We are expecting baby #3! Very excited and also surprised. We had thought we were stopping at 2 but unexpectedly found out we are having a third! How do you get 3 car seats to fit in your car?
DD is 5 and in a booster seat. DS is 15 months and in a toddler seat. I can't imagine how to get an infant seat squeezed in. I assume we need to upgrade our cars. What cars do you drive that fit 3 kids in the back
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I don't have three kids, but I know that there are very nice and narrow car seats you can get that will allow for three across. Even if the car seats are expensive, it may be worth looking into in order to not have to get a new car. The car seats I am thinking of are Nuna and Clek. I'm sure there are others. Good luck and congratulations on #3!!
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@Mrsbells: we have 3 and have a Honda Pilot. I put all 3 in the second row most of the time and fit 3 across no problem. That gives us a big space in the back for whatever we need. If we ever have anyone else ride with us I can switch seats around. I really love this car & ive never really been a car person!
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@agold: thanks for the suggestion i'll look into those seats
@MommySLP: thanks that's very helpful
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We upgraded our car in advance of having 3, but we got a Ford explorer. It won't do 3 across but we weren't huge fans of the pilot. (May have just been the one we drive too...)
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I only have one, but the moms I know with 3 in carseats like the diono radian for fitting 3 across. Could be another good seat to add to your list with the Nuna and Clek
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@Mrsbells: I love my current two-row mid size suv. But if I were to consider a three row suv, I'm interested in the VW Atlas. Here is a link that will show you how three Nuna car seats are set up in it:
http://www.vw.com/models/atlas/section/design/ETA: My friend with three kids has the acura mdx. she really likes it.
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I have 3, soon to be 4. I have an older (03) town and country that we are in the process of fixing up because I love it, in the mean time I've been driving a 07 Pacifica (before they turned it into a minivan). The Pacifica is okay for 3 but space is rather limited.
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I don't have 3 (I have a toddler and one on the way), but I might just have a third child to justify getting the new Subaru that seats 7-8!
I love my Outback so am very excited at the notion of a Subaru with three rows. It's not even out yet but it looks awesome.
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@YogiRunner: Yes! I'm so excited for the new subaru. It does look awesome, and competitively priced, even fully loaded out. Our parking spot is currently too small for it, so we'll hang on to our little hatchback for another year or so. I want to drive the new subi and see how it feels. But on paper it looks like a win.
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Acura MDX fits three across the back no problem - I have two FF convertible seats and an infant bucket; we also had one of the convertibles RF and it was no problem.
BUT - it doesn't leave much room for additional passengers, since third row access is only through the trunk (and there's zero leg room back there, and almost no trunk space if the third seat is up).
Not sure what your budget is, but I believe the Infiniti SUV is a little longer (so more trunk space while using the third row) but will still fit 3 across. Personally, we're looking at upgrading in size, but I'm not sure to what just yet.
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Following...I'm due with #3 in April and we have been putting off trying to install our current seats 3 across in DH's Forester! I drive a mini van so should be totally fine, but I think we'll probably need to swap out one of our existing forward facing seats for a narrower one to get them to fit in his car. It needs to happen ASAP though!
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I drive a mini-van. You really can't beat that with 3 kids (well one on the way any day)
My friend has triplets and she drives a Pilot bc it fits 3 across. But they are all the same age so in the same kind of carseat. It wouldn't work for us bc infant is rear facing, toddler is convertible, and big sister is in a highback booster.
One thing to note about the 7-8 seating SUV's...I used to drive a Highlander and loved it but I had to switch. Even though it had the 3rd row seating, with two carseats, you couldn't access the 3rd row. The Highlander only had latches on the sides (so no middle) and we had to put both carseats in seats. In order to access the back seats, you have to fold one of the seats down but we couldn't bc of the carseat. And with two different sized carseats, no one could even sit in the middle comfortably (my 9 year old cousin could....but that's about it). So the Highlander went from being able to seat 7-8 to only 4. Unless you wanted to use the trunk to access the back
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Congrats!
We are due in July with baby 3. We have a Hyundai Santa Fe XL right now. The middle row has captains chairs. So our plan is to take one out so the third row is easily accessible.. probably have bucket seat and 4 year old who is FF in the third row and then DD who is still RF in the remaining captain chair in the 2nd row.
This leaves us basically no trunk space though. We thought this plan was good but now we are realizing maybe three across would have been better and then a bigger trunk. I'm intrigued by the VW Atlas.
DH drives a small Audi so three in the back probably won't work. But we just trade cars when needed.
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@misolee: The VW Atlas shows that the third row can be accessed even with a car seat on the middle seat!
@Mrs. Champagne: I'm glad I'm not the only one intrigued by the Atlas. I've never had a VW so i'm not sure how safe and sturdy they are. But re: Audi's... i was so surprised how small the Q5 was!
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@agold: oh really? I haven't seen inside a Q5.. I was considering it as a possible option as my husband loves his Audi. Good to know
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3 across fit in the back of my 2011 Nissan Rogue. We have FF Britax Frontier, RF Britax Boulevard, and a Chicco KeyFit 30.
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@Mrs. Champagne: I looked into it. It was actually really more expensive than I thought it would be. And it was much smaller than a BMW X5 and maybe even smaller than the jeep grand cherokee. I did not look at the Q7, which I believe has three rows, because it would just be way out of my budget.
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@agold: we've pretty much only had VWs. They are super safe, really well made, and drive well. The emissions scandal really gave them a bad name, but the upside is they are offering BONKERS warranties right now on their new cars; I'm not sure if the atlas is included. I've sat in one (haven't driven it) and it is really nice on the inside and thoughtfully designed. The access to the third row is great.
