twins, a toddler and a minivan?

Just curious how everyone else arranges their car seats & kids into their minivan? who goes into the 3rd row? into the 2nd row? etc especially those with young twins and a toddler?? and what kind of minivan do you have?

 

The girls are in the middle row captain's chairs in Graco SafeSeat 32's and my 6YO is in the 3rd row in a Graco Nautilus.

I originally planned to have the girls in the 3rd row, and take out one of the captain's chairs to increase access, but this works out much better (esp. now that the girls are ~ 20lbs and hoofing those baby bucket seats into the 3rd row would be a back-breakers!!) Plus, my son loves that he's higher up and can make faces at the girls while we drive.

 

I have a Sienna and when the the twins were little we put them in the Captain's chairs and put my older DD in the back. I also took one of the Captain's chairs and moved it over so it was up against the other one and made a walkway on one side for DD to get to the back easier.

 

I have had a Chrysler minivan with the stow and go seats before Ellie was born. I never had 2 in infant carriers at one time, but Ellie and Jo were both rear facing at the same time.

I put the second row driver's side seat down. 2 were in the 3rd row and one was in the second row passenger side captain's chair. I would actually climb in to put in the infant buckets and harness in whoever needed it. I thought that was easier than going around to the other side of the car.

 

twins in the captains chairs in the middle row (we have double sliding doors).....they get buckled in as older kid walks to the back and gets in his seat....I then open the back hatch and stand in there to buckle in the older child that is in the rear seat.

I am expecting again (32 weeks along) and I CANNOT crawl into the back seat (past the captains chairs) to buckle him in, so crawling in the back hatch was the only option.....it is so easy, that I will continue to buckle the two back children that way.

 

I have a chrysler town and country with the stow and go seats but my situation is opposite of yours. I have the twins in the 3rd row and Hannah in a captain seat with the other seat folded into the floor so I can buckle the boys in

 

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan and every space is being used right now. I have five children ALL in car seats. They are ages 4 (almost 5), 3.5, 23mos, and then the newborn twins. My van had the two captain seats in the middle row not the bench. I have the twins in the captain seats and then two seats in the back with a booster in the middle. When I just had the three I would alternate the two kids in the back and my youngest in the middle with one of the captain seats stowed for super easy access to the back row. Before I installed the baby seats I had the girls (3.5 and 23mos) in the middle and my oldest in the back. He could buckle/unbuckle himself so it was perfect.

I really wish we could get a conversion van or one of those large SUVs cause I hate the buckle that 4yr old has to use. It doesn't lock at all. Even when you hit the breaks. So I alwasy worry he will just fly forward if we're in an accident. It worries me even more since he's in the middle of the back seat. I worry he will just fly straight out the front window. I wish I could still have him in a car seat and not a booster. He had the nice Graco Natalius before and he could sit in that thing for a long time before we would have had to convert him. We have a really small house and need to move in the next couple years but I would gladly push that back even a couple years to get a different van. I am thinking of talking to DH about it once we get our tax refund next year.

 

I have an older honda odyssey, the 4 door model, no sliding doors, and what I did was the boys sit in the back to I can put them in their seat through the hatch in the back, and my 2.5 yr old sits in one of the captain seats. Easier to get everyone in and out that way

 

We have a honda odyssey and you can fit 3 seats across in the second row! We have sunshine radian carseats, which are pretty slim, and there's plenty of room (although we aren't actually using it right now because we only have 2 kids).

 

We broke down and finally bought a Dodge Caravan. It has the Swivel-n-Go seats instead of the Stow-n-go which is awesome as we put the twins in the captain chairs and then swivel one of the seats to have easy access to the third row seat for our 3 year old. We keep the seats forward but when they get older will probably turn them around so their brother can entertain them (hopefully)! Highly recommend this van as it still has the stow-n-go storage underneath!

 

We have a Toyota Sienna. We had put the boys in the middle for a long drive, and had Annabella in the third row in the middle, with my sister and SIL on either side. Well, having her in the third row was a royal PITA! Dh just recently moved Annabella back into the second row, behind me, and the boys are in the third row. It's easier for them to get in and out of the car. The second seat in the second row we don't have in the car, so we have a bit more room.

 

We bought a new Dodge caravan right after the twins were born in Jan.
We have the snap and go seats in the captains chairs - and our older daughter and her friends go into the 3rd row. We figured it was best that way - and with the 3 dvd players - each row can watch their own DVD - so once the twins can turn around they wont have to watch the same DVD as their big sister.

The 3rd row dvd also has coardless headphones - so the noise from the different DVD's isnt a problem either.

Aaaah - technology !

 

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan with power sliding doors. We put our 3 yr old in the back (in a Alpha Omega Elite carseat)& the twins in the captains chairs(in Graco carseats). Usually I'll snap one baby in while DD#1 is climbing into her chair. By the time I get around to snap the other baby in DD#1 usually already clipped herself in. I always double check all the clips & finish if she didnt. It's pretty easy to stand in the sliding door way & reach over one of the twins to clip her in if I need to.