Multiple Car Seats

24karat

Our situation is this. My DD is almost 2 but is tiny...as in 31 inches tall and 22lbs dripping wet, so she still sits rear-facing in a convertible seat. Our twins will be arriving within the month and we already have new infant seats that my sister bought for us as soon as she found out we were expecting. Another factor is while I'm tiny (less than 5ft tall) and scoot the seat up when driving, my hubby is over 6ft tall and has to scoot the seat all the way back. We have two older vehicles, a Prizm (which is a tiny sedan) and an older Caravan with a single sliding door and all bench seats. Between extra medical bills and me being on bed rest half the pregnancy then having unpaid maternity leave, we don't have the means to buy a different vehicle. Even buying a new car seat for my eldest would be a big financial stretch at this point.

1. How do you fit 3 car seats properly in cars like the ones we own without compromising safety?

2. Is there a certain configuration that works best for three car seats?

3. Are there any particular "older kid" car seats for small kids that you've found work better in limited spaces?

kgs0505

We Put the twins in the 3rd row, and our 2yo in the middle row. if she's still rfing, then you might have to put her seat so that it's btwn the driver and passenger side to accomodate your dh. the prism, well, forget getting everyone in there, best you can do id get 2 in there after your dd goes ffing in order to have enough room for your dh.

MuseumMaven

Do you really need car seats in both cars? I think you'll be really hard pressed in the Prizm. The Caravan should be ok just split the seats up amongst the two rows. It would probably be easiest to have your daughter on an outside seat since you'll have to do straps in the car. Infant seats are easy to pop in and out.

Regarding your DD, if she isn't two she should definitely be RF. Two is the absolute minimum best to keep her RF until four or more!

Good luck!

gault530

We have two graco snug ride carseats on both sides of our backseat, both rear facing. DD is four and forward facing in a harmony defender that I purchased at Walmart for 99. It's one of the slimest carseats on the market that has a five point harness and coverts to a booster seat when she's ready. It's the only seat we found that would work with the infant seats.

macchiatto

I recommend asking this on the FB group "Car Seats for the Littles." It's a great resource with a lot of experienced car seat techs who are great at answering specific questions like this.

24karat

MuseumMaven:

Do you really need car seats in both cars? I think you'll be really hard pressed in the Prizm. The Caravan should be ok just split the seats up amongst the two rows. It would probably be easiest to have your daughter on an outside seat since you'll have to do straps in the car. Infant seats are easy to pop in and out. Regarding your DD, if she isn't two she should definitely be RF. Two is the absolute minimum best to keep her RF until four or more! Good luck!

We are only planning on keeping car seats in the Caravan for now and leaving the smaller Prizm as our "work commute" car. I highly doubt we could fit three in the Prizm until my daughter is in a booster which will be a LONG time from now. She probably won't be forward facing for quite some time given her size and age.

katiebenes

Have you seen if there's a "car seat expert" in your area? our local PD and FD offer installation and inspection services, I would think they'd have some ideas too

MuseumMaven

macchiatto:

I recommend asking this on the FB group "Car Seats for the Littles." It's a great resource with a lot of experienced car seat techs who are great at answering specific questions like this.

Yes! This is a great group for this kind of information.