car seat help?

we are still using the infant carriers. although they are heavy i like using my snap and go and we didnt buy car seats yet, lol.
we were thinking of going with the britax boulevard? i have friends that suggested it.

any thoughts?

 

I've never had that particular car seat so I can't comment on it. We got Evenflo Triumph Advances and to be completely honest we switched to a non-convertible Wal-Mart cheapie after a couple of months. The convertible seats take up so much room, the girls were always kicking the backs of our seats. We now use the Triumph Advances in our 3rd car that we don't use very often.

 

I have the marathon's only because my older dd was so big, by 18 months- 2 yrs old she was outgrowing her graco convertible and I needed something with a higher height limit.

If it wasn't for the height, I wouldn't have gone with the marathon's, because A) They are really expensive, B) I seriously doubt I'll be harnessing them until they are 65 lbs. My oldest son turned 8 today and still isn't 65 lbs. The higher weight limit is a waste for me. As I said, the only reason I had 1 was because my dd needed it for height, and my best friend gave me a second one after the twins were born, she had an extra one from her dd.

 

I'm glad you wrote this, b/c we are also in the process of figuring out what to get. We were going to get one of the Britax ones, but abunch of my friends have recommeneded the alpha omega elites--they are like $100 or so. A lot of people have said it's not wroth the money to spend lots on the convertibles, so we are thinking of going with those. INterested to see what people here say.

 

We have the roundabout 50s. BRU is having the trade in event right now. If you trade something in, you get 25% off, if you trade in 2 items you can get 25% off two new seats, then do the twins discount of 10% and it brings the cost down from $200 each to $135 each. You can post on freecycle or ask friends for older model carseats/strollers and trade those in. We went with the roundabout 50 because while my older son is rather tall/heavy for his age,he is still only 45 lbs at 5 years old so we figured a carseat with a 50lb limit would last us a while.

 

I have both the Evenflo Triumph Advance and the Britax Marathons. You cant go wrong with either seat IMO. I do like the Marathons a bit better only because they go to a higher forward facing weight limit. My 5YO is riding in one now. So, you will get longevity out of it.

 

we got 2 britax boulevards, our friend who is a safety nut suggested them and has one with his singleton. he and my DH are fire fighters and know about car seats and babies and you get the idea...so safety first.

we paid the extra money for the extra side protection. the boys' love them, the are super comfortable and super safe looking, lots of locks and harnasses. they seem very secure, much more than an infant seat.

they are pricey but with the right coupons you get get it at a good price. we bought two of those car seats and a combi twin sport stroller for 750 from BRU with gift cards and discounts.

 

We bought the evenflo syphony 65. Gets very high safety ratings.Also bought at the trade in event and we paid $135.00 after all said and done.

 

Interesting!! :huh: I thought you said that the Mothers Helping Mothers Organization got you the car seats?!?! :shok: Seems to me like $750 would go a long way to help pay for formula!! Just sayin....

 

That's exactly why we went the the Boulevards too! The only thing I didn't like about them is how HUGE they are.

 

if you're ready to go forward facing you can also get the Graco Nautilus seats...they are 5 pt harness to 65 lbs or so and then turn into a seatbelt booster and then a backless booster...quite possibly the last seat you'll ever have to buy!

 

Yeah, I'm with you there, but I love mine (and we have a minivan so the size isn't as big of an issue). DH had won a promotion at work that gave us a nice online gift card, which made the first one free. The second one I got $100 off, but it STILL hurt shelling out that much money. I can't imagine having to buy TWO! I wouldn't say were destitute or anything, but it is a LOT of money. I'd love to go Britax for their boosters, too, but that's gonna take some penny-saving for sure!!!

 

Oh I read that in the other thread as well.


And I still stand by my Marathons. Great seats. We didnt pay a penny for them. It was grandparents helping their kids out.

 

Are there different versions of the Boulevard? I thought there was only one model, but mine are a couple yrs old. Have they added a new option?

 

Hmm...I have the Britax Marthon's and abslutely Love them, but even with Britax's twice yearly sale they were still super expensive! Especially when you have to buy two!

