Britax MA vs BLVD

[Unregistered]

Hello all,
I've just discovered this site and OMG what a wealth of info... needless to say, I'm more confused than enlightened at this point :)
Anyway, I have 7 month old twin girls (weighing around 19 lb @ 6 month appt) who will soon need new car seats - they're getting wayyyy to heavy to carry around in their Graco infant seats. I can't seem to read enough good things about Britax so I'm leaning toward that. I know that their weight limits are different but are there any other differences between the two in terms of ease of use? BLVD looks awfully comfy but I'm afraid it's going to be painful to get DDs in & out of their seats while they're rear-facing (which I plan to do as long as I can). Their safety features are very close, too, from what I gather. We will also be using their seats while travelling overseas at least twice a year so that's another consideration. And one more thing, when does a child get to 65lb & does anyone have a LO that's around that weight & still in their BLVD or any other carseat rather than a booster??? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Confused mommy,
Deniz

[canmom]

Welcome! You have come to the right place to talk carseats, register and stick around!! I have a MA and I like it... I don't have any experience with the BLVD so I can't really speak for it but I know the MA is usually easy to install and I have always been pleased with it. As far as the 65lbs... I can't see many kids getting to that weight in the MA (or the BLVD), it will be outgrown by height WAY before weight. Have you considered other options? Such as the TruFit or the Radian? The TruFit has an extra 5lbs rfing and also goes to 65 lbs. I just moved my son into the TruFit (he is 2yrs) because he has a lot more room to grow in it where in the MA he was on the top slots.... mind you he is a big guy. What vehicle (make model year?) will you be installing in?

[hipmaman]

Welcome to c-s.org. It can be overwhelming but if you hang around it will quickly makes sense :)

First, which Graco infant seats are the twins in? If it's the SafeSeat and they still have room to grow (and most babies still fit to around 18 mos if not more), why not continue using them but don't remove them if you don't want to.

By moving up to convertible seats, you have to remove just the twins so treat the SafeSeats the same way. But if there are cases where you want/need to carry one or both in the infant seat, the option is there.

As for the MA and BV or most convertible seats with 65 lbs weight limit, children mostly outgrow them by height before weight.

Another reason to continue the Safeseat (if they are indeed the SafeSeats :) ) you can bundle them better with blankets and make a warm cocoon in an infant seat rather than a convertible seat, imo.

And I still hoping that we would have more seat with higher rf limit (35 lbs) and hopefully by the time your twins need to move to convertible, Britax would be 35 lbs rf (vs. the current 30 lbs).

[shauburg]

Glad to have you here!

19 lb @ 6 months means they're 95%ile for weight, so I'd definitely suggest a seat with a 35 lb RF weight limit. You want to strive to keep them RF until *at least* age 2 and as long as possible after that.

DS was 19.5 lbs at 6 months and reached 30 lbs by 18 months. He only made it RF past age 2 because we got a 35 lb RF limit seat for his primary vehicle.

If your girls are in the Snugride (22 lb limit) and you'll be getting the new seats soon, I'd check out the First Years True Fit.

If your girls are in the SafeSeat (30 lb limit) and you've got some time, I'd wait until the Sunshine Kids Radian XT hits the market. If two of those will fit in your vehicle RF, you might prefer it to the True Fit (each has its pros & cons, so it comes down to fit & personal preference).