Fitting two convertible car seats in one car

[Irish Twins]

I have a seven month old and am expecting another baby in October. We're looking for a car with a third row that will fit two convertible car seats and leave room for someone to be able to access the third row. We have one Marathon installed now, and there's no way anyone could squeeze past it; it is rear-facing and backs up to the front passenger seat. Does anyone have any suggestions on cars? I'm afraid that next year when we have two Marathons the entire third row will be unaccessible, as will the middle seat of the second row. Thanks!!

[Joolsplus2]

Ummm...A minivan with a bench seat in the middle row or two captains chairs where one of them can be squeezed next to the other to make a "bench" and leave the walkway clear to the third row would probably work really well...of course, you'd be sitting behind the babies and not next to them...but at least you could be where they could see you.

Some full-sized or large sized sedans, like the Impala or Intrepid can fit 2 big seat like that next to each other quite easily...on this page, Ryan and Aaron are sitting next to each other in Wizards in an Impala http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/FFAlbum/Aaron.aspx (and their sister is in the other seat in a Roundabout!).

Try also www.suvsafety.info which has information on larger SUV's and minivans that might be helpful.

What car do you have now?
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Irish Twins]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I'm going to look into them! Right now we have a GMC Envoy.

[Joolsplus2]

Of course...you could also try putting one baby in the third row on the same side as the other baby in the second row... But yeah, even larger suv's can be more of a hassle than a minivan when you have 2 babies. (Can I tell you how much I hated minivans before I bought one? eeeek! But now, Oh man, I couldn't live without my easy access to the third row, and my sliding power doors, lol).

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Irish Twins]

The sliding power doors had us thinking about a minivan before we even realized how much space two Marathons would take up. Murphy Law states that whichever side you have a car seat on, someone will park three inches next to you on that side!

Do you know which minivans have captain chairs that can be slid over to make room for access to the third row? I looked up Nissan Quests today, and while the captain chairs can be pushed back (which is nice so my 6' tall husband can have a car seat behind him), I don't think that would help us to access the third row.

Thanks for all of your help. I've made more progress in one day today than the past couple of weeks put together. You rock!!

[Joolsplus2]

;)

I know for sure Odysseys have a sliding seat...since I have one, lol. Hmmmmm....not sure what else, maybe the Sienna? I don't think the Caravans, because they have that stow n go seating. Maaaayyybe the Quest, but I'm thinking probably not..maybe because my friend who onws one told me it didn't, lol. Time to check out the gallery photos at the auto websites, I guess.

It's just so nice to talk with someone who thinks minivans aren't the devil in disguise...

:)

Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[ColorBlue]

The Sienna's two captains chairs can be pushed together to the drivers side. We have two snugrides in the second row for my twins and a roundabout in the third row for my three and a half year old. Any minute now we will have two decathalons in the second row.

Oh and I used to think minivans were devils in disguise but three kids in carseats quickly changed my mind....I would kill to keep my power sliding doors!!

Tracy

Grace 11/01
Ellie and Maddie 10/04

[Splash]

Yeah, you can slide the Odyssey's middle seats together.
We have one, and I completely hate it. I would rather take ANY vehicle than the Odyssey. I seriously, SERIOUSLY, hate this minivan. I wish wish wish we had bought something else. Problem is, it's a 2003 and completely paid off, so it's not like we can just go grab something else.
The "captain's chairs" are SO WIDE that with car seats in it, there is no way to access the third row at all, unless you have them pushed together and the passenger side one pushed all the way up. If they are apart, and there are car seats in them, there is no way you are getting to that third row.
Whenever we have kids in the third row, we end up having to put them in through the back over the backseat and stand in the cargo area to buckle them in. Now, if you completely remove the passenger side second row seat, or at least fold it down, you can access the third row okay.
I HATE the power doors... I would much much rather have standard doors. I have put my arm in there before to test it, to see if it would really stop and how much pressure it would take. Every time I have ended up with huge bruises (and I do not bruise easily). The one time my littlest one got her arm stuck in there, I ended up having to forcibly stop the door by pushing it the other way and it was still VERY hard to make it stop. I have no doubt this would have broken her arm. And it is not just my van, several people who have the Odyssey have told me the same thing about their power doors. And you can't just turn them off. Well, you can, but then you have to fight the motor to close the doors.
And just another fun fact... I hope you never get a flat. The spare tire is stored under the drivers seat, requiring the removal of the driver side second row seat and pushing the driver's seat all the way up and tugging and cursing to get the thing out.
Needless to say, I completely hate this van and wish we would have tried out full size car seats in it and such before buying it. I have noticed that the 2005 ones have made a lot of improvements, but the one we have is absolutely the worst vehicle I have ever owned. However, it IS safe, so... anyway, it's basically our nanny car. We drive our cars, and if we need to go somewhere with just one of the kids, we take our cars (a saturn ion3 or pontiac aztek). However, if we need to move lots of people, we're stuck with the honda.
Heck, you might love the van. But good god make sure you test everything before you buy it.
But I do love minivans. I LOVE the Pontiac Montana (and might trade the Odyssey in for it, and eat the money loss) and love my mother in law's Town and country. Minivans are grrrr-reat! But the Odyssey, well...
Just my .02
E