Also the Tiguan's highest trim level has a third row, but with it up, there isn't much trunk space.the Q5 is laughably small. It is lovely and wonderful to drive and sooooo nice on the inside but the cargo space is a joke for an SUV.
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I know you can do 3 car seats across in the Toyota Landcruiser/Lexus LX
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@Littlebit7: Thank you so much for telling me about your experience with VW! I love hearing from people who have personally tested things out. I don't even care so much about emissions as opposed to feeling like the car is sturdy enough to protect me or the baby if a truck t-bones the car.
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@agold: I personally find german/european cars to feel and drive more solidly than american or asian cars. German cars tend to have a slightly stiffer suspension and feel much more responsive to me. Although VW has softened a lot of its cars for the american market.
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What car do you currently drive? Thins to look out for - overlapping seatbelts and tether anchor locations. Three across is becoming more challenging as many manufacturers have started saying that, while seats can touch, they can not share the same space.
Also a booster rider in a three across can be hard - squeezing a hand in between seats to buckle the belt.
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We have a 4yo, a sporty BMW 328i (4-door sedan), and found out two months ago that we are expecting twins.
We are going to try to do three across at least while the babies are in infant seats. I just ordered two Chicco Keyfit30s via a Zulily sale so hopefully it will work. We need to find a narrow booster for our son to sit in the middle.
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We have 3 across in a sedan: Britax marathon clicktight RF, graco tranzitions FF, chicco keyfit 30 RF.
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Thanks everyone you all have some good suggestions. Keep them coming.
@catgirl: i currently have a rav4 which is basically a crossover. The backseat is less spacious than a full size sedan and the seat belts do overlap! Its frustrating!
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@Mrsbells: yeah, the RAV4 cannot do three across due to severe overlapping seatbelts. In newer model years they have actually put in the manual that all three back seats cannot be occupied at the same time.
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@catgirl: yeah its kind of a dumb car because it only seats 4. I found this out after buying it.
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@catgirl: what does that mean share the same space? Like fit into/under each other in places?
We have a mazda5 (third row) but are going to be trying to fit 3 across in my moms old Lexus sedan when we go there and i don’t even know how to approach it to know what is possible.
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@bhbee: exactly. They can't be under or over each other. You essentially should be able to draw a straight line between them. It can be tricky because some seats flair out at the top or bottom, and handles on infant seats can stick out quite far.
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@catgirl: oh yeah that’s going to be a problem I think - I put two side by side once in her car but I’m pretty sure they broke that straight line rule at the top at least. Maybe I need to convince her to move up her new car plans
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My friends with 3 have the Dodge Durango, the GMC Acadia, and the Honda Pilot. I just picked my my new Forester today and you would definitely need smaller, thinner seats than my britax to fit 3 across (I only have 2 kids). The new Subaru Ascent (7-8 seater) comes out in May BTW.
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@agold
The Atlas looks awesome! My husband has to eventually switch his so this is a great option. My first car was a Jetta. I loved it
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The highlander was big and roomy it just couldn’t handle multiple car seats and passengers
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@YogiRunner: @Littlebit7: I went to an auto show last weekend and got to sit inside the new Subaru. I love my Outback so much, and the Ascent seemed just as awesome. I loved the captain chairs in the second row.
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I have a Honda Pilot and love it. All 3 fit in the second row and that included a bucket seat. Now my oldest has moved to the 3rd row. We have plenty of room for our family of 5.
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@Mamatimes3: which car seats do you have? Are the regular brands or the special slimmer ones
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I’ve done so much looking into this in the event that we choose to have 3. We have a CRV and it looks like we’d be fine with our Britax Frontier, Diono Radian, and Chicco Keyfit 30. Once potential 3rd child would outgrow the infant seat, DD2 would be moving up to a backless booster. I would map out your car seat needs over the next few years to see what you can get away with.
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I drive a CRV and my husband drives a Pilot. In both cars we have 2 Diono Radians and a high booster (Graco I think). When my youngest was a baby we had the older two in the Radians and the baby in a Chicco Keyfit 30.
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Still driving my CRV with 3 across! Debating upgrading to a Pilot (I have been so happy with my Honda!) but realistically I don't know who would go to the third row. I need to be able to reach back to give the baby a paci, my toddler would probably not be great by himself, and my older child I need to unbuckle quickly for school drop off.
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We had a pilot for almost a year after having our 3rd. We did a FF Diono in the middle, FF Diono behind the driver and RF Keyfit behind the passenger. We found that the RF one needed to be behind the passenger and flipped our DD2 to FF a little earlier than desired (but still fine, legally) so that the driver would still have room. It wasn't quite as big of a deal for me, legroom-wise, since I'm short, but it wasn't particularly comfortable if DH drove.
The biggest issues with that car for me were:
- as others have mentioned, it's difficult to access the 3rd row unless you climb over carseats or in through the trunk. we have out-of-town visitors (grandparents) fairly often, and they fly without renting a car. So at least 4-5x/year, that was cumbersome.
- if you keep the 3rd row up and put the oldest back there, it's still potentially not easy for an adult to get to the back....plus then one of your adult seats is between two car seats in the middle row. so also not particularly comfortable if you need all the seats. And then you lose the trunk space.
- my DD1 and DD2 would fight ALL THE TIME about who was touching who, etc. Drove me bonkers.We ended up buying one of the new Odysseys this fall. I love the flexible seating -- we have our oldest in the back, but took out the middle part of the middle row so effectively making 2 slideable/moveable captains chairs. It's really easy to get into the back, even with all the carseats, and we can always plop the middle of the middle row back in for extra seating if we need it on a whim. No uninstalling/reinstalling carseats ever! Other bonus is that the 2 in the middle can be next to each other or spaced apart, depending on the length of the drive or moods that day
I love my Outback so am very excited at the notion of a Subaru with three rows. It's not even out yet but it looks awesome.
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