Britax Boulevard harness latch length

[aske]

Hi,
I recently installed the Britax BV. Is it possible to increase the length of the latch in which the harness clips into ? The length is too small and my son' inner thigh seems to be pressed by it. If it is not possible to increase the length, can one detach this and buy one with a longer strap ?

thx

[crunchierthanthou]

Do you mean the crotch buckle? No, it is a fixed length and cannot be adjusted or replaced with a different length. You're not the first parent with this concern. :(

How old is your son and how much does he weigh?

[TerisBoys]

Is it installed with LATCH or seatbelt?

If it's installed with the seatbelt, is the seatbelt on the right side of the crotch strap? (Where's that pic?)

[aske]

Hi, Sorry,
I meant the 'crotch belt'

My son is pretty thin and super active. He is 1yr and 6mo and weighs around 20.5lbs. Don't remember how tall he is! (:whistle: my wife should not be reading this ;-) I noticed there is a removable pillow (the one with the sides). Is it safe to remove it? I think that will give a quarter of an inch to the crotch belt. The seat is installed FF with the seat attached to the car latches. I have confirmed that there are no belts crossing over which might be pulling the crotch belt back.

My other car has a Graco SafeSeat step2 installed - I think its crotch belt is a little longer and I *love* its 'recline while installed feature' but I had read too many things about how Britax is safer... so I also bought a Britax BV and am trying both right now.

[mimieliza]

Yes, taking out the pillow should definitely help. It's only for comfort/support for very small babies, so it is perfectly safe to take it out and will give him a lot more room.

Also, if you want, you can install the seat rear-facing, which will give your son a better recline. It is so much safer for babies to stay rear-facing. One year and 20 lbs. is the absolute minimum for turning forward facing. Kids can stay rear-facing until they reach the height or weight limits of the seat (usually 33 or 35 lbs.).

If you're interested in learning more about rear-facing longer, this is a really good article: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx

[natysr]

He's not sitting on the belly pad is he?

[Mommy2Marcus]

I own a Marathon & it has the same crotch buckle length I believe. I have had no problems with mine.

I also agree that he would be much safer RF at his current age & weight. He would also get a way better recline for sleeping RF than he will be able to get FF! Here is a great video showing the importance of RF!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8

[Defrost]

but I had read too many things about how Britax is safer... so I also bought a Britax BV and am trying both right now.

There's a lot of Britax fans here (me included!) but all carseats must pass the same crash-test regulations. Carseat manufacturers do not release their own crash-test results, so all we know is that every carseat on the market at least passes the legal minimum requirements. If one or another passes them "better" than others, we have no evidence of that.

That means that the safest carseat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and can be used correctly every time. In many cases, Britax seats are easier to install, or easier to use, or easier to use correctly every time, but if another carseat works better for you, then that is the safest seat for your situation. :thumbsup:

[aske]

Hey thanks everyone. I am going to try removing that extra babypillow.

Natysr: You asked ' He's not sitting on the belly pad is he?'. Which part is the belly pad?

To all: I agree RF is better, but believe me, my son is one continuous tornado in action. If I have the gall of putting him facing away from where everyone else is looking, heaven help me. In the past one year, he has managed to twist and turn his body at unbelievable angles to flip around his RF seat to see whats going on ahead. So no more :-)

Defrost: Sound advice. I really do think the Safeseat suits us more (He seems to be equally comfy in both), but I swayed to the BV due to its huge ratings.

thanks

[azgirl71]

The belly pad is the circular padding attatched on the strap with the buckle.

[natysr]

Natysr: You asked ' He's not sitting on the belly pad is he?'. Which part is the belly pad?




The round pad that is right behind the buckle in this picture.

http://alvin.smugmug.com/photos/247449198_hcMYm-M.jpg


I thought that if you had the infant pillow in and he was sitting on the belly pad, it may position him against the buckle too far. The belly pad should give some cushion between his thighs and the buckle/straps.

ETA: Sorry, my photo hosting site just went down. Here is the picture:

[aske]

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Nattysr, a picture is worth a 1000 words! So that pad round the crotch is supposed to be *above* his crotch!! All this while, I have been putting it under his butt. Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the pic. I wouldn't have caught that even if you wrote that 10 times over.



The round pad that is right behind the buckle in this picture.

http://alvin.smugmug.com/photos/247449198_hcMYm-M.jpg


I thought that if you had the infant pillow in and he was sitting on the belly pad, it may position him against the buckle too far. The belly pad should give some cushion between his thighs and the buckle/straps.

ETA: Sorry, my photo hosting site just went down. Here is the picture:

[Sceason1972]

One thing I always think of too, is that you need to make sure he's not slouched in the seat. Make sure his bottom is scooted back and he is sat up agaisnst the back of the seat. with younger babies it's easy to lay them too low in convertable seats, but this will make the crotch buckle not fit right.

Also, regarding this?

To all: I agree RF is better, but believe me, my son is one continuous tornado in action. If I have the gall of putting him facing away from where everyone else is looking, heaven help me. In the past one year, he has managed to twist and turn his body at unbelievable angles to flip around his RF seat to see whats going on ahead. So no more :-)

Do you mean that he was actualy able to move his seat when rf? I've never seen a properly installed seat, with a properly harnessed baby be able to do this - no matter how determiend that baby was.

Did you try having a mirror or some other distraction in front of him? Did you try a much more upright install. Some babies do not like the infat seat, but are OK rf in the convertables. Also playing music etc often hels babies be OK rear facing.