Upgrading?
If, for example, we were thinking of getting a new car seat, and knowing that Cricket probably weighs at this point around 22 pounds (we'll know for sure on Wednesday), what kind of car seat would you recommend and why?
Labels: Cricket
posted by Katie at 3:55 PM
18 Comments:
definitely a "convertible" one that accomodates an infant and toddler and then turns into a booster seat. saves money and from having multiple seats.
I agree with the "convertible," but I would make sure that the five point restraint is good beyond 40 pounds. I think Britax goes up past 60.
I just ordered the Britax Marathon. It's got one of the best safety and overall ratings of all the convertible car seats. Although it's spendy (about $269) it works as both a rear facing or forward facing seat. Will accommodate from 5 to 65 lbs.
Okay-- This is good, but I want to know what KIND of seat people recommend.
I'm leaning toward the Marathon. But as you might guess, I'm worried about carseats. What's the cover like on the Marathon?
We got the Britax Boulevard. Not much more $ than the Marathon, and I really like that it has side impact protection. We got the Park Avenue color, reasonably stylish, and seems comfortable. We haven't tried washing it yet. I'm very happy with it.
22 lbs already? He's a big little guy! :-)
I can personally recommend the Britax Marathon, which my three-year-old rides in. I also have a Roundabout that the almost-two-year-old uses and have no quibbles with it, but would recommend the Marathon over the Roundabout (cost be danged) simply because it is MUCH TALLER and will better accommodate Cricket if he's a biggish little dude (which it sounds like he is) right on through to booster-seat age. The Marathon that I have is the silvery grey-ish one, and I have successfully washed the cover several times (I wash them when they're new, because my kids are allergic to the sizing that comes on new clothing and they smell kinda chemical-y out of the box--with Cricket's previous issues I'd definitely suggest you do that before installing it, regardless of what brand you go with). I think it's nice-looking. My three-year-old is in the 95th percentile for height and there is still some room over the top of their head, which is nice. If my youngest wasn't such a runt we'd be running into a height issue on the Roundabout (I got the Marathon last summer for that very reason when the youngest outgrew the infant seat). I haven't used the Marathon rear-facing at all since the youngest kid I've ever put in it was two, so I can't vouch for how it is that way, but forward-facing it's been good. The installation is a little more complicated than the Roundabout, but worth it, I'd say. It also gets bonus points for the several belt positions and adjustable straps, as well as the five-point restraint (surprisingly many of the convertable seats I've seen have three-point, which just doesn't seem adequate to me, especially since older toddlers and preschoolers futz with the adjustable joiner at the chest-level. Hope that helps--feel free to e-mail me if you have more questions or if you want me to snap a digital pic of any part of te thing.
We have the Britax Boulevard. We went with that one mostly because of the extra side impact protection and with twins, they're each on the side. It also has a high weight limit. The cover is soft, velour like. There is quite a bit of padding so it looks pretty comfortable. We have them rear facing for now and they actually allow more room for the front seats than our infant carriers did.
I would have to say the Britax Boulevard is number one in my book. Some points I like more than the marathon are the strap adjustment definetly, it is not a slot adjustment it is done by turning the knob so it is easy and you can get it just right for the baby not having to move the straps 2 inches at a time. Also I like the side imoact wings, it goves them somewhere to rest their head while sleeping. I has a good cover on it, easily washable, and I would say for Cricket to wash it a few times first.
There is a new seat out as well that everyone that has purchased it has raved about, it's the new Evenflo Triumph Advance. It is moderatly priced with all the features of a Britax, higher harness slots than the britax, and a better recline. So you might want to consider it as well.
I second what Jenn said. We got the Boulevard's because of the side impact protection as we have one twin on each side. Bristax tends to be thought of al the Gold Standard in car seats, though I have also heard good things about the Evenflo Triumph Advance. But we actually have the base model Evenflo Triumphs and they are definitely cheap. You might want to contact Estelle at faggotsonthethirdfloor.blogspot.com as she is a car seat tech and a WEALTH of car seats knowledge--I always email her with questions!
