What Travel Car Seats We Use In Each Phase (Baby To Kid) -

Over the years, we’ve tried and tested different options to make our family adventures as seamless as possible. From baby to kid, we’ve found travel car seats that are not only safe and reliable but also lightweight and easy to pack. In this post, I’m sharing the car seats that have worked best for us at every stage, so you can find the perfect fit for your next trip!

My flow when traveling with car seats (from a travel mom and a CPST):

My Stage 1: Newborn/baby- I start traveling with an infant car seat. I traveled with this one exactly but honestly, many of the infant car seats will be great to travel with. You can check out this blog post for more information about my favorites. I will use this until they grow out of it. However, with my second, she hated the infant car seat so after a couple of months of fighting her with it, we just transitioned her into a convertible car seat (see stage 2).

Read next: My favorite travel car seat bags

My Stage 2: After they outgrow the infant car seat (or if they hate the infant car seat), the next car seat that I transition my kids to is the Cosco Scenera car seat. This is a lightweight option, and it’s been a great option for my family. It can be used rear-facing 5-40 lb and 19-40 in. and Forward-facing 22-40 lb and 29-43 in. I personally always just use this rear-facing in the car (the exception being if I’m on the plane and it won’t fit rear-facing.) You can check out my favorite travel convertible car seats here. I will use the Cosco Scenera car seat until they grow out of it and then transition them to the next one. Please note, you don’t have to buy a separate travel car seat. I do because I don’t want to lug around the heavy swivel car seats that I have in my car at home.

Check out this blog post to learn how to carry your car seats through the airport.

My Stage 3: After they outgrow the Cosco Scenera car seat, I transition them to the WayB Pico car seat. This is not a cheap option but it’s been a game-changer when traveling with kids (especially since we have two now). It is made for kids 22-50 lbs and they recommend not using it before the age of two. It folds up super small, is incredibly lightweight and because we travel a lot, this is a great investment for us. I personally like to keep my kids rear-facing as long as possible which is why I will max out the Cosco Scenera car seat first since the WayB Pico is forward-facing only.

My Stage 4: (we haven’t gotten here yet this is just my tentative plan): Once my son outgrows the WayB Pico car seat, I plan to test the following (I want him to be in a five-point harness for as long as possible before transitioning to a booster):

Bubblebum booster seat or the Hiccapop UberBoost: These are great options when traveling with kids because they are inflatable meaning that they will pack down super small.

2. MiFold HiFold: This high-back foldable booster seat is so unique and I can’t wait to test it. It can work for kids 40-100 lbs.

3. Ride Safer Vests: This is a unique wearable booster seat for kids that comes in 4 different sizes. It is designed to bring the seatbelt down to your child’s level instead of boosting them up like a traditional booster seat does. As a CPST, we recommend not using boosters until the age of 4/5 (there are a few circumstances in which this would be a good fit before the age of 5), however, RideSafer approves the use as young as two years old. You can check out my review here.

Please reach out if you have any questions!