3 Kids - Is a Minivan really that much better?

jennaw21

I've never wanted a minivan, but I'm expecting #3 in June and I've already got a 3 year old and a 1 year old.  It seems like the minivan is the smart choice.

MammaBear81

in one word, YES

nillian10

MammaBear81:

in one word, YES

when did you get your minivan...i mean, what # child? we're expecting #2 in august, and going to try again right away for another..we want to get them done and over with LOL .. .but, we want to get something bigger, and i'm wondering if i should just go right for the mini van?

PhilsWife07

A minivan is that much better just with two!

lynneab

I've been considering getting a minivan too. I have a 2 yr old, 11 month old, and I'm expecting number 3.  Some say I should just get an SUV with a third row.  But I think that wld be way more complicated to access the third row.

jennaw21

I WISH I had gone straight for a minivan.  I didn't expect to be having #3 this soon or I would have.

LilCMom

I only have 2 and I would LOVE a minivan. DH drives one for work so we get to use it on the weekends, and I drive an SUV. I would trade it in except it's almost paid off!

jennaw21

I being lured into the minivan by the sliding doors....that seems so NICE!  Plus, I have a long commute and the gas mileage is better than on an SUV, as is the pricetag.

MammaBear81

nillian10:

MammaBear81:

in one word, YES

when did you get your minivan...i mean, what # child? we're expecting #2 in august, and going to try again right away for another..we want to get them done and over with LOL .. .but, we want to get something bigger, and i'm wondering if i should just go right for the mini van?

We got a minivan when I was pregnant with baby #3... I was dead set against a minivan so when we had baby #2 I bought a Jeep Commander, figuring it that it had a third row so even if we had more kids it would be fine.  I was sooo wrong, when I went to put in the infant seat I couldn't fit all three seats across the middle row, and if I put one of the kids in the third row I couldn't fit our stroller.  So it was off to be a minivan mommy, and there is so much more room in there I never have to worry about packing for trips, however with #5 on the way it's getting a little cramped!

MammaBear81

cskogsberg:

I only have 2 and I would LOVE a minivan. DH drives one for work so we get to use it on the weekends, and I drive an SUV. I would trade it in except it's almost paid off!

Depending on what your SUV is worth you might be able to trade it in for a minivan that is only a year or two old and have little to no payment on it...  SUV's are usually more expensive than a minivan.

nillian10

MammaBear81:

nillian10:

MammaBear81:

in one word, YES

when did you get your minivan...i mean, what # child? we're expecting #2 in august, and going to try again right away for another..we want to get them done and over with LOL .. .but, we want to get something bigger, and i'm wondering if i should just go right for the mini van?

We got a minivan when I was pregnant with baby #3... I was dead set against a minivan so when we had baby #2 I bought a Jeep Commander, figuring it that it had a third row so even if we had more kids it would be fine.  I was sooo wrong, when I went to put in the infant seat I couldn't fit all three seats across the middle row, and if I put one of the kids in the third row I couldn't fit our stroller.  So it was off to be a minivan mommy, and there is so much more room in there I never have to worry about packing for trips, however with #5 on the way it's getting a little cramped!

LOL you're a babymaking machine!! i'd love to have 5 kids, and i want to be a stay at home mom - i hope someday i get my wish! maybe by the 5th kid i will! LOL
what kind of van do you have? i'm looking at a honda odyssey because i'm looking to trade in my leased car there. any input? or what do you have - likes/dislikes?

MammaBear81

We have a dodge grand caravan, and we love it.  We have the electric doors which are a must, and the stow and go seating, for ALL of the seats is wonderful.... Right now we have the third row up with three seats across, and the captains chair behind the drivers side up with the 4th child in it.  We "stow" the other captain's chair for easy loading and unloading of the kids.  It's also great in bad weather, I get all the kids in the car, and close the door, then I can take my time buckling everyone in.  We looked at the honda odyssey, and it's good too, but it didn't have the stow and go for the second seat (they did have it for the third row though), which is really important for us, this was a few years ago, so the Odyssey might have it now.  We bought a cheap DVD player for long trips, we didn't find the 1,200 they wanted to  charge us for the built in one a necessity, I can' really say that I dislike anything about it, except for the fact that I'm driving a minivan at 29

I wish I could be a SAHM as well, I used to work part time, but with this fabulous recession I've had to go back to work full time.  I just "started my own business" and hope to go back to working part time soon, I miss my mornings with my babies!

robbie3982

MammaBear81:

We have a dodge grand caravan, and we love it.  We have the electric doors which are a must, and the stow and go seating, for ALL of the seats is wonderful.... Right now we have the third row up with three seats across, and the captains chair behind the drivers side up with the 4th child in it.  We "stow" the other captain's chair for easy loading and unloading of the kids.  It's also great in bad weather, I get all the kids in the car, and close the door, then I can take my time buckling everyone in.  We looked at the honda odyssey, and it's good too, but it didn't have the stow and go for the second seat (they did have it for the third row though), which is really important for us, this was a few years ago, so the Odyssey might have it now.  We bought a cheap DVD player for long trips, we didn't find the 1,200 they wanted to  charge us for the built in one a necessity, I can' really say that I dislike anything about it, except for the fact that I'm driving a minivan at 29

I wish I could be a SAHM as well, I used to work part time, but with this fabulous recession I've had to go back to work full time.  I just "started my own business" and hope to go back to working part time soon, I miss my mornings with my babies!

This is only #2 for us, I just turned 28 and I'm rockin the mini van!  I was actually still 27 when we bought it so don't feel bad!

We have a 2008 Honda Odyssey EX (the lowest model with the automatic sliding doors) and LOVE it.  We got it right before Valentine's Day, so we haven't had it long, but we've done a long car trip already (8ish hours each way) and I drive around with DS (21mos) every day. 

It's sooo much easier with even just DS.  I had a Plymouth Neon before and it's so much easier for me to get him into his car seat now.  I also LOVE the power doors. 

MamaBear is right though, our 2nd row doesn't stow.  I don't find that to be too much of an issue though since it will be pretty rare for us to need to remove the 2nd row.

nillian10

MammaBear81:

We have a dodge grand caravan, and we love it.  We have the electric doors which are a must, and the stow and go seating, for ALL of the seats is wonderful.... Right now we have the third row up with three seats across, and the captains chair behind the drivers side up with the 4th child in it.  We "stow" the other captain's chair for easy loading and unloading of the kids.  It's also great in bad weather, I get all the kids in the car, and close the door, then I can take my time buckling everyone in.  We looked at the honda odyssey, and it's good too, but it didn't have the stow and go for the second seat (they did have it for the third row though), which is really important for us, this was a few years ago, so the Odyssey might have it now.  We bought a cheap DVD player for long trips, we didn't find the 1,200 they wanted to  charge us for the built in one a necessity, I can' really say that I dislike anything about it, except for the fact that I'm driving a minivan at 29

I wish I could be a SAHM as well, I used to work part time, but with this fabulous recession I've had to go back to work full time.  I just "started my own business" and hope to go back to working part time soon, I miss my mornings with my babies!

 

awesome. thanks for your input!! how the heck do you afford day care for 4 kids!?! props to u mama

MammaBear81

nillian10:

MammaBear81:

We have a dodge grand caravan, and we love it.  We have the electric doors which are a must, and the stow and go seating, for ALL of the seats is wonderful.... Right now we have the third row up with three seats across, and the captains chair behind the drivers side up with the 4th child in it.  We "stow" the other captain's chair for easy loading and unloading of the kids.  It's also great in bad weather, I get all the kids in the car, and close the door, then I can take my time buckling everyone in.  We looked at the honda odyssey, and it's good too, but it didn't have the stow and go for the second seat (they did have it for the third row though), which is really important for us, this was a few years ago, so the Odyssey might have it now.  We bought a cheap DVD player for long trips, we didn't find the 1,200 they wanted to  charge us for the built in one a necessity, I can' really say that I dislike anything about it, except for the fact that I'm driving a minivan at 29

I wish I could be a SAHM as well, I used to work part time, but with this fabulous recession I've had to go back to work full time.  I just "started my own business" and hope to go back to working part time soon, I miss my mornings with my babies!

