Which Britax?

[gordo]

My DD is 2 months old and I am currently using a Graco Snugride in my car. At the end of August, I will be going back to work and DD will be in daycare. DH will be dropping her off and I will be picking her up, so we need a 2nd car seat. Instead of buying another base for the Graco that we would only use for a few more months, I figure we should buy the next car seat that we will need to use. So which Britax is best? If I am going to spend this kind of money, I would like to get the one that will last the longest amount of time. Also - anyone know of any good deals for the Britax seats right now?

Thanks!

[Mommy to a sweet baby boy]

Well i will first ask if your two month old is a big baby or a little baby. i am asking this because if she is little then i would prob suggest either the boulevard which has the extra sip and it has an infant insert or the decathalon which also has the infant insert. both of these seats will go up to 33 lbs rearfacing and 65 lbs forward facing. if you need to spend $200 or less on a carseat however you should be able to find a marathon for that price. the marathon has the same weight limits as the other seats, but none of the bonus's that you pay extra for, so you need to figure out what you want to do that will be more worthwhile. Also just so that you know when you get a carseat like a britax which goes up to 65 lbs when your dd truely gets to big for it you can by her a $20 low back booster and you will be all set and in the long run the price is the same as if you went through all other different sorts of seats.

if you need more help let us know

hth

[gordo]

Thanks for the info. DD is a little one. at 2 months she is 10lbs and 21 1/2 inches. The thing is she will rarely be in DH car. Just to day care every morning which is only a 5 minute drive. So do you still recommend one of the more expensive Britax or would I be ok with the Marathon? I also will have to buy a second one of these when she outgrows the snugride in my car.

[Mommy to a sweet baby boy]

If it is only a 5 minute drive i would suggest the marathon. i would also suggest going to get a car seat tech install the seat and show you how to install the seat as well. I would also suggest just buying the marathon for your dh's car now and wait to buy the seat for your car b/c they do have experation dates and you do not want your seat sitting in your house with the clock ticking. You should be able to find the marathon for about $200 and they have some addorable covers! i am sure there is someone here who could give you a code for a discount.

[gordo]

You have been so helpful! Thank you! And I hope you don't mind another question - scenario. I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend the money to buy two Britax since like I said before - DD will only be in DH's car 5 minutes a day and not at all over the summer (I work at a school). So my plan was to keep the Graco in my car till she outgrows it, move the Britax to my car when she does, and buy a cheaper car seat for DH's car. How long are the Britax expirations? If I want to do like I said above, should I just buy the graco base for now and buy the convertible seats later since they have those expiration dates? Man this is confusing ;)

[bubbaray]

We had a similar dilemma, except my DD was a large baby and outgrew her SnugRide at 4.5m.

We bought a Graco ComfortSport for our second car (DD rides in that 10 minutes per day on the way to daycare) and a Britax Marathon for our main, family car that DD spends most of her time in (DH pickes her up from daycare in that car).

We bought the Graco ComfortSport when DD was 2m and used it rarely (maybe twice a month) until she was 13m and I went back to work. But, for most of her first year, she was either in the SnugRide (until 4.5m) or the Marathon (after 4.5m, RFg until 2 weeks ago)

Both seats are great, but we definitely prefer the Marathon. It is easy to install and easy to use. But, if money is an object, the ComfortSport is a fine choice too.

HTH

Melissa


Maya Papaya!
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[bensmom]

The Britax seats are good for six years from the date of manufacture.

Does your DH do both drop off and pick up? Just wondering because if you do one of those, a second base might make more sense so that you don't go to pick up DD and realize that the Snugride is at home because DH did drop off (or something like that).

Another option is to pick up a 5-point cosco Regal Ride/Touriva/Scenara (essentially the same seat at Target or Wal-mart). They're relatively inexpensive ($40 or less usually) and are decent convertible seats. We use one for travel because it's MUCH lighter than the Britax.

HTH!