Britax all the way. The straps on other carseats tend to get twisted or tangled more than with Britax, and the installations are often more difficult. We had a Roundabout (well, we still have it, but now it's for Grandma's car) but Natalie has just about outgrown it RF and we want her RF as long as possible so we moved up to a Boulevard. It was an expensive proposition (luckily Grandma bought one of the seats) so I would start out from the beginning with a Marathon or a Boulevard and skip the Roundabout. You'll make up the difference in $$ with peace of mind by keeping him RF longer. We chose the Boulevard over the Marathon because there is no center seat in our new car so we wanted the side impact protection.
We're in your general area at the moment so if you want to see the Blvd in action, give us a call!
Having hefted Cricket, I can tell you that he's a big boy. Hilarious, to boot.
Oh, I have no carseat information, but I have tagged you for a meme. So there!
<3
We've had a Britax Marathon for P since he was 4 1/2 months old and heavy enough that carrying the infant carseat wasn't a particular draw anymore (around 17-18 lbs?). He's now 3 1/2 and we still love it. It was great rear-facing and it's great front-facing also. He's very comfortable and has lots of room, but the seat is very secure. The cover is kind of a pain because it can't be machine-washed (not as much of an issue with a toddler as it was with a baby who spit-up/spilled often), but the newer ones might be washable that way. Ours is 3 years old, after all. I know you can buy other covers for them.
We're planning to buy another one for our next son for my car. We have a Graco (that we also like) for J's car, but that one's forward-facing, not a convertible. Cricket's not quite ready for that yet!
Go for a Marathon. There are oodles of covers available, including cotton ones. Cotton car seat covers are hard to come by, because of the federal standards they are required to pass with regard to flammability. But there are a few out there.
I have Boulevards for Charlie, and love them. I mostly like that I can adjust the harness a smidge at a time. I don't care either way about the wings, and don't think they make *that* much of a difference safety wise, but the harness adjustment is by far a huge seller for me. And Charlie loves the wings. When he's getting tired, he turns and buries his face in them and blocks out the world.
Cricket can stay in his SS1 until 30 pounds or head within an inch from the top. I would do that for now, since Recaro is set to release the Como and Signo sometime in August or September, and they promise to be extremely amazing seats. There is also the Radian65 (skip the 80, so not worth it), that has its own issues, but overall is a pretty fab seat.
Don't buy a Roundabout. Just don't.
Agreeing with the previous commenters about the Britax Boulevard. Got ours for our 7 month old daughter and we LOVE it! Safe, comfy, easy to adjust the headrest/straps as needed ... it just rocks.
Okay, given your previous problems with Cricket's carseat...I recommend checking out HealthyCar.org's report on the chemicals used in carseats. It ranks convertible seats, too. We're looking at the Eddie Bauer Deluxe Convertible Hampton and Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 Convertible Montecito because of their good ratings.
Get a Marathon with a cotton cover. Pricey, but it will last and is easy to use and install. The cotton covers are even pricier, but they make a big difference with the sweating.
You can probably wait until Sept (when they go on sale) though since you have the SafeSeat.
I'd ignore the HealthyCar.org ratings because they aren't consistent enough to convinve me they know what they are doing.
Weighing in to agree with everyone who says they love their Boulevard... .
And if you keep an eye on the baby gear sites for a couple of weeks, you can leap on good sale prices. I think the MSRP is ~$299, but we got both of ours for $249. Still not cheap, but saving $100 is nothing to sneeze at.
Hey. I sent you a baby gift. HOpe you got it. I've been so insanely busy that I didn't send a card. Yes, I suck. And yet I find time to eat copious amounts of cake. And bake it too.
HOpe all is well. I think of you guys even if I don't comment.
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