Btw, listening to John Legend at night just might get you pregnant.
I would know.

Baby is on the way and I'm bit over whelmed by stroller/car seat options.
Why are there so many. Holy crap.

And I was about to buy a travel system until I remembered that while I think I can fit everything in the Mini... I cannot.

SO anyone with babies/kids - what stroller/car seat did you use in your R53?

I'm not too concerned about passenger seat room being almost nada. Husband rarely rides in my mini and even then - we're both 5'4" and don't need much leg room.

Please halp me. I'm lost.

 

First off, Congratulations

I drive an R56 but I think the ones I got would fit in an R53 too. I started my son off in The Chicco KeyFit 30. When he grew out of that I got the Recaro ProRIDE Convertible Car Seat. Both fit pretty good. The Chicco does compromise the front leg room a bit, but since you're not worried about this you'll be fine.

For a stroller I got the Baby Jogger City MINI. It folds in half and fits in the boot, but there won't be room for much else after it's in there. They sell an adapter so that you can snap in the Chicco KeyFit 30 to it. Also It looks like Baby Jogger sells a new one that folds even smaller which might be a good option too.

 

Got our mini after our kids were done with rear facing car seats. I'm a big fan of Cybex car seats. Serious side protection. When you are ready for a forward facing seat look at their models with Xfix - we have these now - it Clicks really securely into the latch connectors with a metal frame. No stress of trying to tighten straps just right to get the seat anchored.

In terms of strollers. Some of those travel systems are huge and heavy. And super expensive... (Cybex frame is $650)!

We went with a lightweight universal car seat frame and the lightest Maclaren umbrella stroller "Volo" once our kids were a little older. The Volo we got with the breathable summer fabric. Easy to add a blanket if needed but impossible to make the padded one cooler in the summer... And can be hosed off after a trip to the park or beach...

Albeebaby sells these and you can often find coupons online.

 

We have 3 kids. The mini has lasted thru all of them. Car seat skill gets mounted. Glad we don't need a stroller any more. A roof rack helped a lot for hauling strollers, and things while 3 kids are in the car.

 

I just went through this. Congrats by the way

Rearward facing kids seats are HUGE!! I don't remember the brand we have, but when it's installed in my back seat behind the passenger seat, the passenger seat has to be all the way forward, with the seat tilted up pretty far......so way my wife is riding in the passenger seat when I have the kids seat on the back.

Two things that make it easier for you.....

1. Get one of the seats that has the removable base that the seat clicks into. Much easier getting the seat in and of the car.

2. Get a seat with the hooks on it that are button operated, kind of line a seat belt. Those are easier to install and remove vs. the hooks that just have a little spring tab you press down with your finger.

Good luck

 

Congrats! My wife and I have a BoB revolution stroller which barely fits in the back, but it does and it's a great stroller.

We have the Chicco KeyFit 30 also, which you can get an adaptor to fit the BoB. If you keep the pass seat all the way forward you can probably get the base of the stroller in the car too, we usually go without though (my R53 is our only car right now).

 

Definitely get a seat with a base that straps into the car, and don't be afraid to lay the rear seat down on the drivers side, and put the carrier into the passenger side rear through the hatch. I hate strollers, I always either did Baby Bjorn, or make them walk once old enough, so no advice from me there.

 

Thanks everyone!

Definitely going to look into all the options.
Looks like Chicco is popular.
To be honest, as long as it fits I don't mind either losing some space or losing some bells n whistles. I'll take fitting over a cup holder. Lol.

 

If you can find a place like Toys R Us that will let you take a few different car seats out to the parking lot and test fit them in your car........do it! You can instantly tell which ones will fit, and which ones won't. Like I said...those things are actually pretty darn big, and wedging them in the back of a Mini is no fun!!

 

Ooh I didn't even think about that.
I think I'll do that this weekend as I have a Babies R Us not too far away.
Thank you!

 

rear facing one was fine in a r53...the type that snaps into a base...getting it in was a bit of a pain...that's when a 4 dr car gets useful.
a forward facing one fits too...but will limit front seat room on that side...but that is further down the line. lifting a heavier kid into those are a pain...more so.
it can be done...but takes some bending and twisting...with the seats slid forward a bit sometimes and the door wide open depending on your size and flexibility.
it can be done if you wish...we did it ...had the mini R53 AS A SECOND CAR...might be a pain as an only car or primary daily driver.

 

and one more tip...
before you go crazy buying every "gadget" to help with a baby, wait...and have it first. some things that places sell are to help you do things that might be a non-issue for you...its easy to buy a truck load of junk, only to have a huge tag sale later.

 

a base/carrier type is an absolute no-brainer, regardless of your vehicle. (Do you want to wake a sleeping baby to get him unstrapped from a seat?) IF one will fit the mini, consider getting one with the largest weight capacity you can get because you will want to use the snap in seat as long as you can get away with. (at least a year)

 

We have two R50's (inside it's the same as an R53 space wise) and have a now three year old (and an 11 year old) so this is from experience with a car just like yours.

The first seat little Hazel was in was the Chicco Key Fit 30 (which others have recommended). We experimented with different seats (at a Babies-R-Us) and found that the Key Fit 30 was the only one narrow enough to go between the folded forward front seat and the door post. Other seats were wider and got caught up when you put them in or pulled them out. I wouldn't even recommend looking at another infant seat. And of course, get the snap in base. Being able to carry the little one about is huge.

For the stroller the City Mini fit well as does the Britax B-Agile. Of the store models we tested the B-Agile seemed to be a bit easier to push so we decided on that. I bought a used B-Agile on craigslist for a very cheap $75 and it's been a great stroller for us. You can save money there- every stroller is a used stroller once a kid gets into it. There's an adapter for the Chicco seat to allow it to fit into the B-Agile as well.

For the toddler seat we chose the quite expensive but nice Orbit Baby system. The seat can spin around almost forward facing to make getting in and out of a two-door easier. It's better than having a 100% rear facing seat but not perfect. The good news is that the minute your little one turns two they can safely face forward. We had to do the rear facing/spin around thing for only about a year. It was tough but you'll get used to it.

The Orbit Baby toddler car seat is big, heavy and looks to be very safe. The downside is that the seat and base were around $600 total. Use the $$$ you saved by buying a used stroller.

The short answer is that you can have kids and an R50/53. They are safe cars and kids love to ride in them!

Val

 

I have to agree with this. Thank your lucky stars if you have the option to daily-drive the Mini with your kids but, with 4 kids under 8, the R53 is not an option for us so we keep cheap minivan and a decent 7 passenger SUV sitting around for the dirty work. You'd be surprised, if you have space and aren't in a crowded city, how cheap it is to keep an old reliable 4 door around for kid duty.

That said, DO NOT consider anything by Maxi Cosi. Absolutely huge. Chicco served us well for the first 2 kids, 3rd got a Graco which was lighter and had a better handle but not as durable or snazzy, and now the Maxi Cosi which I love but it's tight even in the van.

Congrats, good luck, have fun!