Question Fleece safety and Companion vs. Advocate CS70 Question and Recline

Hello!

I have three questions!

I have 3 daughters and car seat safety has always been very important to me! My 10.5 year old who is 103lbs and 5' 1" got out of her booster (Britax Bodyguard) a year ago, my 4 year old rides in a Britax Boulevard as a back up seat in my husbands car (2010 Jeep Patriot) and a Britax Advocate CS 65 in my car (2010 Town and Country). My almost 8 month old is in our old Brtiax Companion. She is between 26" and 27" and is between 16 and 17lbs.

First question: Fleece. I have always given my kids fleece blankets to cover up with in the car or backwards coats. I have recently read and heard a while back that it is safe to wear a single layer of polar fleece. Is this true? While what we have done has always worked, it would be nice to let our older two wear there Columbia fleece and to occasionally put the baby in one of her fleece snow suits (single layer). Any input?

Last but not least, I am pretty sure infant seats can be more upright that 45 degrees once the baby has more head control. I have always left the seats at 45 degrees though. Is it more or less safe to reduce the incline once they have more head control? My 8 month old, Olive, is constantly trying to *sit up* while we drive, like she holds her head up and forward as much as she can. If it is safest, I will leave her at 45 degrees, but if it is the same level of protection or safer, I would like to reduce the recline. If the later is the case, what is the lease you can recline?

I know you can't always trust what Consumer Reports say, but ever since they put out their carseat report in 2007 (which they later retracted) that included negative info about the Companion, it has rubbed me the wrong way. I chose to use it again as it was never recalled and we only used it for 2 months with my other dd. Anyway, I have a brand new Advocate CS70 sitting here unused. I know the safest carseat is the one that best fits your child and your car. However, does anyone have any insight on what they would do or recommend with the options of these two seats? They both fit very well into my 2010 Town and Country and fit Olive well. However, the new Britax design so far seems harder to use. I tried her in it when we first bought it, along with my 4 year old and the seat just seems really narrow and harder to buckle than the older models? Am I crazy? Also, while I am not someone who hauls my baby around for hours in the infant seat and I generally take her out, it IS nice to leave her in the infant seat to run into the post office or to drop someone off at school. Thanks for any input! Sorry this was so long!

Thank you sooo much for reading all of this!!!

Kristi- Castle Rock, CO

Hi Kristi, welcome.

Yes, a single layer of polar fleece is just fine. It's one of our first line recommendations when parents ask about keeping warm in the carseat, and should not affect harness fit at all. (If the particular jacket does affect harness fit, it is obviously a no-go.) You could also look into a carseat poncho for the two in harnesses.

Your Britax seats can be as upright as 30*, and in fact my understanding is that this is a bit safer.

As far as Advocate vs. Companion, there is no safety difference between them that I'm aware of. Providing both fit your vehicle and your child well, then I would use whichever one you prefer.

If the Advocate is brand new, and you don't really like it, I might even suggest returning it and purchasing a different convertible. If you subscribe to the theory of rearfacing as long as possible (which it sounds like you do -- we recommend to age 3 or 4) there are a number of seats that will last your daughter longer than the Britax seats, for less money, to boot. So I might return it, use the Compaion through the winter (or until she outgrows it,) and then move her into a convertible at that point. Rather than provide the exhaustive list of seats we recommend, I'll wait to see if this is an option for you. I'm not sure how long ago you bought the Advocate, or what the return policy is on it.

A third option (and certainly the most cost-effective) would be to move Olive into the Boulevard and Advocate65, rear-facing, and purchase your 4yo a combination seat. You can look at the Frontier, Nautilus, or possible Maestro (depending on her weight.) These seats will harness her for a while yet, and then convert into boosters, when she's ready. How close is she to outgrowing her seats (in both height and weight?)

And, just for good measure -- your 10yo passes the 5-step test in all vehicles, correct? (It sounds as if she does from her size, I'm just verifying.)

I hope that helps.

I have a Marathon 70 and I find it much easier to use than my old style Marathon. However, if the Advocate 70 is not working for you, I would return it. I love my Britax, but I don't really see the point of the Advocate. The side pillows are more for someone sitting next to the car seat, than for the child IN the seat. Is it maybe harder to use because the sides are deeper and it has the air pillow things on the side? I do find it bit harder to get DD into her MA70, but I MUCH prefer the harness adjuster to the old one. When I put her in her old style MA, she looks big in it, but she has tons of room in the new one. I think the new ones are wider. Anyway, no, there is no safety difference between the two, so use whichever you prefer.

I also would suggest returning the Advocate if you can and exchange it for a seat for your 4 year old - maybe a Frontier if you like Britax. Use the 4 year olds seat for the baby. Or continue to use the Companion as long as baby hasn't met the weight limits and has an inch of shell above the head.

Oh, make sure your 10 year old passes the 5 step test in all seating positions she/he rides in.

http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm