Help!!

We are trying to figure out the best baby seat to go with. Safety is the highest priority. I've done some research and thought the Britax Boulevard would be the best to go with. We'd like to buy only 1 seat that will last a long time and since they are spendy, we figured to go with that one b/c of the side impact wings. Has anyone had one they put a brand new baby in? They said it should work for 5 lbs and up rear facing. If not, which infant seat is the safest and best and how long before we could do the Boulevard.

I personally probably wouldn't recommend a blvd for a newborn baby for a first time mom which I'm assuming you are from your screen name. Not that blvds aren't a great seat, I have one myself that I used from about 4 months on but they don't have super low bottom slots. This is important because as a first time parent you have no idea how big you baby is going to be and a teeny 5lber isn't going to fit no matter what britax says.

If you wanted to go with a convertible from birth I would recommend the evenflo triumph advance or the learning curve truefit. Both of these seats fit tiny babies very well because they come with all sorts of padding and inserts and have relatively low bottom slots and are able to get a really good recline that's needed for newborns. They are also higher harnessing seats that will fit most kids until they are 4 or 5 years old.

If you did want to get an infant seat until the baby was big enough for a blvd some good infant seats are the graco snugride, which is a good usually pretty cheap seat but make sure you get one with eps foam and that is front adjust (they're not all), baby trend flexloc, compass infant seat (which is also made by learning curve). If you wanted to spend a bit more you could get a graco safeseat or chicco keyfit 30 and these seats instead of going to 22lbs like all other infant seats go to 30lbs and have built in locking clips on the base.

HTH

I would highly recommend the Compass True Fit. I just got mine today and am VERY impressed with the infant padding! Overall, its the best convertible seat I've tried yet. Here is a few pictures for you My son is 11mo. 24lbs. and long! My daughter is 4.75 45" tall and she still has room!!

Infant seats seem to be something people either love or hate. I personally love the infant seat. I wasn't introduced to the babywearing world until after the smallest one outgrew his infant seat, but I also loved the sling. If you put him in a boulevard, you need to plan on wearing your baby or taking a stroller everywhere. I loved the baby carrier because it was just so easy. I would recommend a chicco keyfit 30 myself, the safe seat 1 would also be a great choice.

If you see yourself as a babywearer, you may really not need an infant seat. But, I would definately weight the pros and cons, because I loved the mobility of ours. Another reason I liked it is because Jackson was born in late October and it was just easier to buckle him inside and put blankets over him instead of having to carry him out without a coat on, buckle him in and cover him with blankets (coats are a no-no in carseats).

Regarding the Compass True Fit, From what I've read you can only use the bottom two slots for RF and it doesn't seem that it allows for the extended rearfacing that other seats would.

Hopefully someone will post pics of a newborn in a big britax but if not I'll drag mine down from the attic for you and take some measurements from that and my efta.

Here is a pic of my then 2 wk old sitting in her sister's Marathon:



The bottom harness slots are up by her ears, and she was not a teeny newborn at 8 lb 9 oz and 21" long. She fit a convertible much better by 8 wks old.

I've had all of mine in Britax convertibles as newbies, including one in a BLVD. Not a great fit, but it works, and I'm comfy with it. The BLVD does come with an infant insert, not as supportive/helpful as the one in the Decathlon, but the new BLVDs come with 35lbs RF weight limits, vs the Dec's 33lbs.

Raechel

I was comfortable with my DD in a Roundabout (same lowest slots as the Marathon/Boulevard) from birth. It can be harder to get a good fit, I'll admit that, but it's not impossible or inherently unsafe. If it were me, I'd get the Blvd, and then once the baby was born I'd try him/her out in it, and if I wasn't able to get a good fit, I'd have my dh run to the store to get a $40 Scenera to use for a few weeks until the Blvd was a better fit. Then use the Scenera as a back-up seat.

Personally, I hate using infant seats, but I understand why they're so popular. (Kinda like high-heels - I'll never understand those, either, but hey, whatever works for you is great! )

Remember - the safest carseat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and is used correctly every time! :thumbsup: