I realize that at 2 Sisters 2 Cities, we usually focus on recipe posts and DIY projects.  However, I was recently asked to review the Britax Advocate 70-G3 car seat and I agreed to it as car seats are a major part of our life now!  There would be no trips to the grocery store or craft store without our trusty carseats!  And the best part is that Britax is also giving away a Britax Advocate 70-G3 convertible car seat to one lucky 2S2C reader (keep reading this post for more details…)

As an owner of two other Britax car seats (the Britax Advocate 70-CS and the Britax Marathon 70), I was excited to try the latest and greatest product from Britax.  In addition, baby N Hates (with a capital H!) his infant bucket carseat. He cries almost non-stop whenever we are in the car…it is torture to listen to my poor little guy cry his heart out.  It’s funny to hear about people taking their babies for car rides to get them to sleep.  That would never happen in our household!  I was thinking about moving him to a convertible car seat to see if he tolerated the car better.  The timing could not have been better to try out the Advocate 70-G3!

When the car seat arrived, T ran out the front door to check it out.  What can I say…we get really excited about safety in our house!

After watching an episode of Curious George in the new car seat, T agreed to let baby N have a try.  Both 3-year old T and 3-month old N are able to use this car seat as Britax convertible car seats can be used rear-facing from 5 to 40 pounds and forward-facing from 1 year and 20 pounds, up to 70 pounds.  With the Quick-Adjust Harness system, it’s super easy to adjust the shoulder height for each kid (no re-threading of straps necessary!)  Everyone seemed to be a fan of the Britax Advocate 70-G3 during our dry run in the house.

Next up was installing the Advocate 70-G3 in the car.  While admittedly this is not my favorite task in the world, it was actually pretty easy to install with the LATCH system.  I had the bucket seat out and the new convertible car seat installed in less than five minutes.

The real trial was up taking baby N on his first car ride in the new convertible car seat.  The result: definite improvement!  While he still cries about 50% of car trips we take, he seems to like the new seat a lot better.  And the best result (besides a safe car ride,) a sleeping baby!

The best part of the Britax Advocate 70-G3 are all the amazing safety features that are incorporated into the seat.  One of Britax’s car seat taglines is “Safety You Can See” as all of their safety features are in plain sight.  They include:

• True Side Impact Protection is deep side walls with energy-absorbing EPP foam along with a head restraint which offers a double layer of EPP foam to distribute crash forces, shield from vehicle intrusion, and contain the head, neck and body while keeping them “in true” or aligned
• HUGS Chest Pads with SafeCell Technology are affixed to the seat shell to ensure proper positioning while SafeCells compress to manage energy and provide resistance to the forward movement of your child in a crash, reducing the risk of head injury
• Base with SafeCell Technology features SafeCells designed to compress in a crash, significantly lowering the center of gravity and counteracting the forward rotation of the child seat which normally propels the child toward the front seat
• Integrated Steel Bars strengthen the connection to the vehicle and reduce forward flexing of the child seat during a crash
• Energy-Absorbing Versa-Tether features a staged-release tether webbing to slow the forward movement, reducing the crash forces reaching the child, and a two-point attachment to minimize forward rotation while anchoring the top of the child seat
• Click & Safe® Snug Harness Indicator is an audible aid that provides extra assurance when the harness is within range of appropriate snugness
• Tangle-Free, Five-Point Harness distributes crash forces across the strongest parts of the body and provides a secure fit

I was especially impressed with the new HUGS Chest Pads.  T has a tendency to pull the chest clip down and remove the straps from his shoulders when he gets bored in the car.  This new feature would definitely prevent (or at least make it more difficult) to lower the chest clip.  I also definitely like the True Side Impact Protection that would provide extra protection if we ever got into a car accident.

One of the drawbacks of switching baby N to the Advocate 70-G3 is that I can’t simply unlatch the seat and carry him in it if he falls asleep.  I usually have to transfer him to his bassinet or the Moby Wrap if we are out and about and he usually wakes up.  This is more of an issue of an infant bucket seat vs. a convertible car seat however.

Another limitation is that the seat is pretty bulky and wide.  If you have a small car, this carseat might be a tight squeeze.  Traveling with the Advocate 70-G3 might be a bit cumbersome for airline travel.  In the past, we have used the Britax Car Seat Travel Cart to tote T and his car seat around the airport.  It’s always a bit tricky then installing a large convertible car seat into a tiny airplane seat.  I have not yet attempted it with this car seat, but I imagine it would also be a bit tight on certain airline carriers.  However, all of the great safety features greatly outweigh these drawbacks in my opinion.

Now it’s your chance to try the Britax Advocate 70-G3…enter this giveaway through the Rafflecopter widget below.  Good luck and safe travels!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Safety matters when it comes to car seats. I want one that will protect my child. And Britax convertible car seats have so many safety features — and knowing that makes me feel like my child is safe while in the car. Click here to learn more about Britax safety features.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Britax. The opinions and text are 100% mine.