There are seats that I am sure are just as good, for 1/3 of the cost. No need to break the bank for car seats IMO. We have the Evenflo Triumph's as well that Grandma and Grandpa use, and those work great as well. :good:

 

We have two Evenflo Triumphs and a Britax for our three little ones and they're all great. I would suggest checking out Albee Baby to see if they've got any deals. We got our Peg Perego for half price two years ago, with free shipping. And it looks like they're having a sale on Britax right now. It may be last season's colors, but who cares!

Ouch. Busted.

Well, maybe MHM is just really well-funded....

 

Oh, I thought Mothers Helping Mothers bought the seats for you guys? :huh:

Anyway, we have 2 Britax Marathons and 2 Evenflo Triumphs. LOVE the Marathons, but the Triumphs do a great job too, for half the price! Our oldest DS has been in a Marathon since he turned 1 - he's 5.5 now and still in his Marathon. So, you get a lot of longevity out of them. I can't say enough good things about the Marathon!

 

I think this thread has been very timely for me. We just got done getting our convertible seats and will probably install them today. We can't afford the pricey models, mouths to feed and such. But I do think we got good seats that will protect them in the event of a crash. I had looked at a graco model that a friend said her daughter did great in and it was on sale, but there was a new Saftey 1st model that was 140 dollars. It had pretty much the same features so I went with that one. We had to get 4 seats total since I drop them off at daycare and my husband picks them up. Overall they spend way less time in his truck on a daily basis, just the trip from the daycare home usually and its less than a mile, so we cheaped out on those seats and got a couple of 50 dollar models. Not very cushiony like the other ones and sit more upright, but for 5 minute trip, I'm not that concerned about them traveling in luxery as long as they are strapped in correctly. So four seats and less than 400 dollars, not too bad, IMO

 

Okay, one more tidbit. We were working on getting the seats installed this morning.
So the Safety 1st Alpha Omega model is pretty great. It is convertable, then moves to front facing and then turns into a booster for kids up to 80 pounds. I also noticed today that it has side impact protection. Very cool, I honestly hadn't even thought of that issue. Each one has a cup holder and there is plenty of padding for comfort. We put Noah in it this morning to adjust the straps and he really seemed comfortable in it. Anyways, it seems like a good seat for 140 dollars.

 

I have a Britax Boulevard and 2 Britax Diplomats. I LOVE them! However we used the graco ones when my son was little and I'm sure safety was the same. The reason we chose to buy the Britax is because they are so much easier to install and to change the adjustments.
Oh the Diplomats I have are because they are a bit smaller in size and since we have 3 in carseats we needed a bit smaller. Plus my twins run on the small side. Our youngest on the other hand is a big boy so we bought him the boulevard. GL!

 

I agree that the Britax seats are easier to install change the adjustments. :good: I think there have actually been studies that show the less expensive seats are just as safe as the more expensive seats. ardon:

 

I really like the Evenflo Triumph that we got for Evan. It goes up to 55lbs and is easy to install! He is still rear facing in it currently. When you are ready for forward facing, my twins have Graco Nautilus car seats. They go up to 100lbs with a highback (or no back) booster. Watch for sales! Good luck with your purchase.

 

I got my Graco's at Walmart.com for like 144 each or something with 1 dollar shipping.

jake is still in his Marathon (he weighs like 27 lbs) and Becca is in the Graco.

www.car-seat.org is a GREAT resource for carseat info, those folks know all the details.

 

Doesn't the Marathon go to 65lbs? How come you switched to the Graco? Just curious.

 

cause i'm trendy..

Actually we only had 2 Marathons (I had no car seats in my car) and we had to buy a second set and opted to buy the Gracos.

However in consulting with the ladies at car-seat.org, since Jake is so small, we kept him in the Marathons and Becca uses the Graco.

So we have non-matching car seats in each of cars - one Graco, one marathon.

 

Got it! :good: Thanks! I do like the Graco's, are they easy to install and adjust?

 

Not as easy as Britax! We just got them at the end of last year, so I haven't had time to work with them that much. I do like the cup holder, although my daughter seems to think it's a good idea to take the bag of cheerios we give her and dump into the cup holder. Would it surprise you that most of the cheerios end up on the car floor? My car is DISGUSTING!

Overall they seem good. Hopefully we won't need any more car seats. Once they out grow their Marathons, hopefully they will be big enough for a booster.

 

We've got the Boulevards as well. I really like these because they go to 65 pounds. I figured that we'd get way more use out of them and then convert to a cheap booster. At this rate, DD will be in it forever since she's still so dang little.