When you first become a parent, you listen to all the advice people give you, do a ton of research, and then come up with you own favorite pieces of baby gear. The most important piece of gear that you will ever own as a parent is a car seat. When you are leaving the hospital, they will not even release your baby unless you have an appropriate car seat AND you know how to use it – yes, the hospital I delivered in actually tested me on this!
When I was searching car seats, the first thing I searched for was the safest infant car seat. Chicco was the first brand that came up in my search, and continued to come up. So I decided to take a trip to Buy Buy Baby with my husband and see what made the Chicco so special. I wanted to feel the car seat for myself and compare it with others. The first thing I noticed was that the Chicco car seat was one of the lightest. Add a 10 pound baby in any seat and it becomes very cumbersome to carry, so this car seat got a point for being lightweight. The next thing we did was try to install the Chicco and another car seat in the tester seat they had in the store. Chicco won this test hands down with the easy to install and remove latch clips. Really, these are the EASIEST latch clips you will ever install because they have a button to release, as opposed to squeezing two pieces of hard metal together to install and remove the seat. Tightening the car seat base in the car is a cinch with the adjustment straps in the middle of the base as opposed to the sides.
I like that the Chicco seat came with an infant insert, so that newborn babies fit more snug in the seat, and a boot to keep baby warm. The weight range is from 4-30 pounds on the Key Fit 30. As I was in preterm labor about a month before my daughter was due, this weight range became more important to me because I was not sure how big my newborn would be if she was 4 weeks early. I was comforted by the fact that I would have been able to safely transport her in the Chicco if she was tiny. (Thankfully that wasn’t the case, since I made it to the day before my due date!) The canopy on the Chicco Key Fit 30 extends a little more than other infant car seats, which makes a big difference when the sun is shining bright in the back seat.
I was so happy with this car seat that I recommend it to EVERYONE and now I would like to tell you about the Chicco Together Stroller. Whether you have twins or children that are a few years apart, the Chicco Cortina Together Stroller is a great addition to your gear. For a double stroller, it is lightweight and easy to maneuver. You can fit two Chicco Key Fit or Key Fit 30 car seats, or you can fit one car seat and a toddler in the stroller. I LOVE OPTIONS! Whether your toddler has a preference for the front or back, or you want your infant closer to you – you have so many options with this stroller! Both kids are sleeping and you have the seat reclined – NO PROBLEM! You can still get to the storage basket underneath – I can’t even say that about my current stroller. The stroller I have now requires special clips to add in order to use the car seat with it. With the Chicco Cortina Together Stroller, you don’t need extra pieces – the car seat and the stroller work together!
- Build your own travel system with matching Chicco car seats. Accepts TWO #1-rated KeyFit or KeyFit 30 infant car seats
- Fully-reclining rear seat for bassinet enclosure or car seat attachment
- Exclusive forward-fold front seat for car seat attachment
- Convenient one-hand activated fold and automatic storage latch
- Interchangeable child’s armbar and cupholders
- Independently adjustable and removable canopies
- Zippered basket is accessible even when seat is fully reclined
- Weight Limit: up to 40 lbs per seat
- Product Dimensions: 47.25” x 23.5” x 45.5”
- Product Weight: 34 lbs
I can’t say enough good things about Chicco. This is a company that produces quality products that keep your children safe. Click Here to see where you can purchase Chicco near you. You can connect with Chicco on Facebook.
Disclosure: I received a Chicco Cortina Together to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.
Great review! Thank you so much for sharing. I like that you can build a whole travel system, really convenient!