3 Carseats in the Back?

Who in the world would want to be cramped in a Lexus with 3 car seats. Get rid of the car. Just break down and get the mini van you've always wanted:)

Lol. When there is a will there is a way. I have a 4 yr. old girl, 1Yr. & 8 mo. boy and a 5 mo. boy, and all have three carseats in the back(including the base for the carrier). I have a Jeep 4x4 Sport. It is kind of tight in the back for the older kids but it's adjustable. I too am planning to buy a vehicle with 3 row seating, I recently saw a Jeep Commander and it is pretty spacious. Lol. One day I'll get a 3 row seat. . . . A girl can dream. Good luck!

Okay, take a deep breath for the truth. When we had kids my husband had to give up his beloved Infinitie...beautiful car, but not infant seat friendly. Yes, we had an intervention but he has still not gotten over it.

Good luck and keep your sense of humor. Safety first. I'm still counting down the days til I get my convertable like I had in my twenties.

Debra

If you already have car seats and you're trying to see if they will all fit, then good luck-you'll have to just play try it and see. Shuffle them around. Actually install them (don't just set them on the seat next to each other and think it'll work). We have a Honda Civic and have two children in rather large car seats. We've tried to fit my nephew's booster seat in there as well and we've tried all combinations (including using our 2ndary car seats-diff. brands) and we could not make it work (think closing the door is important? lol!).

But, if you are looking at buying car seats to fit your vehicle, you may be able to make it work. You did not mention your kids ages and that would really be more helpful to know. Remember though, if you have a youngster who will be rear facing and you are looking at this as a long term vehicle for your family, you need to try the car seat forward facing as well (sometimes it'll fit in there one way but not the other--a moot point if you are looking to buy a new seat for him/her anyway when he turns forward facing).

With compromise as to brand and features of the car seats, you are likely to make something work. If I would need 3 car seats in my car on a regular basis, I would purchase a new/different vehicle. I am not willing to compromise the safety of the car seat brands I am comfortable with (that have side impact protection) for something that is safety rated less or doesn't have the kind of protection or features I am looking for. Just a thought.

Good luck with your task at hand and just remember to be patient!
~L.

My sister has a very small Kia and she has been able to get three carseats in there by using a booster seat, a convertible seat, and a Peg Perego baby carrier. Her Graco infant seat didn't fit and I happened to have a Peg Perego which was slimmer. We have done this with three seats in the back of the Honda Civic. It helps if both doors are closed at the same time.

But, now we have a 15 passenger van and LOVE it! I'm having my sixth and we chose not to go from a car to a minivan because we thought we might have to buy a larger van later on and we were right! :) If you can swing it, I'd go ahead and get a minivan (or larger if you hope to have a large family.)

S.

Bigger car. It safer to have the driver/passenger front seats in front of the child (glass/accidents)

Wow, I just had a flashback to when I had 3 in carseats. I had 2 regular size carseats and a booster seat in the middle. All that in the back of a Buick Regal. After getting pregnant with our 4rth, we finally upgraded to a van. At first I didn't want to drive a van, but wow, it was so great. Extra space meant happier kids (less fighting because they weren't so cramped). I wished that we had done that sooner. I have since changed to a minivan which I also love. Drives easier, but not as much space for road trips (but better gas mileage).

My husband and I each have 3 car seats in the back of our cars (toyota matrix and volvo wagon). We have 2 Sunshine Kids convertible carseats and 1 graco infant carrier in the back of each car. Once the baby turns 1, we will put her in a Sunshine Kids carseat as well. It's a snug fit, but we weren't ready to go the mini van route. We got ours from Amazon. Hope this helps! J.

I would try going to Babies R Us and using one of their floor models to test it in your car with the seats you already have (I'm assuming you have 2 already and are just adding one more??). They will usually let you take one of the floor models out of the store and try it in your car to make sure they fit before you buy it. Hope this helps!

I have 3 carseats in the back of my 2008 Suburban, and thats all that can fit in my second row, not a finger more. I dont know if the lexus will hold that in the back...I hope so for you.
I have 1 eddie bauer and 2 graco car seats. Got them all at Big Lots, great prices. $200 car seats for $80 bucks.

I have 3 carseats in the backseat of my car. I have a 5 point harness for my 23 month old a graco, its slimmer & I have two turbo booster seats for my 5 yr old twins. They are on each side of the baby's seat. I had a big heavy wide seat for my baby but had to go to one that wasnt as wide & heavy,so my girls booster seats would fit, since the new law passed. The slimmer the seat the better the fit :) And they are all comfortable in them.

We used Graco Snug fit I think they're called. I had twins and a 3 yr old in a Chevy Cavalier! It can work with the right carseats but it is tight. They've moved on to boosters now and there are more battles so be on the lookout!

If it's actually 3 carseats that will be installed in the car and you will be using the belts on the carseat to secure the children it should fit as long as you don't get 3 huge carseats. However, if one or more of them will be in booster seats where you will be latching and unlatching the car's shoulder strap every time, you will find it difficult and the children will find it impossible to latch themselves because the seats are so close together they won't be able to get their hand between the two seats to find the latch for the belt.

We've had that problem whenever we've tried to get all 3 of ours into my husband's Jeep Cherokee.

Good luck,
K.

The combi coccaro convertible car seat advertises that you can fit 3 across even in smaller cars. But, I haven't tried it.

I don't know how old your kids are, but you might want to look at the Sunshine Kids convertible carseats. They are the slimmest carseats I could find. Advantages: can fit 3 across, ALL kids would be in 5-pt harness (MUCH safer than just a booster seat), and you don't have to fight around the neighboring carseats to get the "boostered" kid buckled in. They also fold up for storage, if you ever needed to temporarily move them to the trunk.

We got these to use in my husbands car (I have a minivan), so he occasionally has to remove them to the trunk so he can carry his co-worker or friends around. Works great!

Here are some of the features listed on amazon:
* 5 lbs to 33 lbs rear facing, forward facing up to 80 lbs
* 5-point harness, 5 shoulder harness positions, 3 buckle positions
* EPS safety foam for 4-panel side-impact protection
* Steel alloy frame folds flat to 7 inches

we have a 3.5 year old and 10 month old twins and we just installed the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 carseats for all 3 and they fit perfectly - once we face the boys forward, they will all fit nicely as well. We have a 4Runner. We had to order ours online cause that's where we got the best deal, but USA Baby carries them as well if you want to see one before you order it.

wow good luck with that. We had a mazda tribute and 3 car seats fit in the back but we couldn't stand the fighting cus they were so close to each other. not sure the ages of your kids. (we have a 3 yr old, 23 mo and 4 mo) We ended up getting a minivan it just works better and gives us more room.