Vehicle planning

leahrnmom · January 2022

What's everyone's plan for their vehicle? Do you have a vehicle that works? Share with us? If not what are you thinking about??

leahrnmom · January 2022

I selfishly started this

I will of course do research about what is the safest seating arrangement for my Kia Sorento, but wondering if anyone else has one and has experience with 3 kids. I have 3 rows but I have about not storage space if all the seats are up. I want to figure out if one of my end bench seats can come out and then put one seat up in the back.

I would even more love a SUV with captains chairs in the middle but such as life.

paytonpedro · January 2022

We have a Ford F-150 extended cab and 3 car seats should fit no problem. We also have a Jeep Liberty and there is no way we’re fitting 3 car seats in that. I mostly drive the truck and mh usually just takes the jeep to work so everything should work out fine. We lease the truck and have a very large camper that requires the bigger truck so I’m pushing to sell the camper and get a Ford Explorer for our next lease but I doubt we’ll do that. No help at all with your question, sorry @leahrnmom.

coco2787 · January 2022

I have a Subaru Forester and I’ll have one kid in a booster, one in a rear facing convertible seat, and one infant seat. Rear facing in my car requires front seats to be pretty far forward so not sure if we can make it work. But with new car prices/shortages I don’t know if we can get something different or if I should just buy the slimmest car seats I can find. Curious to see what other people have done to fit 3 seats in a smaller car!

maggiemadeit · January 2022

Ugh I am dreading this. My husband has a big Ram pickup with a cab big enough for 3, but I don’t think my older model forester will fit 3 wide. I am thinking about checking out the Durango. My folks had one when I was younger and it was both spacious and badass because of the huge engine. I am going to wait as long as possible though and hope that car prices will return to something normal if I wait it out.

and_peggy · January 2022

We bought a Honda Odyssey in April and I love it. I’m going to have to fit 5 car seats/boosters and I’m struggling with what to do. The car seat lady website has lots of useful tips for lots of different vehicles.

https://thecarseatlady.com/

My situation will be 2 boosters, 2 convertibles, 1 infant seat. I’ll have to do three across and likely in the third row. My daughter should be able to buckle herself at that point but certainly not ds1. He also may still need to be in 5 point harness. I’m just really not sure what I’ll do yet.

paytonpedro · January 2022

So prior to getting pregnant with #3, and while I was still talking mh into the idea, I did look up quite a bit to see if I could fit 3 across in my jeep. I came across this and I’m not sure I’m really allowed to post it because it’s kind of a competitive site, but I will anyways in hopes that it can help someone!

https://www.babycenter.com/baby-products/car-seats/3-across-car-seats_40007326

laddy12 · January 2022

I will only have two car seats so shouldn’t be an issue but if you have Facebook, the group “Car Seats for the Littles” will give you recommendations for seats based on your car and your kid’s stats. The moderators / admins are all CPSTs (child passenger safety technicians) and are very helpful.

mrs-kay929 · January 2022

I’ll def be following this thread.. my Chevy Equinox just crapped out a week before I found out about my pregnancy. We have an appointment at Subaru on the 8th and the plan was to get an Impreza. I’ll only have the infant seat and a booster so it should be fine with just the two however we plan on having more kids in the upcoming years. I’m worried about the long term plan of both my husband and I having sedans.

wisewitch222 · January 2022

We have a Honda CRV and really, really don't want to buy a bigger car. I'm currently looking into these Mifold tiny boosters for DS1, who is tall and will be 7 1/2 when #3 comes out. He's been in a regular booster with the normal seat belt, but that won't fit with an infant seat. #2 is tiny and will still need the five-point harness for awhile.

