# question about recline on rear facing Britax



## accountclosed6 (Jun 29, 2005)

does anyone know when it is safe to raise the recline angle on a rear facing boulevard? I'm not planning on doing it anytime soon, but dh asked me and I wasn't sure what to tell him. Does it correspond to milestones like holding up the head, etc.? Any info would be appreciated. And just to clarify- the seat would still be rear facing, but I'm assuming we don't need to leave it so reclined forever.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

As soon as the child has good head control you can adjust the recline. You can always put it more upright, and sit in the backseat with the baby and make sure her head doesn't slump forward. I would wait until about 4 months though


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## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

Do you mean adjusting the recline on the seat itself? (the three recline positions for the seat) If so, it must be in the max recline position for RF, as far as I know.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mbhf* 
Do you mean adjusting the recline on the seat itself? (the three recline positions for the seat) If so, it must be in the max recline position for RF, as far as I know.

There are only two recline positions on the Britax seats







Yes, you are right, the seat must be in the reclined or RF mode when RF.







I assumed the OP was referring to changing the recline from the 45* recline for newborns to a little more upright.


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## accountclosed6 (Jun 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *an_aurora* 
There are only two recline positions on the Britax seats







Yes, you are right, the seat must be in the reclined or RF mode when RF.







I assumed the OP was referring to changing the recline from the 45* recline for newborns to a little more upright.

Yes, I was referring to this. Right now the seat is super reclined, and I know it doesn't need to be that reclined the entire time we have the seat rear facing. Thanks for your input about the 4 month mark!


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## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *an_aurora* 
There are only two recline positions on the Britax seats









I could have sworn mine had three. I've only used the most and least reclined though, I guess I always just assumed I was skipping over one.


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Nope, just 2


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## Ironica (Sep 11, 2005)

Ok, so... if the seat has to be in the rear-facing mode while RF... how do you make it "less reclined"? I've been waiting to put DS2 in the Marathon until we can install it "less reclined" but now I'm confused. (And he's definitely tall enough for it now; I sat him in it today, NOT reclined, and his shoulders are at the bottom slots.... reclined they'd be above, and they only have to be within 0.5" according to Britax.)


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

Your baby is only 2 months old. I would want the seat in a full 45 degree angle until the baby can sit upright unassisted, which won't be for another few months.


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## accountclosed6 (Jun 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
Your baby is only 2 months old. I would want the seat in a full 45 degree angle until the baby can sit upright unassisted, which won't be for another few months.

yes I agree and am aware that she isn't ready yet- I was asking for future reference. We are in no rush! Thanks.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ironica* 
Ok, so... if the seat has to be in the rear-facing mode while RF... how do you make it "less reclined"?

Yeah, what she said. How do you make it less reclined than 45* if it's supposed to be fully reclined when rear-facing? I thought fully reclined was 30-45*. Please explain. I'd love to be able to make my Boulevard more upright for my 1yo.

One thing I have not been happy about with it is that it takes up so much space in the back that we can't move the front seats much. If it's directly behind one of the front seats, the front seat has to be pulled up all the way. When it's in the middle I can move the driver seat back enough that my husband can drive it but can't move the passenger seat back far enough that my 17yo can get comfortable. I have my 4yo's Boulevard forward facing behind the driver's seat and my 1yo's rear facing in the middle. I've been waiting until he's big enough for me to turn the seat around so that I could put it on the side because it kills my back to have to climb into the car and reach to get him in and out. BTW, we have a mid-size SUV so it's not a small car. (I hope all of that made sense.)


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

"Fully reclined" just means "in the RF or recline mode."

To make a seat more upright, do this: route the belt through the belt path and buckle. Pull the base of the car seat away from the seat bight (crack where vehicle seat meets vehicle back) a couple of inches. Pull the slack out of the belt, lock the belt and tighten while pushing down where the baby's feet go. That will make it more upright. Play around with it to get just the right amount of recline--between 30* and 45*.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Thanks, an_aurora. I'm afraid mine is already at 45* so I may not be able to get any more upright. I'll try, though. What about with the LATCH system when using the tether rear facing?


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MarineWife* 
Thanks, an_aurora. I'm afraid mine is already at 45* so I may not be able to get any more upright. I'll try, though. What about with the LATCH system when using the tether rear facing?

It's 45* from vertical. So l is 0 degrees, / is 45, ____ is 90. Does that make sense?

To get it more upright when using LATCH, loosen your LATCH connectors, pull the base of the seat out from the seat bight, push down where the kiddo's feet go and tighten your LATCH connectors. Then attach your top tether.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Thanks again. I'm just eyeballing it. I probably need to get some sort of tool to measure it. I have noticed that other people's carseats look more upright than mine. It can't possibly be that I've done it right and everyone else has done it wrong, right?


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Oh, duh. I just realized from you explained that 30* is actually more upright than 45*. I was trying to figure out why it would matter where you started to get to 45* since that's right in the middle. I was thinking 30* would be more reclined. Cool! Now I think I can adjust the seat and make it work better in my car.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Lol, yes 30* is more upright. This picture shows both my kiddos--my (then) 2yo is very upright and my ~4 mo was pretty reclined.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I moved my seats around. I'll try to take a pic so you can tell me what you think. The RF seat looks too upright to me. It may not be until tomorrow, though. I'm tired from moving those seats around and so are my kids.









It looks to me from your pic that you have the same problem I do with the front seats right up against the child seats. I used to have a Triumph, btw, and I loved it. I had to replace it when my teen got in an accident with the car. I got Boulevards for both my kids after the accident. Although I like the way the Boulevard hugs my kids' heads, I think I liked the Triumph better. It fit in my car better and was easier to use once installed. The Boulevard is easier to install. At least I didn't have to pay for the new Boulevards.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

I got pics of the kids in their seats. I'm posting 2 because neither came out really well. In the second one I didn't do a very good job of getting a level angle. My 1yo is RF and my 4 1/2 yo is FF. Does it look like the 1yo is reclined enough, not too upright?

car seat positions #1

car seat positions #2


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## ThreeBeans (Dec 2, 2006)

The one year old looks perfect









It may just be the camera angle, but where are those shoulder harness straps on your four year old? They look a little low...they should be at his shoulders or above, no lower.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
It may just be the camera angle, but where are those shoulder harness straps on your four year old? They look a little low...they should be at his shoulders or above, no lower.

I got him in the seat after all that work (I switched the seats so I had turned that one around and hadn't adjusted it for my 4yo yet) and the straps wouldn't move. They got caught up on something behind the seat. I wanted to get the pic, though, and I figured it didn't matter that he wasn't strapped in correctly for that. Don't worry. I took it back out and fixed it. I almost made a note of that in my last post but didn't. Guess I should've and now I have.







(and yes, he's sporting a chocolate ice cream mustache and goatee.)

Disclaimer: The 4yo is not strapped into the seat properly. Do not attempt to drive with a child like that.


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## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

The angle looks good to me. Obviously the straps on the 4 yo need to be fixed







and the baby's chest clip is a little low.


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## MarineWife (May 1, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ThreeBeans* 
The one year old looks perfect









It may just be the camera angle, but where are those shoulder harness straps on your four year old? They look a little low...they should be at his shoulders or above, no lower.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *an_aurora* 
The angle looks good to me. Obviously the straps on the 4 yo need to be fixed







and the baby's chest clip is a little low.


Thanks. I didn't worry about getting all the straps and clips and everything right because I wasn't driving anywhere. I was just putting them in so you could see the angle of the seats and how they looked in them. I can't believe I've been griping about not having room in my car and all I had to do was adjust the baby's car seat a little.


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