Car seat configuration 3-wide

[cptbobproffesoromemeology]

How would you order your kids in the middle row? 3.5, almost 2, and (expecting) newborn.

We have 2 Graco Slims and a Chico infant seat. Both toddlers are still rear facing, and oldest weighs 36-38lbs (so has 2-4 pounds before he HAS to face forward).

Right now they each have a window seat, and I had thought I might just pass the infant seat through from the front (to put into the base), but I’m constantly overthinking it. I don’t want to move oldest to the third row until he’s forward facing (for ease of buckling) and even then I’d like to avoid it as long as possible just because i like having the 3rd row folded down for trunk space.

Should baby go by the window or should I keep her in the middle and just plan to pass her back through the front seats?

This is a new suburban btw

 

[mamastitch]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology We have a 4, 2 and 14 week old. 2 is on the opposite side to me, 4 is in the middle and 14w is behind me.
2 is on the side away from traffic usually as it’s easier to get her out on to pavement but I can carry the baby on the road and 4 can get himself out either side and has learned to click himself in his seat and I tighten up the harness.
They’re all rear facing and will be until 6.

 

[aphgoo]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology Oldest in the middle, forward facing. They are old enough to climb in under the rear facing seats on either side, and get themselves into their seat. Same thing on the way out. Otherwise you're going to have to be leaning over a kid to put a baby in a rear facing seat.

It will also make it a little easier to fit the three side by side if you alternate which direction they are facing. Usually the backs are the widest part.

That's my opinion and how we do it!

 

[theperfectbone]

@aphgoo This is exactly it. 3.5y is old enough to turn around and should be old enough to buckle themselves. Then you can reach from the front seat to tighten.

I originally thought I could lift the bucket seat over the outboard seat, but they are bigger than they look and there wasn't enough clearance.

 

[joanc]

@aphgoo This is exactly how we have it in our Subaru. It’s so nice too because our oldest is great at passing out snacks and being the pacifier monitor. It makes him feel important

 

[keelyjessica]

@aphgoo This!!

 

[trout11]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology We put the baby in the middle. The big kids will argue with each but they adore the baby, so his presence is a natural buffer. It’s a bit of a pain to get baby in and out, but the ride is more peaceful.

 

[ajewlinhiscrown]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology I'm in the same boat! 3.5y, 19m, and expecting a NB like this week. I have a midsize SUV, no third row We've put the eldest in the middle, forward facing. She can climb in there and I can reach through the seats to buckle her in. No way I could have passed the baby bucket seat through the two other seats to Clip into its base, it just wouldn't have worked out. the 19m is remaining rear facing behind driver side and the infant bucket is in the passenger side. I'd have preferred to use the latch system for the newborn bucket base but I needed to eke out a couple extra CMS to make everything fit so it's attached with the seatbelt path. It's right but omg minivans are impossible to source right now where I live. Dreaming of a Toyota Sienna!

 

[crownfair]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology It’s hard enough for me to move one of my twins to the middle seat of our truck over another Keyfit base. I would not choose to go from the front seat. The longer your arms have to be out with that much weight… it’s hard on the body.

Even though it’s earlier than you’d like, with how close your 3.5y old is weight wise, I would ff one of the Slimfit3s in the middle for them, then younger toddler on one side and Keyfit on the other. If you don’t want to ff oldest, I’d still do Keyfit on one side, then oldest in middle, middle on side.

As long as your car is a normal size, I don’t think you will have a problem with a Keyfit and two slimfit3’s. I can fit one Slimfit and two keyfits in my outback.

 

[lglo]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology For our newborn, clicking her into the base in the middle was super easy. You buckle them in outside of the car beforehand, then click them into the middle seat easily. Our oldest was almost 5, so a little bit older than yours, but he could cover the baby with a blanket, tell us if she was sleeping or awake, and sometimes give her a bottle.

 

[padres1969]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology Can you get a third Graco slim and babywear instead of stroll the baby? It’s a huge pain in the ass but I’m like 100% you can easily and safely get three slim fits across

You can try with the Chicco too anyway. I would do NB outboard and fiddle with the Slims in the other two seats— meaning try them both RF, or one RF and one FF. I hate to FF before 4 but you’re close to the cutoff anyway.

I would also love to hear about your Suburban! We have a Pacifica and after a stressful week mama’s gonna splurge on something better lol

 

[cptbobproffesoromemeology]

@padres1969 The third slim is the ultimate result, so if infant seat becomes too much that’s the next step! It will definitely fit - the Chico is wider and it fits in the middle (and the truck is huge).

I LOVE my suburban. And I mean, LOVE it. We waited on the wait list for 1.5 years to get a specific trim package in diesel, with three bench seats, in the middle of the chip shortage. Worth it 1000%, but the payment is a huge pill to swallow. It’s our only vehicle though, which made it possible. So it’s a 9 seater 4x4 diesel. Vans won’t cut it where we live (rural, muddy) and we had originally planned on more than 3 kids, but now we have room for friends.

 

[diamondoutofdust]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology 9 seater 4x4 diesel… that’s the stuff of dreams

 

[pedroecamachoch]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology We have minivan with baby in middle row on drivers side, and the single seat opposite that permanently slid forward to allow easy access to the two older kids in the back row.

Minivan so still plenty of boot space, and reasonably easy to buckle everyone.

 

[madphil]

@pedroecamachoch This is what we did when we had 3 kids (from 3, 16m, newborn until they were 5, 3.5, 2) in a minivan. The extra space is great!

 

[cptbobproffesoromemeology]

@pedroecamachoch Are your older kids forward or rear facing?

 

[pedroecamachoch]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology One of each, forward facing is first so you can fit through the gap to get to rearward facing, this could be tricky for access with 2x rear facing.

 

[cptbobproffesoromemeology]

@pedroecamachoch Do those two fight if they’re next to each other? I originally had mine next to each other (so the single fold down was accessible) but they CONSTANTLY bothered each other so I separated them. I’m scared to put them next to each other again lol. They love each other but it’s wrestle mania daily between them

 

[pedroecamachoch]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology There's an empty middle seat between them so they can't really reach enough to cause trouble.

 

[justapewfiller]

@cptbobproffesoromemeology Mine were 3.5 and 21mons when my third was born and we had them set up 3 across in the middle row of our Honda Odyssey. Baby was on one side in an infant bucket seat. Oldest was in the center in a Graco Slimfit. Middle was on the other side rear facing in a Graco seat. Oldest was forward facing by that point, but if he was rear facing still he definitely could have climbed up before I clicked the infant seat in. I toyed with passing the infant seat to the middle between the front seats too, but ultimately this set up ended up working better.