The Britax Marathon

So today I head out to Target to buy one of the best and safest convertible car seats on the market- the Britax Marathon. This mammoth car seat also has a mammoth price-tag: it retails for about $280. Target only had one pattern, a black and gray seat cover which was fine by me. So I load the thing on top of my cart and try to see over it (as well as stop Eric from pushing it off the cart) as I make my way to the check-out counter.

Chivalry truly is dead by the way. I thought I was going to have a miscarriage just loading that thing into the backseat of my Honda Civic. All the while, I'm thinking to myself 'if it barely fits in there NOW, how is it going to fit when we install it?'

[sigh] Yeah. So tonight after Eric went to sleep (he started screaming to be let out of the warm car when I tried to install it upon arriving home), John and I attempt to install this thing in the rear-facing position using a flashlight and freezing our butts off. The good news is that it fit in the back of my Honda Civic (and the Britax is one of the largest car seats out there). But the bad news is not only will it be a pain in the a** to move it and install it in our other car (A Prius! haha... that'll be a riot), but the seat itself seemed... well... flimsy.

I know we installed it correctly. But I have some issues with this seat, and maybe it's comply because I'm not familiar with convertible car seats and the rest of them are REALLY bad. But the Marathon sits straight up, even when it is "reclined." There is no padding at all. It looks really uncomfortable. I've read reviews of parents saying their kids loved it, slept in it all the time, etc. It'll be interesting to see how Eric fits in this seat and whether or not he likes it. He tries out his new car seat tomorrow.

John wants me to take it back and get another. If WE decide to take it back this weekend (so the 5 month pregnant mom doesn't have to go through that hassle yet again), I'm not looking forward to installing yet another car seat. Keep in mind- we leave for the Homestead in southwest Virginia for Thanksgiving on Wednesday morning. And Eric has grown out of his infant seat, so we need a comfortable and safe car seat. A five-plus hour car ride is no fun with an 11 month old who doesn't fall asleep in cars. I am hoping this seat works out, but if not then I'm looking at the Evenflo Triumph which also got the highest level of safety reviews from Consumer Reports BUT is a hundred dollars cheaper!