Anyone have any experience with the Mifolds? They look too good to be true.

anniemarie887 · January 2022

We upgraded my car in November, it had been on the to do list knowing we wanted a 2nd child. I got a 2021 Grand Cherokee L (the new 3 row one) and it’s amazing. I’m 5’8” and my husband is 6’ so my old SUV (2017 Jeep Compass) had one of us with knees in the dashboard whenever we sat in the passenger seat. We also have a 2020 Toyota Tacoma which is pretty tight with a rear facing car seat, but it’s our 3rd car and I don’t see us trading it in considering we got it new in 2020. MH’s work car is super spacious, he’s got a 2017 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and it does a great job on space if you’re looking for a sedan. We will keep our two year old rear facing until she maxes out on height or weight, I’ve got no desire to turn her around.

I highly recommend following @the_car_mom on Instagram. She does amazing reviews of how strollers and car seats fit. And she’s tall! She’s like 5’11”.

As for three across, my sister in law has that set up with a 2017 Toyota 4Runner and after lots of research and real life use for 18 mos she’s very happy with her Diono seats.

starkette · January 2022

@wisewitch222 I've used the mifold, they're good. I used to do carpool and one of the girls in my daughter's class had one and I'd have to use it every day. I wanted one because her seat was so easy! I keep meaning to buy one, but since we already have a different booster for now, I keep putting it off.

We definitely need to upgrade, which kind of sucks since we JUST got a new Chevy Equinox in July. I need a car that fits a booster, convertible carseat for my 3 year old, and an infant car seat PLUS plenty of cargo space.

itsme215 · January 2022

This will be our first so I think our Subaru Crosstrek will be fine. We’re a one car family right now though and will definitely need to get a second since my husband will be staying home with the baby once I go back to work. Haven’t even started to think about that though!

wigglyicecream · January 2022

I also think I will have to upgrade but I am hesitant since my car has been paid off and I love not having a payment. I currently have a Jetta and bought it right before I met my DD’s father. I never thought I could have kids so I didn’t think I needed a SUV anymore. I’m sure you can imagine how happily I was surprised. I will have to fit my infant car seat and her convertible car seat and it’s already tight with just her. My partner has a brand new crew cab Chevy which he may be out of until I make the plunge lol

wisewitch222 · January 2022

@itsme215 You might not need a second car if there is available public transport. We thought we were going to need one when we had our second kid, but we've been fine with just the one and aren't planning on getting another when we have the third kid (but won't have any more kids). We've since met another family that had three kids and one car and their kids are older, too. BUT my husband and I both work downtown, which means it's easy to get a bus to work (and carpool together) so we just leave the car for whichever parent will be driving the kids.

darkrose88 · January 2022

DH and I have talked about a new car but haven't taken the plunge. My car is a Honda civic, which is a bit tight on space, but will fit an infant carseat and a convertible but not much else. DH's car is currently sitting on the curb, either needing to be replaced or fixed. I'm voting replaced because space wise it is as small as mine. The problem is we also want to buy a new house in the next year or two so I'm worried about buying a car on credit and it impacting our credit ratio. Car prices are also ridiculously high right now, which has also prevented us from moving forward with buying a new car. I'm not sure what we'd get if we bought a new one. We really haven't done that much research.

itsme215 · January 2022

@wisewitch222 I wish there was good public transportation available here but there’s really not. There is a train station 10 minutes away that drops off right by my office but packing up the baby at 7am to drive me to the station doesn’t sound super fun. We’ve been meaning to get another car for awhile anyway though so I guess we’ll suck it up and finally do it haha

coco2787 · January 2022

Does anyone have the Diono Radian? It seems like the best option for 3 across because Clek is way out of my budget but a lot of reviews say that they aren’t good for rear facing because of how tall they are the people in front get squished.

laddy12 · January 2022

@coco2787 I have heard the same thing about the Diono and also that they have a poor fit forward facing. Have you looked at the Graco SlimFit3 LX? They are pretty new and are advertised for a 3 across situation.

and_peggy · January 2022

@coco2787 I’ve heard dionos are miserable to install. We will have to have 3 across and do the graco ones mentioned. However, look for graco truefit3lx. They’re the exact same model, but quite a bit cheaper

coco2787 · January 2022

Thank you! I actually just stumbled on the Graco SlimFit LX in my searching, that might be my best option

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