Hellobee Boards

Minivan.

@runsyellowlites: I really like the Traverse and Acadia (basically the same car), but I was recently talking to a friend who has 3 in a third row SUV (Acura MDX) and she really wishes they had gotten a minivan instead. She's SUPER anti-minivan, so it definitely got me thinking about a minivan instead.

I used to be anti mini van but caved. I love my odyssey. It's awesome.... I only have two kids but I also have grandparents that come on a lot of outings with us. They would not have been comfortable with 3rd row SUV. We took all the seats out this weekend (super easy since the back row just folds into the floor) and hauled my dads couch across town. My BFF said she didn't think I'd ever get a mini van, but here I am

We have the Honda odessey also. We have four car seats.

@runsyellowlites did you see baby gizmo's review of the traverse? She loved it except for the fact that it didnt have anchors on all seats in the third row. She said it was a deal breaker for her. Dont know if thats a deal breaker for you but overall the car looked awesome!

@hilsy85: we have a good friend who also has an MDX and she complains about the little 3rd row in the back. But she can fit a kid back there who is big enough to use a (no back) booster. But with the two carseats in the middle row, it's easier for the kid to climb into the 3rd row from the trunk!

If we had three kids, we would just get 3 Radian Diono's which can usually fit across most vehicles because they are narrow. Or if we had a bigger car budget, I'd want a Tahoe or Escalade.

minivan. if you have 2 rear facing, getting to a 3rd row is really hard in most SUVs & you end up sending them through the trunk, but if you have 2 under 2, i'm assuming you're gonna have a big ass stroller & stuff back there that would making climbing in the back hard. i would do a minivan with captain chairs, and then remove the seat behind you, put the newborn in the captains chair, the rear facing convertible behind the captains chair & the preschooler in the rear seat with no seat in front of it. that gives you space to put the bucket in & access to the RF convertible & an open path for preschooler to get themselves in & out of the car.

@Foodnerd81: you put the least protected in the middle because it's the safest spot (provided you can get all seats installed safely), so if you have an infant rear facing, a forward facing toddler in a 5 pt restraint, and a child in a booster, the belt positioning booster would ideally be in the center because they are the least protected, but in reality it would be next to impossible for the child to buckle themselves in smooshed between the other 2 seats so you'd probably end up switching them & putting the FF toddler in the center. BFF had twins + a LO 2 years older than the twins, getting them in her sedan was AWFUL, in my SUV, still AWFUL, then she got a minivan when the twins were maybe 1.5..... i hated minivans until that day, it rocked my world =D

@SAHM0811: yeah I'm pretty sure that's the convertible carseat we're going with...but then again, we probably won't have LO #2 for at least another 2-3 years, and who knows after that, so I'm probably over thinking this right now