Britax Carseat Review

When you have a baby you hear about all the gear you need to buy, so then the research starts.  You read a million articles your head aches your eyes are spinning and you are no further ahead now then you were when you started.

I felt that way when we were researching carseats for Maddisyn and ended up settling for something lower end to start with because i was just so overwhelmed with the choices out there.  With Holden we did a ton of research but I had my feet planted firmly and knew more of what was out there and what I wanted.

When I was offered the chance to work with Britax I jumped on it, Britax makes some of the best carseats and we totally love the one we received.  We got the Britax Advocate CS in the Moonstone pattern that is currently sold at Babies R Us.  It is so cute I love the pattern on it and i love the seat, it is large but so comfy for Holden and even in his winter coat and stuff he has lots of room in there so this is for sure going to fit him until he has outgrown the carseat which by the way with this one won't be until 65 pounds.  The following chart shows the height/weight limits on the Britax Advocate CS, Holden just got his at christmastime and he weighs 20 lbs but is still rear facing for another few months at least.  I like that the kids can be rear facing to 35 pounds and honestly Maddisyn could still rear face in this carseat because at 29 months she barely weighs 25 pounds, she is a teeny tiny girl so she better be happy that this one went to Holden haha.

The Advocate CS has an infant body pillow that sits in the seat at the babys butt basically and helps your little one fit into the seat better and then it simply comes out for older kids.  One of my favorite features of this carseat is the small velcro circles on both the straps and the side of the carseat, when I undo Holden I stick the straps to the side of the seat and then when we put him back in there is no fighting to get the straps from under him we simply pull them off the velcro and over his arms easy as pie and oh so great when he is sleepy or fussy and doesn't want to be messed with too much.

The base is small so the Advocate fits well both in my van and my mother car, the carseat reclines which is great for comfort and for a baby that sleeps most of the time in the car which Holden does quite a bit still and to recline it is so easy to do as well and can recline wether it is forward or rear facing.  The advocate has a HUGS (Harness Ultra Guide System) which is in place to reduce forward head movement and provides cushion to your childs chest just in case you get in an accident.  There is a front harness adjuster so you can loosen off or tighten the straps as needed.  One thing I absolutely love with the Advocate seat as well is the dial on the side to adjust the harness height, I hated having to take Maddisyns carseat apart everytime I needed to raise or lower the straps or if I had to put my niece in it etc.  Now I can simply turn the dial to adjust the carseat straps for any child with very little trouble and don't mind so much doing it now.

The carseat has a five point harness, the LATCH system for easy installation if your vehicle is latch system compatible, it also has the tether strap which is a must nowadays.  The energy absorbing foam liner makes this seat great in case of a crash it absorbs and distrubites the force from the impact.  The side impact cushion technology reduces side impact crash energy by 50% by diverting the force from the crash away from your child.  It also helps to protect your kids if a vehicle happens to hit and come through the side of your vehicle, it contains your kids head and body and helps to keep the head neck and spine aligned to limit injury.  Another great thing is the built in lock offs for the seatbelt.  I hated having to try to get that little metal clip around the seatbelt while holding the belt and i always somehow ended up injured.  Now I simply open the little clips, install the carseat then shut the clips and I know the carseat is installed safely with the seatbelt not being able to move.  You can visit the product demo part of the britax website and look at al the pics for the entire carseat with all the great features I have told you about. 

The suggest price for this macdaddy of a carseat is $369.99 and worth every penny of that price tag in my opinion.  The Advocate CS carseat comes in 5 different fabric choices, as I showed you earlier we got the moonstone for holden but how precious is this little girl one that we seriously considered for Maddisyn but Holden needed the seat more then she did.

Thanks to Britax for this amazing carseat for product review.