Dilema

My DH and I just had our car seats installed at the fire department today. We just bought a Sierra mini-van to accommodate both babies and all the gear we will need. We also bought two bases for his car. When we got to the fire department, the bases and carriers won't fit in my DH's car. He drives a Chevy Camaro Convertible. So now we will only have one car suited for the kids. Does anyone else out there find themselves in this situation? Is it difficult? My other issue is that I absolutely HATE to drive his car- and have only done so about three times in the seven years we have been together. I don't think it is safe to leave him home with the kids without a way to take them anywhere if needed. I also don't want to have to drive his car anytime I need to go out without the kids. Is this unreasonable? Am I being overly worrisome about this? My DH says if he needs to get them help, and doesn't have a car available he'll just call 911. He isn't worried at all. Any thoughts? Suggestions?
Thanks!

 

Yep, we only have our Sienna as well. My DH has a Mazda 6, which probably would hold 2 carseats, but we've never tried. It would not hold all 3 kids though. I don't really worry about it. There is no way we want 2 cars big enough for all 3 kids.

 

we have the same issue too. I have a SUV and DH drives my corolla. The car does fit the 2 carseats but i have a 4 year old also.. still in a carseat.

 

Same here - van and a Camry that can't fit all three car seats. But DH has never taken the three of them anywhere by himself yet.

 

We only have one car, period, which is a Sienna. So, if I have to go somewhere (like the dr), DH cannot take them anywhere, he just has to stay home.

 

DH has a small car also so it's the same here. I used to worry about it, until he said the same exact thing your DH said about 911.

 

I think technically we could have fit the seats into his extended cab F150, but that was with one seat up front and airbag turned off. I never felt comfortable with that so we never installed the bases/used his truck.

And if I go anywhere, he's either here with the kiddos and will call 911 or the few times he's wanted to take the girls out while I had something else to do, I drove his truck. Which I don't particularly like to drive, but felt more comfortable driving it than putting the car seats into it.

Now that they're rear facing in the convertible seats, there's no way they'd fit!

 

I have the minivan with all three carseats, and DH drives a medium-sized SUV that only has a carseat for our older DD in it. So, he takes her to school and picks her up, etc.

If I go out by myself, or with just older DD, then I take his car, and leave the van -- he drives a BMW X5, so I much prefer to drive that over my Odyssey, LOL.

 

Same here. We have a minivan that will hold all 3 seats and a Saturn Vue that can hold 2. Right now it has a front facing seat, and we'll put in the booster when needed to take just the 2 oldest. The baby is still rear facing (not quite 20 pounds at just about 2yo) so she can't go in the Vue. When I go somewhere and leave DH with the girls I drive the Vue. It's mostly about putting miles on the leased minivan; I figure he will have to call 911 if there's an emergency no matter what car he's left with.

Once Ellie weighs enough to turn around, the only combo of two kids that can't be taken in the Vue is Joey and Ellie...they'd both need front facing seats and I'm not about to buy another one. 4 total is plenty for us!

 

I drive a Toyota Corrolla, but we only installed the seats in my car as we were too cheap to go out and buy 2 more bases or 2 more $200 convertible carseats when the time comes. It actually works out great, whoever is home with the kids gets my car, so if DH is working from home and I go out, I take his. It's not a big deal at all.

 

We only have one car that can hold the whole family. It was in an accident and needs 10 days in the shop! I was really worried since we don't have insurance that covers the cost of a rental, but..... since we were not at fault the other driver is responsible for renting us a car that will hold the 6 of us. YEAH!

So it really hasn't been a problem, yet.

 

We've gone 21 months with carseats in just my car. I just this week purchased two more for his vehicle because we're starting daycare next month and he'll drop them off some mornings.

I didn't feel the need to take his vehicle when I went out by myself and left the girls here with him though. I do travel occasionally for work, and if I am gone for several days I'd leave my car with the carseats, but otherwise I never did. I guess I always felt that if it were that huge of an emergency then he'd call an ambulance, plus I really never travel very far from home for errands anyways. He takes them to his mom's at least once a month for part of the day and he just takes my van.

Up until now they've been home with a nanny and I work FT from home. So my car is here most of the time, for the most part. So I am sort of a special circumstance. We always take my van when we go somewhere as a family.

 

Yip me to, I got stuck with the SUV whilst dh has the real nice sporty Lexus. It doesnt even come with fittings for baby car seats. I am green with envy because it took me a while to learn to drive the big car. <_<

 

Yes, I have the Odyssey and he has a Civic. We've never actually tried to put 2 Marathons in the Civic, but I don't mind driving his car (it used to be our only car and I drove it all the time.)

 

We both drive E300s, so they fit the car seats, but my husband doesn't want to take the kids anywhere in his car because its interior is immaculate. So, I guess if I were to go anywhere without him and the babies, I would leave him with my car and take his.

 

We only have one car so, de facto, if someone takes it then the other one is home alone with the kids. In fact, Paul has it right now and the kids and I are at home in the living room. It's not a problem, we just plan ahead. In our case, the only reason the person at home with the kids would need a car would be in case of emergency and then we can call an ambulance. The chance of that happening is mighty slim though so we don't worry about it.

I understand how you feel about driving the Camaro though. I drove my grandpa's for a little while in high school and hated it! I would never drive one unless I really had to.

 

My car is the only one that fits all 3 car seats- it's a ford explorer. Dh has a ford explorer also, but its the sport edition so there are only 2 buckles in the back seat. We're fortunate that we work on the campus of the same hospital so we're able to switch cars as needed so no one is left at home without the car that can accomodate everyone. It's a hassle, but his car is old ('95) so we'll be in the market for a new one soon. I really want a mini van- even my car with it's one row of seating makes getting everyone into the car difficult. My dd is in the middle so she has to climb in before I can put the babies in and with all the crappy winter weather we've been having- I'm not enjoying it!