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March 2013 Moms
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making it work with a super small car?

egb+jafegb+jaf member
in March 2013 Moms

So just a few months before i found out i was pregnant, i has just bought a brand new car. a very nice but very small two door 2012 honda civic. now let it be known that i ADORE my car, i worked very hard to pay for it and trading it in is not an option at this point not only because of the lost value caused by milage and use at this point but also because i intend on still having this car even after LO is out of the carseat.

my problem is, i know that it is going to be a PAIN using this car with infant seat in particular and i'm struggling to figure out what kind of carseat will make things a little more managable. have any of you ladies also dealt with small car problems? how did it work out with carseats and accessability? also, though my car is small, for a two door the backseat isnt as small as you would expect and i'm hoping this extra bit of space will make the difference. thanks ladies!

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Re: making it work with a super small car?

  • CougFanCougFan member
    Good luck! I really hope you get some good advice because I think a four door sedan would be unbearable! If you can get an infant seat past the front seats it will click right in. But once you move to a rearfacing convertible I would think you would have to climb back there to get in and out. Maybe someone on the carseat.org forums can help????
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  • egb+jafegb+jaf member
    i hope so! i've just been thinking if i can make is past the rear facing stage i'll be alright haha! and to me it would seem so stupid to trade in my car to make it work for such a short period of time when i know if i can just make it work to a point i'll be fine
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  • ann_jeremiahann_jeremiah member
    DH has a Saturn ion... 4 doors, but still a very tight fit. We used the graco snugride. Our rear facing convertible seat has been more of the pain!

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  • emwardemward
    We have a Honda Civic Si, which is very small, but definitely works. It took some getting used to, but you definitely get used to it. We aren't getting rid of our car anytime soon!
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  • egb+jafegb+jaf member

    imageemward:
    We have a Honda Civic Si, which is very small, but definitely works. It took some getting used to, but you definitely get used to it. We aren't getting rid of our car anytime soon!

    yay! you give me hope haha. what kind of carseat/s do you have?

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  • benmel31benmel31 member

    We have an older Civic 2 door.  We were able to get both Britax B-Safe infant seat in and the Marathon convertible car seat.  The Britax Chaperone infant seat did not fit.  When the Marathon is rear facing, it will be a pain and we may turn the car seat around in that car earlier than in our other car.  We will have to get in the back seat to put our little one in.  It won't be the easiest thing, but it will work.

    I recommend going to BuyBuyBaby or BRU.  They will let you take car seats out to your car to fit them in your car.  We spent hours there on Saturday fitting car seats in our 2 cars. 


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  • CougFanCougFan member
    imageegb+jaf:
    i hope so! i've just been thinking if i can make is past the rear facing stage i'll be alright haha! and to me it would seem so stupid to trade in my car to make it work for such a short period of time when i know if i can just make it work to a point i'll be fine
    It really isn't that short. 2+ years is recommended.
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  • egb+jafegb+jaf member

    imageCougFan:
    imageegb+jaf:
    i hope so! i've just been thinking if i can make is past the rear facing stage i'll be alright haha! and to me it would seem so stupid to trade in my car to make it work for such a short period of time when i know if i can just make it work to a point i'll be fine
    It really isn't that short. 2+ years is recommended.

    it's short compared to the amount of time i plan on keeping my car haha! i prob should have made it more clear that's what i meant by short, i plan on extended rear facing. thanks for heads up though!

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  • songs4drowningsongs4drowning
    I have a Volkswagon Passat and know from experience that I can fit three car seats in there if I need to! Ha ha. Still, the two door is super annoying and probably the biggest of your worries when it comes to car seats. I would definitely try and get a car seat that has a detachable base that can be left in the car that the seat clicks onto. That might make it slightly less of a pain than a car seat that you would need to crawl in and fully secure each and every time. Good luck!
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  • smilygrl17smilygrl17 member
    My SIL has a Toyota Yaris hatchback that only has two doors. Though they live in NYC so they don't use their car that often. We have a yaris sedan and it seems small on the outside but the inside is pretty spacious. I think its more the space in the back of the car that matters. Yea its probably a pain to get the car seat in and out, but thats what adjustable seats are for!
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  • wittyschaffywittyschaffy member
    Just remember that after the infant stage, kids need to be in a car seat or booster for quite a while too.  You're going to have to wrangle your way into the back seat to buckle in a toddler at some point too!  Not saying you can't make it work in your 2 door but I think you're looking at at least 6+ years of messing around with it and you'll have to decide if it is worth it.
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  • emwardemward
    imageegb+jaf:

    imageemward:
    We have a Honda Civic Si, which is very small, but definitely works. It took some getting used to, but you definitely get used to it. We aren't getting rid of our car anytime soon!

    yay! you give me hope haha. what kind of carseat/s do you have?

     We will be using the Chicco KeyFit for LO, which we used for DS, and our DS is now in the Britax Marathon. Once LO comes, we will move DS's carseat (the Britax) behind the driver's seat, since he can get up into the seat himself and we now just have to buckle and unbuckle him. Then LO's carseat (Chicco KeyFit) will be behind the passenger seat. Hope that helps!

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  • ebp913ebp913 member
    The Combi Coccoro is one of the smallest seats on the market but it's a convertible seat that can be used from birth if you decide you want to skip the infant seat.  
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