[Joolsplus2]

Gee, don't hold back...tell us how you really feel...
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Splash]

LOL Sorry Julie... didn't mean to get carried away. It's a fine van if it does what you need. It just doesn't do what WE need and I *wish* someone had said something before... like "Hey, put those car seats in there and the whole back of your van is shot" or something like that. I just wanted to kind of let her know that she should really experiment with it first, because it is a very oddly designed van. We bought it because at the time it was the only one that could slide the captain's chairs together. We also did not have babies in car seats at the time (we had a seven year old, who moved out shortly before the girls came to us, and he was just in a booster with no problem). Sliding the seats together is awesome... but they are so huge that you can't get around them easily, especially with a car seat. Didn't mean to offend anyone with my anti odyssey rant.
E

[Irish Twins]

All of this information is super helpful. Does anyone have the Toyota Sienna with two convertible car seats in it? I know their captain chairs slide together. I'll take our car seat with us when we go for a test drive, but am looking for feedback on this minivan.

Thanks everyone!

[Joolsplus2]

Well, I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone who hates the Sienna...I know a few moms who have them and seem to really adore them.

Personally, one of my favorite things about my Ody is that instead of a center console in between the front seats, it has a flip down table so you can walk through to the back (not when the car is in motion, obviously, but there are just some rainy days when you're parked and have to get back there....).

Yes, I'll admit, the captain's chair are a bit wide and walkthrough to the rear is a little tight, but I only can compare it to my old Rendezvous with a bench in the middle and NO walkthrough to the back.

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[MaisyBabies]

Just to add to the positives about the Odyssey, we have THREE convertibles car seats all RF for our triplets, and I absolutely LOVE this van! We have two on the back bench and one on the passenger side captains chair. So it CAN be done.

We have even had the three car seats across the back bench (AWESOME car seat tech installed them)at one time.

For us, I didn't like the Sienna (2003) because not only did it cost a lot more, but it was smaller overall in the interior. We need all the space we can get. For our car trips, we have a Thule box on the top. I couldn't imagine our life without this minivan!

Also, we traded in a sports car for this van, and this was FOUR months before I got pregnant. So that's got to be worth something. Or, you could simply say, we put the cart before the horse...LOL

Tootles

[RwnMayfair]

My Sienna has a flip down console/table between the two front seats, just as an FYI. ;) I know it depends on which trim level (we have a 2005 LE) you get on the Sienna, so I can't say exactly which has it and which has the full console.

You can fit two convertable seats next to each other when the chairs are pushed together in the Sienna - I did this not too long ago when I had others in the van and both seats were Wizards. It looked to me as though you could still get into the third row - I know I was able to put stuff on the seat and such leaning through the gap. I'm pregnant enough (and didn't have a reason) so that I didn't actually climb back there though. ::grin:: Both of the convertables were rear facing, so I don't know if forward facing makes a difference or not. :)

-Melissa

Taran, November 20, 2003

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif - Eighteen months!
http://lilypie.com/baby2/031120/0/5/0/-5/.png
http://lilypie.com/days/050821/4/0/0/-5/.png

[cara1]

None of your comments apply to the 2005 Ody, BTW. I adore mine.

[Joolsplus2]

Cool to know about the table...I don't remember which van we drove (yikes, it's been 2 years now!)...hmm...might stick the sienna back in my wishlist, lol.

:D
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx