3 car seats across

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers

3 car seats across

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amother

Tan

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:08 pm

My just turned 1 year old is outgrowing their infant car seat, and I have to get them a convertible. My almost 3 year old is in a britax marathon. I just found out I'm pregnant. Which convertible will accommodate an infant car seat as well iyh all in the same row?

amother

Wine

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:11 pm

What kind of car do you have?

pizza4

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:13 pm

I don't think 3 car seats fit side by side in a car... unless you put a booster seat in between. I don't know anyone that has this, everyone with 3 small kids gets a minivan or something like it.

MiracleMama

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:17 pm

You need a minivan. I had 3 kids in less than 2 years and I could not figure anything else out that worked besides changing to a van.

amother

Forestgreen

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:19 pm

I had 3 car seats in a Honda Accord- 2 convertibles and one infant seat. Recently moved on to a minivan and its way easier and more comfortable for everyone, but it is doable in a sedan.

MiracleMama

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:26 pm

amother wrote:

I had 3 car seats in a Honda Accord- 2 convertibles and one infant seat. Recently moved on to a minivan and its way easier and more comfortable for everyone, but it is doable in a sedan.

Wow, that's the car we had and we just couldn't make it work. At least not with the seats we had. It's been quite a few years so maybe car seats are smaller or Accords are bigger??

out-of-towner

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:28 pm

Three car seats don't fit in my Nissan Versa. It depends more on the car than on the car seat.

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:46 pm

I have helped with several 3 across situations. What car do you have for starters?

Diono Radian is the skinniest seat and your best bet but you may have to replace the Marathon as well.

And it could be your car won't work at all.

What infant seat do you have?

Shopmiami49

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 3:53 pm

There is a Facebook group called j-techs and they can guide you on what combination of seats could work with your particular car.

Tekky

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 4:06 pm

I have three car seats across in my minivan. I noticed that a lot of small details on convertibles and boosters really add a lot to the width and cause them not to fit well side-by-side. Things like cup holders and arm rests can make it or break it. I highly highly recommend going to a baby store before buying any car seat and literally bringing the floor models outside to strap them all in to see if they fit. Also, you'll want a car seat that your biggest one can strap themselves into. If your biggest one is ready for a harnessed booster, you'll want to switch over to that to save on the room in the car and she'll learn soon how to buckle herself in (after the winter is over atleast and there are no more bulky coats!)

amother

Tan

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 4:17 pm

More details: we have 2 SUVs, one bigger one and a smaller one. We might end up trading one in for a minivan. The oldest will iyh be 3.5 is that old enough for a booster?

Just found out I'm pg and my baby needs a convertible so trying to get something that will work in the future too.

amother

Wine

Tue, Jan 03 2017, 4:19 pm

amother wrote:

In most states it's 4 but it also depends on the size of your child

saw50st8

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 5:05 am

We have a ford fusion and needed 2 Diono Radians plus the infant seat (or marathon rearfacing when DS outgrew the infant seat).

About boosters - 4 is the absolute minimum but most kids aren't ready for that. I got a Britax Frontier (I think that's what it's called) for DS and he stayed in it until 7. He could have stayed longer, but my daughter was ready for it and he was ready to move to a high back booster. Leaving a child in a 5 point harness is much safer if you can.

MyUsername

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 5:51 am

Post here https://www.car-seat.org/ they are super helpful in finding which car seats will fit 3 across in any car.

gibberish

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 7:42 am

I have 3 full car seats across the back of my small car - 1 infant seat and 2 convertible

You need to get the thinner car seats that can fit. I have the COSCO convertible car seats from Walmart. They are thin, effective, and inexpensive. The Britax is much wider and won't work. You will need to get another car seat.

mha3484

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 7:57 am

I have an SUV with two rows. I have three kids and the whining is majorly getting on my nerves. I told DH to rearrange the car seats with the back row up this week. So even if 3 across is possible you might not want to do it if you don't have to.

cfriedman2

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 8:02 am

diono radian will fit 3 across. 3.5 is too young for a booster.

Rubber Ducky

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 8:06 am

My son and wonderful DDIL have 3 carseats the back of their Hyundai Sonata. One is an infant seat and at least one is a Combi Cocorro.

twogees

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 9:48 am

my sil who had a small car till about a year ago had 2 diono radions I belive and an infant car seat.

cozyblanket

Wed, Jan 04 2017, 10:00 am

cfx wrote:

Switching the oldest to a booster isn't going to solve anything. I have learned that if you get thin carseats (not the luxury ones that are so wide!!), you may have a hard time installing them all, but once you do, they are in... you just have to buckle the harness!!

But with a booster... no, way - you need ROOM FOR YOUR HAND TO FIT BETWEEN THE SEATS SO YOU CAN BUCKLE IT EVERYTIME. I could barely accomplish this myself, it was soooo hard. Definitely a child couldn't be buckling themselves in a booster that is right next to a carseat or infant seat base.

The only thing that might help is if you the booster on the side of the sedan or SUV, then you can have the child sit on the booster while it is a bit pulled to the side, so you can reach in and buckle the seat belt and then after it is buckled, push the booster back in. This is the one trick you can do when there is a door - doesn't work in the back row of a minivan.

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