Lan

[gordo]

So we went to BRU today to check out the seats. She looks so much more comfortable and stable in the Decathlon than the Marathon. She is just so tiny so the extra padding and headrests really make a difference. DH is just not convinced that the extra padding is worth the extra $$$ and thinks we should just get the Marathon and use the Snuzzler or something. Tough decision since I can find the Marathon online for around $190 and the Decathalon is $260!

[Mommy to a sweet baby boy]

Just to let you know snuzzlers are not safe to use in carseats. any aftermarket products have not been tested for use in a carseat so one does not know if they are truely safe or not. also once babies r us's exclusive on the decathalon is up, which is coming up soon, you should be able to find it for a slightly less expensive price

hth

[mammanik]

Hi!

I've been reading all the Marathon questions because I'm trying to decide if we should still use the Fisher Price Grow With Me for my 23 month ds or save up for a Marathon (just had a baby!) that we can use harnessed for as long as possible (we have 5 kids, 3 in car seats and need to have ds in the middle 3rd row of our minivan which is lap belt only).

I just read the post that says the Snuzzler is not safe to use in a car seat? I thought this particular after market product was okay because it's thinner behind the body so it doesn't affect the straps and just cushions the sides. We chose to return the Graco Snugride we purchased at Wal-Mart because it had the back harness adjuster even though it had the higher weight/height limits. We are using our old Fisher Price Safe Embrace infant seat with the snuzzler- our ds is 3 1/2 weeks old and 8lbs 3oz & 22 inches long. He is long & thin and the FP is very big with little padding and no infant head insert. Do we need to chuck the snuzzler and keep looking for the higher limit Graco? Our Babies R Us does have the Baby Trend Latch Loc which we would have to use with a seatbelt as we don't have latch in our minivan. And we do want an infant seat- our little guy will sleep in it and he's not a big fan of sleeping! :)

Thanks so much!
Nicole
Mom of 5 Blessings

[MamaParis]

Chuck the Snuzzler for the carseat! ;)

And honestly you don't need ANY of those headrolls and inserts and so on if you have the seat installed at the proper angle.
And if your baby needs a little "pillow" - just roll up a recieveing blanket and put it on the sides for support - doesn't interfere with the harness at all that way!

I'd just use the rolled up rec blankets - i probably wouldn't go out and buy a whole new carseat just for the headroll.


And some advice that you didn't ask for ... ;) ...

Please don't use the infant carseat as a place for your baby to sleep on a regular basis. Its a car seat - for use in the car - its not a baby bed, not a grocery cart seat, not a place for naps etc.

I've just been disturbed lately by the number of kids with flat heads and issues due to spending too much time in the baby bucket.

ok I'm done! :)

[CathyT]

>Another option is to pick up a 5-point cosco Regal
>Ride/Touriva/Scenara (essentially the same seat at Target or
>Wal-mart). They're relatively inexpensive ($40 or less
>usually) and are decent convertible seats. We use one for
>travel because it's MUCH lighter than the Britax.

Great thread! I'm in the same position - ds is about to outgrow his Snugride and I am planning to buy a Marathon (he's a big boy, 17 1/2 pounds and 25 1/2 inches at 4 months - yikes!). We have two cars, and he spends about equal time in each. After reading this thread, I have pretty much decided to get 2 Marathons and a cheaper, smaller seat for traveling (I had no idea it could be so affordable, given the price of the Marathon!) - we will be flying cross-country a couple times a year. Would you mind telling me more about the cheaper seat you mentioned, and if you would recommend any others?

Thanks so much!
Cathy

[mamahill]

I agree that you can use a rec blanket.

And a response you didn't ask for... ;) ...
And yes, in a lovely sleep-filled world, babies wouldn't have to sleep in infant seats. But my first had reflux and an underdeveloped nervous system, so she couldn't sleep lying down for the first couple months of her life. The infant seat proved invaluable, as did the swing. Our family doctor recommended it.

And, yes, the back of her head is a bit flatter than most kids, but my son who sleeps in his bed (on his back and sides) and who I carry around despite being nearly 19 pounds at 4 months, has the same head. It's hereditary. Their father has a flatter back of his head and he was a tummy sleeper. I really hope someone isn't looking at my kids and passing judgment.

