Opinions on Britax Wizard purchase as 1st/only car seat?

[BabyLoveMom]

Hello all,

Does anyone have any feedback for me? We're about to buy a Britax Wizard and wanted to make sure it's the most appropriate car seat for our 1st child.

1) We plan on skipping an infant car seat and using the Wizard from day one.
2) We're both really tall (husband's 6'7") and imagine we'll have a child that will also be tall and therefore want a car seat that she won't outgrow in 2 years.
3) We have always traveled quite a bit. Does anyone know if the Wizard fits in most airplane seats?

Any suggestions to guide us to a car seat other than the Wizard?

[reseam]

If you are planning on skipping the infant seat, you may want to look at the Britax Boulevard. It does cost a bit more, but it has removable padding that might better support an infant right from birth and it has wider side wings than the Wizard. Right now it is a Babies R Us exclusive, but here's the site to see it...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...839930-4287802

Beyond that there are many people who forgo the infant seat and the Wizard might work well for that. Hopefully someone with experinece using this seat with a newborn will chime in. I do know that it will last you for more than 2 years with it's high back and easily adjustable harness height.

I have never traveled with any of my seats, so I'll let someone else chime in with how the Wizard does on planes.

Good luck and congratulations!
Reseam

[Katia]

We didn't start using the Wizard until DS was 4 months old, but I wouldn't hesitate using it for a newborn. The wings are great head support for a napping baby, and DS has never been slightly bothered by them. We're a tall family, too, so we were also careful to pick a seat that DS would likely be able to use for a long time.

Oh, and air travel with the Wizard is fine...we've never had a problem getting it to fit.

The only other thing I'd suggest is making sure the seat fits in your car and still leaves room for the tall parents! You'll want to leave the seat rear-facing for as long as possible (no need to turn it forward at 1 year as previously recommended) and Wizards/Marathons do take up a lot of space. In our car, it's not a problem but the Wizard is in the middle of the back seat. We might be a little cramped in the front seat if we had to have the Wizard directly behind one of our seats.