Britax Boulevards for our Tiny Toddlers

We've gotten a number of comments in recent months about how little Michael and Sophie are.  Today a dad in a park called them "early walkers," assuming our nearly 16-month-olds were well under a year.  While they were born at 6 lbs. 6 oz. (Michael) and 6 lbs. 1 oz. (Sophie), they've lingered in the 5th-10th percentile for height and weight for most of their lives.  Right now they're both about 28 inches tall and roughly 22 pounds, wearing 12-month sized clothing and size 3 diapers with plenty of room to grow. 

I adore their teensiness, can't imagine them growing any faster, and am learning not to go into a minor mommy panic everytime I see other kids their age who are taller, chubbier, and who even refer to Michael and Sophie as "babies" themselves.  My toddlers are reaching milestones appropriately, eat like champs, and the pediatrician is not at all concerned, so I remind myself not to be.

One benefit of Sophie and Michael's small physiques is the longevity they've given our infant car seats and accessories.  We used the Baby Trend Double Snap N Go Stroller and the SnugGlider Swing Bases for far longer than we would have expected, just recently retiring the DSNG since the Baby Jogger City Mini Double fits in the back of our new van unfolded and ready to roll.  The swing bases were moved to the basement storage room a few months ago to make more space in the play room, but because the car seats kept Michael and Sophie from sitting up while swinging and the bases were so low to the ground anyway, I felt safe using them long after most swings would have been unstable.

We'll keep using the Graco Snugride 35's until Michael and Sophie reach the height or weight limits of 32 inches or 35 pounds.  However, we no longer use them as carriers and are just going to keep these seats in the Jetta like convertible seats once I go back to work.  They'll be replaced in the minivan with our recently purchased Britax Boulevard 70 CS Convertible Car Seats, enormous beasts of safety ($255 on Albee.com--a great deal compared to $329 at BRU).  Perhaps we'll go with something more compact for the Jetta once Michael and Sophie outgrow the Snugrides, but we'll see.

Regardless of what we choose for our second set of convertibles, this new phase of carseatdom is likely to cost us over $1,000 for four of them.  And we need four since Mike drops off at the child care center and I pick up.  Of course, when you consider the purpose of these seats, one can't help but be reminded that no expense is too big to help ensure the safety of our teeny, tiny cargo.  It's amazing they don't charge more with that kind of leverage.