 

awesome. thanks for your input!! how the heck do you afford day care for 4 kids!?! props to u mama

We have an au pair and it's fabulous, no getting kids ready to go in the morning, just wake up, get myself ready, and walk out the door!!  We've had our minivan since 2008, so I was 26 when we bought it.  Stowing one seat in the second row just comes in handy if you have three or more and need to access the back row.  It's just harder to get around the car seat in the car to get to the back seat, but not impossible.  We are going to have to have all the seats up come June, so it won't matter anymore... we did LOVE the Odyssey (our other car is a honda civic).

sfshawna

MammaBear81:

We have a dodge grand caravan, and we love it.  We have the electric doors which are a must, and the stow and go seating, for ALL of the seats is wonderful.... Right now we have the third row up with three seats across, and the captains chair behind the drivers side up with the 4th child in it.  We "stow" the other captain's chair for easy loading and unloading of the kids.  It's also great in bad weather, I get all the kids in the car, and close the door, then I can take my time buckling everyone in.  We looked at the honda odyssey, and it's good too, but it didn't have the stow and go for the second seat (they did have it for the third row though), which is really important for us, this was a few years ago, so the Odyssey might have it now.  We bought a cheap DVD player for long trips, we didn't find the 1,200 they wanted to  charge us for the built in one a necessity, I can' really say that I dislike anything about it, except for the fact that I'm driving a minivan at 29

I wish I could be a SAHM as well, I used to work part time, but with this fabulous recession I've had to go back to work full time.  I just "started my own business" and hope to go back to working part time soon, I miss my mornings with my babies!

Oh my gosh. I just have to ditto all of this, except that I'm already a SAHM. We have the same car with the sane car seat configuration, and I love having that extra room with one seat stowed. I'm totally going to miss that when this baby arrives, and we'll be at capacity with five car seats. Oh well!

But, I wanted to add another plus for a minivan. Compared to an SUV, a minivan is so much easier for little ones to climb in and out of by themselves, especially when you have your hands full with an infant car seat. An SUV is so much higher off the ground usually, and doesn't have the automatic doors, which will be your best friend in a minivan!!!

cmrand4

 

::comes out of lurking::: I love this post.  It's my dream all wrapped up in one. I can't wait to quit my job, have a few more munchkins and trade in my Vue for a minivan...in that order!! In fact, I'd love the automatic doors now.  For now, I'm just dreaming.  Gotta sell our city condo first before we can move to the burbs.

 

BTW-this is the cutest siggy pic! Your kiddos look so happy!

Scout1218

I don't have 3 kids, and I don't have a minivan, but several of my 2u2 (and moms of 2+ kids) love their vans!!  DH and I drive cars into the ground, so we aren't in the market for a new car anytime soon, but if we were, we'd definitely be considering one!!  Another option is the Honda Pilot with a 3rd row seat, several mommy friends LOVE theirs.

bpowell823

My friend has a Honda Odyssey & she has 2 kids that are 19 months apart..She loves her minivan!! It has so much room inside! I just leased a Honda CR-V and I have an 18 month and I am due in May and so far I love it. But I am also done having babies so I am not going to make it into the "minivan clan"  

CagleBaby

MammaBear81:

We have a dodge grand caravan, and we love it.  We have the electric doors which are a must, and the stow and go seating, for ALL of the seats is wonderful.... Right now we have the third row up with three seats across, and the captains chair behind the drivers side up with the 4th child in it.  We "stow" the other captain's chair for easy loading and unloading of the kids.  It's also great in bad weather, I get all the kids in the car, and close the door, then I can take my time buckling everyone in.  We looked at the honda odyssey, and it's good too, but it didn't have the stow and go for the second seat (they did have it for the third row though), which is really important for us, this was a few years ago, so the Odyssey might have it now.  We bought a cheap DVD player for long trips, we didn't find the 1,200 they wanted to  charge us for the built in one a necessity, I can' really say that I dislike anything about it, except for the fact that I'm driving a minivan at 29

I wish I could be a SAHM as well, I used to work part time, but with this fabulous recession I've had to go back to work full time.  I just "started my own business" and hope to go back to working part time soon, I miss my mornings with my babies!

