"Big Boy" Car Seat

I'm not sure how this happened, but the infant carrier (car seat) that we purchased has to be the narrowest one on the market!  It had great safety ratings, and we liked almost everything else about it, but at around 3 months old, Enoch had grown too wide for it.  He hated going into it because he was so squished in it.  (It is a Baby Trend Snap N Go infant carrier.)

When we took our trip to Mississippi, we had to borrow a friend's infant carrier, which was much more roomy.  (It was a Chicco Key Fit 30.)  The Chicco was also a lot easier to raise and lower the handle on, which was our main complaint about the Baby Trend.  

So after our trip, we decided that it was time to buy a "big boy" car seat.  After a lot of research, we settled on the Britax Boulevard 70.

 

The best feature about it is that it can hold babies rear-facing from 5-40 pounds (10 pounds more than infant carriers)!!  This is important because the AAP recently changed their recommendations about when to turn babies forward-facing in their car seats.  They now recommend waiting until a child is 2 years old because of stats like these (found here):

A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention found that children under age 2 

are 75 percent less likely to die or to be severely injured in a crash if they are rear-facing. 

Another study found riding rear-facing to be five times safer than forward-facing.

Another other exciting feature about the Britax Boulevard 70 is that it can change into a forward-facing car seat with minimal effort and can hold the child until he/she is 70 pounds.  This feature assured us that we would be able to use this car seat for a long time, thus making it an investment.  :)  

I will say though that it definitely IS an investment.  This car seat is certainly not the cheapest option on the market, but it has added safety features that others do not, which continue adding to its value.  The main safety features it offers are:

• Safecell technology (lowers the center of gravity in a crash, keeping the child from moving as far forward in a crash)
• Integrated steel bars (strengthen the connection of the car seat to the vehicle's seat)
• Energy-absorbing versa-tether (slows forward movement by anchoring the top of car seat to the vehicle)
• True side impact protection (deep walls on the car seat with energy absorbing foam plus an adjustable head restraint for extra cushion) 
• (You can read about all of its features on the Britax website, just follow the link above.)

Not to be overly-protective, but I feel like a SAFE car seat is one of the most important purchases parents will make while their child is young.  First of all, the dangers of driving deal not only with your personal skills and alertness but most especially with other drivers' lack of skills and/or alertness.  Almost every time I'm in the car I am reminded of this because of careless, and sometimes reckless, drivers that I encounter.  Just check out this information from the CDC:

Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children 
in the United States.  But many of these deaths can be prevented. 
Placing children in age- and size-appropriate car seats and 
booster seats reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half.

So obviously car crashes are a big deal for our children.  The other reason that I think a safe car seat is an important investment for parents is simply because of how much we drive.  Most families don't walk to the supermarket, friends' homes, church, restaurants, daycare, or any number of other places that they go weekly.  I know we don't.  So, if injuries incurred while in a car are the leading cause of death among children in the US, I want to be wise in how I protect my children while they're in a car.  Don't you? 

**Having said all of that, I should also say that by no means do Hugh and I think we can keep Enoch perfectly safe by trying real hard and having all of the right equipment.  No, we realize that his every breath comes only through the hand our sovereign God who sustains him and perfectly knows his number of days.  What I am saying though is that we do want to be good stewards of what has been given to us.**

So, back to our car seat purchase: 

Once we made the decision about what car seat to get, we had to decide where to get it.  In our area, there were a few options, but we ultimately decided to buy from a small shop in Rogers, Twice But Nice Children's Boutique.  They sell some used clothing and large toys, but they also have really good deals on new car seats, strollers, and other expensive baby items.  When I called to get a price, they were $30 cheaper than anywhere else (including Amazon), and they were having a 10% off sale on Britax car seats (new in the bag).  {yay!!}  

Papa Steve and Granny Susie helped us invest in the car seat, and Enoch has been loving it ever since.  He no longer cries when he gets in the car seat, and he likes sitting a little more upright.  Having used it for a few months now, I would give it 5 stars for its safety, functionality, and user-friendliness!  

Enoch in the car seat at 4 months old.

*And I have NOT been compensated for this review, I just wanted to share our experiences with this great car seat in case any of our other friends are looking into buying one.