Big Boy Carseat

Today, I decided that enough is enough!  C cries every time I put him in his infant car seat.  I can't take it!  So I went into the bowels of the basement and got out the "big boy" car seat for him (yes, it is a current manufactured in 2010).  We have the Britax Boulevard CS 70 Next Gen in the Wyndham pattern.

Before the big change, I had to meet a friend so I figured I would install the car seat...  I have 3 college degrees, how hard can it be?  There are latches, easy.  There is a recline, a little tricky but I got it.  Then there is a tether... Hmmm.  I pulled out the trusty user manual to my car, a 2009 Honda CRV. It explained that the tether attachments are in the back behind the seats in the trunk area.  In the Britax manual, it showed the tethers going on the sides toward the back... weird.  So that was how I did it.  Leaving really nowhere for the baby to enter the car seat unless it is OVER the tethers, like the australian method in the first picture.  I called the local PD and asked how I can get the seat checked. They scheduled me for 4:15 today.  Upstairs I went, to get the infant seat again, because I was not putting my baby in that seat.

Leaving the mall, where I met my friend, C was screaming his head off the whole ride, 30 minutes!  When we got to the PD, he cried even more and the PO said that he felt badly that C was so upset.  I explained that he cries that way every time he is in the car seat so I am hoping switching him will change that.  I also told him how C cries when the car goes below 50 mph (really 65 mph but I was not saying that to a cop).  He thought that was funny and commented that he would be looking out for him in 16 years.

So apparently we are missing part of the tether that straps the tether to the base of the passenger seat, as in the second picture.  I have to call Britax tomorrow and see if they can send it to me. He said that the seat is perfectly safe to use without it, but it is an extra safety measure.

I put C in the seat and off we went... To the melody of his screams.  No luck with the end of the crying in the "big boy" seat.  He cried so hard that the snot was running down his face and there were tears in his mouth.  He even had a minor nose bleed!  As soon as I pulled him out of the car, he was all smiles...

What am I going to do with my silly boy?