the cons of the Doona currently outweigh the pros. The weight, the cost, the lack of storage, and the inability to go on different surfaces safely make it something I would not buy again.
What infant car seat did you choose and what led you to make that decision? If you’ve been using it, do you like it? Let me know in the comments!