Ditto all of this. I amonly on #3 but am super glad to have a mini van. Oh and I started driving it at 27.

susanlovestexas

I love my minivan! We bought it in January and I'm pregnant with my 3rd.

MammaBear81

CagleBaby:

MammaBear81:

We have a dodge grand caravan, and we love it.  We have the electric doors which are a must, and the stow and go seating, for ALL of the seats is wonderful.... Right now we have the third row up with three seats across, and the captains chair behind the drivers side up with the 4th child in it.  We "stow" the other captain's chair for easy loading and unloading of the kids.  It's also great in bad weather, I get all the kids in the car, and close the door, then I can take my time buckling everyone in.  We looked at the honda odyssey, and it's good too, but it didn't have the stow and go for the second seat (they did have it for the third row though), which is really important for us, this was a few years ago, so the Odyssey might have it now.  We bought a cheap DVD player for long trips, we didn't find the 1,200 they wanted to  charge us for the built in one a necessity, I can' really say that I dislike anything about it, except for the fact that I'm driving a minivan at 29

I wish I could be a SAHM as well, I used to work part time, but with this fabulous recession I've had to go back to work full time.  I just "started my own business" and hope to go back to working part time soon, I miss my mornings with my babies!

Ditto all of this. I amonly on #3 but am super glad to have a mini van. Oh and I started driving it at 27.

So glad I'm not alone!

mayowife

We have a Nissan Quest. I love it. We purchased it right before I found out I was pregnant with #2. We sold our Mitsubishi Eclipse in order to get the Quest. We figured if we were getting rid of a two door car and taking on a new payment, then we better make it something that would grow with our family. We also have a Honda Accord, but since getting the van we don't even have a carseat it in.

We test drove large SUV's and minivans. We realized that although it might not be cool a minivan was the way to go, hands down. I preferred the Honda Odyssey and DH preferred the Quest. We purchased a slightly used one and the market was much better for the Quest, so we went with that.

 

monkeyqueen

YES!!!!!!

mama31

I couldn't bring myself to get a minivan.  We got a Traverse last year, which is a crossover SUV, that has plenty of room.

seaturtle19

I was once that girl that said there is no way in HELL_O i will drive a minivan but low and behold- we put a downpayment on an Odessey and I will get it in a few weeks and cannot wait!!!  We have #2 on the way in August and a 90 lb dog so we really need the room but i have never heard a negative thing about them.....yeah I don't need to be cool anymore!!!!  I do plan to break the news to my college girlfriends over this coming weekend....it will be funny!

monkeyqueen

seaturtle19:

I was once that girl that said there is no way in HELL_O i will drive a minivan but low and behold- we put a downpayment on an Odessey and I will get it in a few weeks and cannot wait!!!  We have #2 on the way in August and a 90 lb dog so we really need the room but i have never heard a negative thing about them.....yeah I don't need to be cool anymore!!!!  I do plan to break the news to my college girlfriends over this coming weekend....it will be funny!

Just tell them that you are "revolutionizing cool" 

lorynn

I was this way, and my husband still is saying NO to a minivan, but I am seriously considering it.  Right now I have a Honda Accord with two under two.  It is CRAZY!

Beth.05

YES!!! I love ours....we got it about a month ago and just found out I am pregnant with #3 now. Oh, and I got the rest of you guys beat-I am only 25! I don't really care though, my life is so much easier now because of it. My 2 year old can get into the car and his carseat by himself and it's easier to get my RFing baby in as well. Love, love, love it.

 Funny story: the previous owners of our van left a justin timberlake cd in it. So for the first week, I enjoyed blaring "bringing sexy back" while driving my swagger wagon down the road, haha. 

ETA: the cd version of that song is not at all child-appropriate. Just so you know I didn't listen to it while my kids were in the car!

JoannaJes

I'm 28, have 2 kids, and drive a mini-van. I don't let my vehicle define me. : )