Let me clearly state that this has been the best and most satisfying purchase I’ve ever made in Amazon (and probably everywhere else). It arrived just the day the baby was born, and so we were able to come out of the hospital with the baby in it the next day. It was amazing having learned how to use it right away. We had a 15 minute walk from the hospital to our home and we chose to go that way instead of using a car. Since then we have been using the Doona every day and our baby has always felt comfy and happy when we seat him in it. It’s very maneuverable and it has served its purpose for every use we have thought of for it. So here’s a short summary of use cases we’ve successfully checked:
- Taking the baby to the restaurant for lunch and dinner: we have used it in car seat mode and kept him just by our side in long benches in restaurants or as a stroller (with the brakes on) and replacing a seat at the table with it. It’s compact enough to avoid people getting in close proximity to its wheels, unlike most strollers.
- Taking the baby on a ferry: Yes! It worked wonderfully in car seat mode for this. And the baby really likes traveling since his first day out (really thanks to the Doona... remember the baby adapts to your lifestyle instead of otherwise, if you choose to do so).
- Using Uber: We’ve taken the baby on more than 50 rides and all drivers -really, all of them- were impressed at how easy it was for us to get him in and out of the car, converting from stroller to car seat and back to stroller in an easy operation. Just tell your Uber they don’t need to get off the car to open the trunk or help handling the stroller, because it’s instantly a car seat. It has made our life out of home really easy.
- Taking the baby to the beach: just convert to car seat and carry it with the handle and then pop out the wheels when you hit your palm tree spot. The integrated shade helps keep the baby comfortable but we go extra cautious and always put a blanket covering the top of the Doona so no mosquitoes or too much sun and wind gets in. There’s an official sunshade but we found it easy to go the cheap way since we didn’t get the sunshade along and didn’t want to wait for shipping times.
- Taking the baby to the movies: Yes! Believe it or not, babies like Avengers even if it’s a three hour long movie. We just put the Doona in car seat mode and voilà! Just check the baby for signs of wet diaper and maybe go to change it once through the movie to avoid crying. Remember to seat close to the aisles or next to the handicapped seats and you’ll enjoy your movie date once again and not having to wait for years to go back to the cinema. Actually having done this helped us emotionally since we found out we still can do things we like.
- Taking the baby on a plane: Oh, yes... we had an international flight at week 5 and we felt like a “moving Kodak picture spot/opportunity” everywhere through the airport. It was so easy to get to narrow or crowded places and there are two ways of traveling with it: 1. Taking it to the gate and unloading the baby right at the plane’s door and the airline will take care of it and put it with the cargo and then deliver it back when you get out of the door so you can keep using it through customs and luggage pick up without having to hold the baby the whole time. And... 2. Getting a seat for your baby that you can take the Doona on board because it’s certified for air travel... We chose option 1 and saved some money for diapers and baby formula. And it was by far the easiest to use stroller/seat we saw (and the airline staff said that too). There were other babies on both planes we took and honestly they weren’t having as good time as we were.
- Taking the car seat through TSA check... easy... it goes through the X-ray machine in car seat mode, flipped upside down. Just the right size for that.
- Taking the baby to doctor’s appointments: waiting rooms sometimes get crowded and we were happy our Doona didn’t take as much space, avoiding making other people uncomfortable. During an appointment I found out another “mode” for the Doona that I’ve never seen in reviews or elsewhere: just retract the wheels to put it in car seat mode and leave it in the floor. Surprisingly, it works like a rocking chair! Really, just try it when you get yours and be amazed at that “rocking chair” mode. I’ve never seen so many “WTF” faces around before.
- Getting in and out of elevators with one hand: just retract the handle and put it upright and it will take the less space possible. It’s so easy to do.
- Going shopping: it’s so small and flexible you can take it to the outlets and feel like a “Kodak picture spot/opportunity” once again (actually someone mentioned that while I retracted the Doona to climb some stairs and avoiding a long ramp other parents where going through slowly (hence the photo op... a line of parents wasting time and only one avoiding the traffic jam).
Now we’re in month 5 and while most of this review was written during the first two months, nothing has changed and we’re happy we went the Doona way. We removed the newborn insert just before month 3 and baby didn’t even notice the change.
Short summary: we have been happy parents thanks to Doona.
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Follow up: Our baby is 2.5 years old now and we miss the Doona. We used it for 15 months and once again, we miss it but it surely made another happy family after us. If there could be something similar for toddlers, we would definitely buy it. But honestly, still think it was the best purchase ever.
| Product Dimensions | 28 x 18 x 20 inches |
|---|---|
| Item model number | SP101-10-033-003 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Minimum weight recommendation | 4 Pounds |
| Maximum weight recommendation | 35 Pounds |
| Minimum height recommendation | 7 Inches |
| Maximum height recommendation | 32 Inches |
| Material Type | PA+GF, PP, Al, PU, EPS, Polyester |
| Number Of Items | 1 |
| Style | Compact |
| Number of reclining positions | 5 |
| Batteries required | No |
| Orientation | Rear Facing |
| Rear-facing minimum child weight | 4 Pounds |
| Harness type | 5-Point |
| Item Weight | 8.8 ounces |
