2010 Expedition?

We are looking at getting a 2010 Expedition with the 2nd row 40/20/40 split. All the information I can find says that the outboard seats have latch. Does that mean the center seat does not? The center seat is specifically made so you can scoot it forward to reach a child in a car seat... so I find it odd that it wouldn't have latch? Also, is there a tether behind the center seat?

I have a 3.5 year old, 1.5 year old and am expecting a baby in December. DD1 is FFing in a Britax Boulevard since she reached 35lbs a few months ago. DD2 is still rear-facing in her Britax Boulevard and will until she hits the weight limit. We're considering putting the new baby straight into a Britax convertible also, obviously rear-facing. We'd put the oldest in the middle, since the logistics of getting in and out would be easiest that way, and since it seems like she's most at risk since she has to be FFing. I guess maybe I need to just go crawl around in an Expedition and see, but I was wondering if maybe someone here knew the answers already

Newborns do not fit well in Britax convertibles from birth, so if you intend to pass down your three year old's Boulevard, you'd need an infant carrier for the intervening period.

According to the LATCH manual, the 2009 MY Expedition had three full sets of LATCH in each middle row seating position. I don't know if that design was changed for 2010, but the easiest way to find out would be to get in the car and look

I'm also noting that in the third row, the center position has a top tether, and other than that, there are no other top tethers or LATCH sets in the third row. So this may not be the best car if you're intending to produce bunches of kids

Maedze said:

Newborns do not fit well in Britax convertibles from birth, so if you intend to pass down your three year old's Boulevard, you'd need an infant carrier for the intervening period.

According to the LATCH manual, the 2009 MY Expedition had three full sets of LATCH in each middle row seating position. I don't know if that design was changed for 2010, but the easiest way to find out would be to get in the car and look

I'm also noting that in the third row, the center position has a top tether, and other than that, there are no other top tethers or LATCH sets in the third row. So this may not be the best car if you're intending to produce bunches of kids

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Why do newborns not fit well in Boulevards? I typically have pretty good sized babies that grow very quickly (think double birth weight at 2-3 months and triple by 6 months - Dr. says I must make cream instead of milk). We moved DD1 out of the infant car seat at 3 months and DD2 at 2 months. Both girls hated the infant car seat and so did I. I also don't use it to carry my babies around, as I wear them. So I basically find the seats to be a waste. I think my Peg Perego from DD1 is going to be nearing expiration when this baby is born. I am out of town for 6 weeks right now, but I need to look at the manufacture date. Our inlaws bought it for us several months before DD1 was born. I hate to have to buy another infant car seat to only use it for a few months and to hate it the whole time. I was planning to get either a new Boulevard *or* one of the higher weight limit RFing convertibles for DD2 and passing DD2's Boulevard to the new baby. DD2 is 21 months and 30lbs, and I would not be comfortable turning her forward facing at say 2 or 2.5, so I would get her a seat that would allow her to stay RFing longer. I was hoping DD1 would make it to 4, but she hit 35lbs right around the time she turned 3.5.

I think we're planning to stop at 3 kids for now. So the back row is not really an issue. It would be used for occasionally toting relatives when they are in town, and otherwise, the seats will stay folded down to accommodate my groceries

Newborns don't fit in Britax convertibles because the lowest harness slots are higher than the babies' shoulders. For rear-facing seats, the harness needs to be at or below the shoulders, but a Britax convertible will have the harness above a newborn's shoulders, so the newborn won't fit in the seat by torso height.

However, you could research purchasing a seat like the Radian 80SL or XTSL. They fit newborns well, have tall shells, and a 45 pound rear-facing weight limit. You could use the Radian from birth with the baby until the baby's torso is long enough for the Boulevard, then have your middle child ride rear-facing in the Radian to be able to rear-face longer. When my son was about 2.5 years old, he hit the rear-facing weight limit on his Boulevard. I bought him a Radian XTSL, and he should make to at least 4 years old rear-facing in it.

According to this page about center LATCH, there should be LATCH in all three spots in the middle row of a 2010 Expedition, just like the 2009 model that Maedze checked for you in the LATCH manual, but I think she's right about it being easiest to check the actual vehicle to determine where the LATCH positions are.