I Need Second Car Seat advice....how the Heck Do You Do It?

e.

You will get (I'm sure) a lot of advice here. I wanted to encourage you to visit :

www.seatcheck.org

for specific car seat safety information.

You'd be AMAZED at how many people use/place/position car seats incorrectly!

Hi S.,
We also have a Taurus ('03 to be exact) and we had twins right after we bought it. With our older daughter still being in a booster seat, we were unsure we would even be able to keep the car. However, we managed to fit 3 full-sized car seats in the car. Our older daughter was in the middle because she was easier to get in that way. Then we had each one of the babies on either side of her in the very large rear-facing infant seats.

Good luck!

I would suggest using an infant car seat for the new baby and placing that on the street side of the car and keeping your 2 year old on the curb side. With the infant seat you can easily and quickly get the baby out of the car and not have to fuss with buckles and staps. Then you can sit the infant seat on the curb, or on your arm while you are unbuckling the more time consuming seat. (Doing the opposite for getting in the car) I would get the biggest infant seat that will fit in your car so you can use this arrangement the longest. Hopefully by the time your baby is out of the carrier your older child will be able to buckle and unbuckle herself, then you can switch sides and allow her to climb through. I have 3 kids, and as a personal choice I did not want any of the kids to be directly next to one another in fear of them disturbing one another while driving so we got a minivan to be able to spread them out a bit. Maybe try this method out before the baby comes and borrow an infant seat from someone until you decide before your baby gets here. You can also return unused carseats to Babies R Us, so if you purchase one that does not fit your car you should be able to take it back and get a different one. Good luck :)

Here is what we did when our 2nd came along. I had a Graco stroller/infant carrier combo for my first. So when #2 came along, we used the same infant carrier/car seat. I was lucky in the spacing between #1 and #2...they were 4.5 years apart. So by the time my oldest had outgrown her convertable car seat and moved to a booster seat, the youngest was ready for FF.

When my first was born, I followed the suggested rule about putting baby in the middle of back seat since it was safer (in the event of getting in an accident, the middle was the safest position). However, when #2 came along, I decided it was too difficult to try and put the baby in the middle with another car seat on one side. So I moved my oldest to the seat behind the driver and put #2 in the seat behind the passenger. My thinking was it is easier to reach the baby behind the passenger seat rather than directly behind me.

I also did not have to deal with parking on the street. I was lucky to have a garage and driveway. If you having to park on a street is too much of a concern/safety issue for you, I don't have any advice. I guess my only suggestion would be trial and error. If one seating arrangement doesn't work, try another. Good luck & congrats on baby #2!

Although I don't have a 2nd carseat in my car (only 1 kiddo so far), everything I've read and heard says that the kiddo with the least protection should be placed behind the driver or in the middle of the car. If you put the baby in an infant seat, he/she has more protection than your the toddler. This tidbit was also reaffirmed at our local safety inspection place (police station). Good luck!

Hi, S.! I had a Taurus until my daughter was 9 and my son was 6. I had 3 car seats when necessary--as when I was transporting friends or nephews. When it was just my kids, I had the baby in the middle and the older child behind the passenger seat.

Good luck!

I would suggest putting your toddler in the middle and the infant on the end. If your tight on space you may just want to use a carrier for your infant. This might also allow your toddler to climb across the seat. You might have more free space if you put the larger car seat in the center. Good luck.

Hi S.! Since I couldn't give you enough things to write down the other day, I thought I'd add one more: www.car-seat.org. It's my "home" board right now (the message board that I read the most often, at the moment). There might be some more specific help for your needs, especially dealing with the curbside parking, which is the biggest part of your dilemma for me. I agree with the previous posters on having the least protected child in the most protected spot (which would mean having the FF kiddo in the middle), but only if you can get properly installed seats that way. I have side-by-side seats in my CR-V, and it's not an easy configuration.

I know there are Taurus-owning techs on car-seat.org that may be able to help you figure out some ideas to try... soon. You only have a few more weeks!

I have an SUV, so I'm no help with which seat to get. My SUV has 2 bucket seats in the back (not a bench) so I have no middle option. I have my oldest behind the driver & the youngest in our infant carrier (from my first) behind the passenger. I like this arrangement. I have a driveway, but my almost 2 year old often climbs through the car to his seat. He loves to do this. He is very proud when he gets in and gets to climb up into his seat "by self" (as he says). He also trys to buckle himself in. I then load the baby & go around to the other side to buckle my son properly. This method has come in very handy at the mall. I can quickly get both kids safely in the car & worry about buckling later. Very convienent in the rain as well. When its raining I get into my seat then reach over to buckle my oldest in. So, I don't get as wet.
I would also advise that you put the new carseat in the car soon, so your daughter gets used to seeing it. You can also see how she reacts to it. Another thing to consider with carseat placement is that if they are side by side your daughter will be able to touch the baby while the baby is rear facing. Do you want her to have this access? I don't suggest she would do anything on purpose, but if she snacks in the car she could give the baby some food. She could also "give" (throw - as my son would) toys to the baby, etc. Trying to be helpful, but not understanding how to be careful.
Good luck