Question Looking for best fit with side impact protection

[Colesmom]

Hello all, I drive. 2007 jeep grand Cherokee and my husband drives a smaller car, Volvo s40 2004. It is time to buy our convertible car seats. It would be great if we had the same kinds, but if not, we can live with it. I am leaning towards the boulevard for my car. Thoughts? Suggestions?
Thanks in advance. Oh btw my son is 8.5 months, 20 lbs and 28 inches.

 

[MamaErin]

I just want to check, is that measurement recent or as of his last check up? I know a lot of places do check ups at 6 months and 9 months so at 8.5 months I just wonder if that was a height from 2 months ago?

If it was his height at 6 months then he is quite tall and Britaxes usually aren't the best choice to keep tall kids RF.

If it is recent then that puts him right at average, if that's the case I think you made a good choice. Britaxes will last small/average children until a decent age RF.

If you do decide to go with the Britax I think you should be fine using one for each car, I have heard they do well in small spaces.

I should also add though that there are no standards for side impact protection in the US so there is no way to really know what seats have better protection in a side impact crash. If you feel safer with seats with headwings though that is up to you, despite the lack of proof that they actually do anything, I always feel safer with deep sides/headwings too.

 

[Colesmom]

Thanks MamaErin for your help. The measurements were recent -- two weeks ago. We ended up getting two boulevards set to arrive later this week. I was watching the install video online and I saw something about tethering them down. Given our cars, I am not sure if it is better to put the car seats in the center or on the side. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

 

[Brianna]

Here's some info on rear facing tethering http://carseatblog.com/12749/how-to-use-a-rear-facing-tether/

If you can get a secure installation in the center, that is always safest. Your cars might allow for a LATCH installation in the center, but most don't. Check your owner's manual to be sure. If you can't install with LATCH then use the seat belt. Rear facing provides more side impact protection, so keep him rear facing until his seats are outgrown either by weight or when his head has less than one inch of shell (not from the headrest) above his head measured like this http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=30201 you may find it easiest to measure with a book that is 1" thick. Your HUGS are optional for rear facing, so if you can't get a tight fit with the harness with them on you can remove them, just put them somewhere safe so that you can put them on when he turns forward.