What Stroller and Car Seat to Get After Growing Out of Your Doona
“The days are long, but the years are short” might be one of the most overused cliches of parenthood. That said, it’s a cliche for a reason—those days that feel endless when you’re pacing the floor with a wide-awake newborn at 3 a.m. add up awfully quickly.
They outgrow the outfit you loved so much. You have to drop the crib mattress down, because suddenly they can sit up—no, wait, you blinked and now they’re pulling up. Better lower it again. Adaptation and change are the name of the game; just when you get settled into one routine, something shifts and you’re building a new one (sleep regressions, anyone?).
When registering for and buying baby gear, though, the lightning-fast pace of the timeline can be forgotten. Sometimes we get lucky—that unopened case of newborn diapers is easily swapped for the next size up.
But what about the more significant investments? Like that Doona car seat stroller that seemed so convenient just a few months ago but now feels like it’s one overnight growth spurt away from being too small? Nope, we’re not making that mistake again—the next stroller car seat combo is going to last for years. Like, until-our-child-is-practically-half-grown amount of years.
Wait, does that even exist?
Of course it does. We’ve got you covered. See our guide on the best car seat and stroller combo options. But, for now, let's focus on the next steps for your baby after the Doona.
How Long, Exactly, Can You Use Your Doona?
The short answer: it depends. Just like there’s no precise age at which your baby will sit up, walk, or sleep through the night (man, it would be nice to be able to circle and star that last one on the calendar though), it all comes down to your baby’s development. Like most car seats, the Doona’s safe usage is outlined by a baby’s height and weight, rather than their age.
At first glance, those guidelines look generous—35 lbs is a *lot* of baby. But you’ll grow out of your Doona faster than you think. Most babies will outgrow a Group 0 seat like the Doona in height first—32 inches comes well before 35 lbs.
And the downside to the Doona’s two-in-one construction that felt so convenient at first is that once it’s outgrown, you’re replacing two pieces of equipment: the car seat and the stroller.
What Car Seat & Stroller Do You Get After Your Doona?
The next step after any infant car seat like the Doona is what’s called a convertible car seat. Unlike an infant seat, which is designed to be exclusively rear-facing, a convertible car seat can face backward or forward. This is the type of car seat that you’ll use until your child is ready for a booster seat (a timeline which, again, varies because it’s also based on height and weight). However, unlike the lifespan of an infant car seat, a convertible car seat is sure to last you for years … no matter how fast your child grows.
Orbit Baby: A Convertible Car Seat Stroller Combo Upgrade From Your Doona
One of the things many parents like about infant car seats is that they’re frequently sold as part of a travel system that includes a stroller (or, in the case of the Doona, are an infant seat + stroller in one). Making the move away from this set-up can be frustrating for parents who’ve gotten used to the ease of transitioning from the car to the stroller that a travel system provides.
Orbit Baby’s patented and innovatively designed travel system is the only option on the market that allows you to continue moving seamlessly from car to stroller and back again, even after you’ve grown out of your Doona.
A Toddler Car Seat that Attaches to a Stroller: The G5 Toddler Car Seat
Orbit Baby’s G5 Toddler Car Seat is currently the only convertible car seat on the market that can also be attached to a stroller. This means your travel system can now grow with you well past the infant years, keeping the convenience of easy car-to-stroller transitions while still meeting the needs of your older child.
The toddler car seat keeps many of the same features that make our infant seat a celebrity stroller favorite, like our patented SmartHub base that makes car seat installation a breeze.
The G5 Stroller: Explore the World In 360-Degrees
Orbit Baby’s G5 Stroller employs the same SmartHub base as our swivel car seats, offering a full 360 degree rotation so that you can choose the position that works best for you and your baby—no more one angle, one position only like the Doona. With a rotating car seat and stroller, you can also adjust the positioning as needed; recline for a nap, prop up to take in what’s happening around them, or even pivot sideways for a no-fuss high chair option at an outdoor cafe.
Orbit Baby: Continue to Transition Seamlessly Between Car and Stroller
Parents choose the Doona for its 2-in-1 convenience, but once it’s outgrown (which can happen in what feels like one blink of your sleep-deprived eyes), it can be overwhelming trying to decide on the best option for what to use next. Orbit Baby’s convertible toddler seat and rotating stroller combo is the only option on the market that offers parents the continued convenience they love with a product that can grow with their baby for years to come.
