Minivan question for those with an older child too

Our twins are due in the fall, and we have a little girl who will be two when they get here. We have accepted that our current car won't fit 3 carseats (she's still rear-facing), so we're looking at minivans. Here's the question. How would/do you situate the kids. Do the babies go in the middle row and the "big kid" (who's only 2) sits in the back, or do you do it the other way around?

 

Our older DD had just turned 3 and the twins were 9 months when we got our Odyssey. We put one twin in the back passenger side and DD1 in the back row on the drivers side, we took out the captains chair behind the drivers seat and the other twin is in the captains chair behind the passenger seat. It's great having the one captains chair out - I recommend doing it if you won't be needing that eat. We can all hop in and be inside while everyone gets buckled.

 

My oldest DD is in the back row by herself and she loves it. The twins are in the 2nd row captain's chairs. If I were you I would put your 2 year old in the 3rd row and your twins in the 2nd row. I can't imagine trying to get an infant carrier in the 3rd row, for one thing. Plus as your DD gets older, she will like having her own space. :good: Are you going to keep her rear facing, that might make things a little more challenging?

 

I have a Chrysler Town and Country with Stow and Go seating. My placement of the girls didn't/doesn't matter. I have the second row driver side chair stowed so I can climb in and buckle who ever is in the back row. I don't have to walk around; I climb right in!

 

I "stowed" the seat right behind the driver's seat, put 3yo DS in the other 2nd row seat, and the babies in the 3rd row. There's not much you can do w/the rear-facing babies while driving anyway and DS has always enjoyed chatting w/ us on our frequent road trips. Plus I can pass back snacks or what-not to him. And its SO much easier maneuvering without that extra captain's seat!

Eve

 

We just bought a Dodge Grand caravan with 2 "captain" seats as the second row (it also has stow-n-go). The third row is a regular bench type seat that sits 3. DD's carseat is behind the drivers side in the second row. we decided to put the twins in the back 3rd row. One on each side so I can sit in the middle. To make getting in and out easier we will be putting the other 2nd row captain seat down (folded away). That still leaves us with an extra seat in the front for MIL when we have to take her places .

 

QUOTE(summerfun @ Jun 15 2009, 09:09 PM) [snapback]1355853[/snapback]
My oldest DD is in the back row by herself and she loves it. The twins are in the 2nd row captain's chairs. If I were you I would put your 2 year old in the 3rd row and your twins in the 2nd row. I can't imagine trying to get an infant carrier in the 3rd row, for one thing. Plus as your DD gets older, she will like having her own space. :good: Are you going to keep her rear facing, that might make things a little more challenging?


Same here.

 

"Our older DD had just turned 3 and the twins were 9 months when we got our Odyssey. We put one twin in the back passenger side and DD1 in the back row on the drivers side, we took out the captains chair behind the drivers seat and the other twin is in the captains chair behind the passenger seat. It's great having the one captains chair out - I recommend doing it if you won't be needing that eat. We can all hop in and be inside while everyone gets buckled."


That's brilliant! I hadn't thought of that, but had assumed we'd be putting our big boy in the 3rd row and would some how have to shimmy around the two captains chairs to buckle him in. What a GREAT idea! We have to try this!

 

We have a town and country. I will have DS1 in the captions chair behind drivers seat. So that we can still get to him. We hand off drinks and fix his head phones (he has to watch blue's clues everywhere we go) and snacks. I have the two infant seats set up in the 3rd row. I don't know if our third row is more confined than others or what but there is no way someone could fit inbetween the two seats. I'm then going to stow the other seat.

I just couldn't imagine climbing past a rear facing seat to get to the third row to buckle in my two year old. And the fear that he might throw something at them if I put him back there with one. Let pp said, theres not much you can do with a rear facing car seat while driving.

 

We have a grand caravan stow and go too but we need the other captains chair so I don't know how we will do it. Right now I am really wishing we didn't have the captains chairs and had the 3/4 bench to get around the ceats in the front LOL! But if you can yup stow the 2nd captains chair and that should work perfect!

 

DD is only 22 lbs, so I imagine she'll be rear-facing for a while more. The more I think about it, the more it sounds like we will be taking one of the captain's chairs out of the middle row. The question is just who sits in the other one. Is it one of the twins, or is it the 2 year-old?

 

Love the idea of taking one of the captains chairs out!! We have a Kia Sedona and the plan was to put the twins in the captains chairs and my 4 year old DD in the back row - but we are still working on her being able to buckle herself. She is very excited about having the back seat to herself but we may definitely have to put some more thought into removing one of the seats.

 

My oldest was 18 months when we had the twins. At first we put the babies in the back, removed one capt. chair like pp, and the oldest in the other capt. chair so we could reach her.

Now that the twins are forward facing, we have taken out both capt. chairs and have all three girls in the 3rd seat! Sometimes they fight a little, but that's too be expected, right? It's usually fun for all, and there is so much room with both capt. chairs out. We have the capt. chairs in the garage and if my sister or someone else is driving with us we just pop it back in and no one has to sit between the two carseats.

 

We're putting the two older girls in the very back and the babies in the 2nd row. I do home daycare as well and would also buckle children in via the trunk when I couldn't get to them through the middle row. So if you put one carseat in the 3rd row, fold down half the 3rd row seat and put two babies in the 2nd row you could always buckle the one in the 3rd row up from the trunk!

 

we bought Toyota Sienna 8 passangers seats.
and we are planing to put all 3 seats on the second row.
DS ( woudl be 4 in August) in the middle in Safe Go booster carseat. and 2 maxi cosi on left and right from booster.
the 3rd row we will keep folded to have space for stroller.

 

We've got the dodge grand caravan and like others have stowed the captains seat behind the driver, 2 yo daughter in other captain's seat and twins in the back. We can fit both infant car seats in the space made by stowing the seat- to load and unload, we do diaper changes here as well- nice flat surface. My daughter likes to visit and sing songs and get passed snacks so the 3rd row would too far away


My question is to those who have forward facing seats in the back bench how do you anchor them with the teather strap? Our van only has one anchor located in the middle of the back seat. Do yours have more?
Thanks

 

My son (almost 2) sits in the 2nd row captains chair of our Toyota Sienna, and we don't want to displace him so one twin will go in the 2nd row and one in the 3rd.

It's much easier to click an infant car seat in the 3rd row than lugging my 35 lb son who can't climb in his carseat by himself yet. Eventually that will change when he can help himself.

My 3rd row bench is split so you can just have one seat up but the other 2 still folded flat for strollers, ect.

The Toyota Sienna and Honda Odessy are the top 2 vans for safety so I would check them out. The Sienna is lower cost with less bells and whistles so that's why we chose it.

Good luck

 

We have an Acadia with captians seats in the middle row.

DS is behind the passanger seat and one DD is behind the drivers seat. I have the other DD right behind DS on the 40 part of the 40/60 split. It seems like I always have the other part down.

We kept DS in the middle row because is always dropping things (mainly his blanket) and asking for us to pick them up.