[MamaParis]

Oh I know that there are exceptions to the rule! :)

I don't think most people would pass judgement on something like that. I just get disturbed when I see like 9 out of 10 babies under the age of a year in an infant seat when I go to target or to the park and so on.
I know some babies have reflux (and I so feel for them too because I have reflux as an adult and its not nice at all! :( )
But 9 out of 10? Just kinda sad to me - seems like no one wants to hold their babies anymore or "deal" with them if they wake up.

AND I'm NOT saying thats the case with you at all! So please don't get me wrong!! :) :)
Just a generalization about the area I live in and people I know with non-reflux babies.



I'm always anemic - so the slightest bump will cause a huge bruise - I'm sure most of the time I look like I get beat up at home or something.
I'm sure some people pass judgement - but who cares what they think, right! :)

You do whats best for your baby and yourself - we all do!

I'm sorry if I offended you in any way! :)

[mamahill]

No offense taken. The PP had mentioned that the infant seat was the only way her baby would sleep, and I just wanted her to know she wasn't alone in that. And with four other kids to worry about, I'm sure her 1-on-1 babytime isn't a whole lot! We're all just mamas trying to do a good job. :)

[mammanik]

Hello again :)

First off, I just want to say thanks for the advice on the snuzzler. I thought I had done my research but I guess I was wrong. Thank God I was checking out Marathon posts so that I could correct this mistake. I also found another mistake because of all this. When I went to take the snuzzler out of the infant seat, I happened to accidentally flip the seat over all the way. On the very bottom (not the back) there were the big raised numbers 1998. My heart stopped and I thought no way is that the manufacture year. I looked closer and sure enough right underneath were the little clock looking symbols telling me July 1998. I wanted to throw up. My brand new little guy had been riding in an infant seat that had expired a year ago. I didn't even think to check because I bought this infant seat brand new in the box when my daughter was born 4 years ago (July 2001). So, I haven't gone anywhere since and I'm hoping the new Snugrides will arrive at my Wal-Mart soon. I have a convertable Fisher Price Accel which I can use until we find a new Snugride or the Latch Loc.

Secondly, I wanted to let Paris know that I did not take offense to her posting about not letting your baby sleep in the baby bucket all the time. I am not usually that mom but with all the doctor appointments and short errands (groceries/camp dropoffs & pickups)I have had to do since David was born, it was much easier to get an infant seat in and out of a vehicle several times a day for all the short stops than take him out each time and still have to wrestle a very active 23 month old and wandering 4 year old, in addition to my 2 older children, especially when he was finally sleeping having been lulled to sleep by the car.

Trust me when I say that I absolutely LOVE my well worn baby bjorn and have been waiting for my little one to weigh enough to be worn in it. Wearing him is so much nicer for both of us and keeps my hands free for my other children as well. He has just had a rough start. We wound up back in the hospital for severe jaundice a week after he was born for almost 4 days and he lost over a pound, which was more than 10% of his birthweight. He hadn't regained it at 2 1/2 weeks but had been nursing almost nonstop with very little sleep (for either of us) so I had to supplement at least once a day with formula (no offense to bottle feeding moms but it was awful for me to bottle feed at all when my breasts were full of milk!) He has just finally regained his birthweight at 4 weeks YAY! :)

I'm sorry to post so much information, I just wanted to let you know there were extenuating circumstances for us and that he really wasn't sleeping in it all the time. At home, we leave the infant seat in the car :) I know that Paris was speaking from her heart when she gave me her advice just as I know that Sarah was speaking from her heart when she let me know I wasn't alone. I thank both of you sincerely for that. As Sarah said, and I think Paris would agree, we are all just mamas trying to do a good job :) I don't think anyone should stop giving heartfelt advice- I may not always agree but I always appreciate it :)

Sorry so long-winded, hope I don't offend anyone- I love this board :)
Nicole
Mom to 5 Blessings

[kellyotn]

Actually, I think FP seats don't expire until 8 years.

[MamaParis]

ITA! :)

Good for your baby for getting that birth weight back up! :)


Take care!