Hi Ladies,
We are considering buying the Sienna or the Odyssey. We currently have 2 kids in full size boosters. We are expecting our third in the new year, and I am just wondering about how to configure the kids. We want to try and fit all 3 in the 2nd row - boosters on sides and baby in the middle. Has anyone done this? Have you tried and it didn't work?? Of course if it doesn't work, the 2 kids will be in the back, but we would preferably want them all in the 2nd row.
All answers greatly appreciated!
Thank you!!
Thanks so much ladies! I really appreciate all of your responses, it was fab. We went out today and looked at both, and have decided to go with the Sienna. I haven't got the seat for the new baby yet but I'm pretty confident it will fit all 3 across the middle row. When the baby comes I will be putting him/her behind the passenger, curbside. I hadn't even thought about the difficulties of lugging the baby into the middle all the time, so thanks for pointing that one out! You're all fabulous!
You can get a 3rd seat for the second row in the Sienna. If you did this, there should be no problem fitting 3 child seats in the second row. I can't tell you how much I LOVE my Sienna! It drives like a dream! It's really a wonderful vehicle.
Yes, just get the seat for the middle in the second row. For the Sienna.
We LOVE our Sienna. Better than our friends' Odyssey.
The older kids, will be able to buckle themselves in...
If you have the baby in the middle... that is gonna be a pain... to carry baby in and out AND put baby in and out of the baby car seat and buckle her/him in, each time. Because, you will need to, with baby in your arms... 'carry' the baby IN the van, steeping up into it... then while bending or hunching over... put baby in the car seat and buckle him/her in. And then do that in reverse... when you want to take baby out of the vehicle... and... what if you trip or stumble or fall... while carrying baby in and out of the van... at the same time??? Dangerous.... safety hazard potential...
I would opt not to put baby... in the middle seat.
Older kids, at least one of them, can be in the back row... and buckle themselves in. Usually, the oldest kid... is in the back row... as this is what all my friends do, in their vans.. who have 3 kids.
all the best,
Susan
We have an Odyssey, 4yo girl, almost 3yo girl and 5 month old infant. I put the two girls in the back row in their convertible, they can buckle themselves in. The baby in the middle row in his infant seat facing backwards. I think this is the best arrangement because I cant imagine them all in the same row. The baby can sleep without the girls bothering him, the girls cant mess with the baby or give him things that he can possibly put in his mouth and because he is faced backwards, I wouldnt be able to see exactly what they are doing, even with the infant mirror. With him rear facing in the middle row, he can still see them and they can still entertain them from the back row. What would you do with the back row if you had them all in the middle row anyway? The trunk can fit both the single stroller, the double stroller AND luggage.
Our lease is up soon so we are looking into getting the sienna next. They have a special offer now for the LE model $299/month with $2999 down. 2 year free maintenance. I'll miss our DVD player, Navi and leather seats but for 299/month, what a deal! At least you still get tinted windows, auto sliding doors and that backup camera that I have come to depend on.
You could just get the seats and try it out for real in the vehicle. Maybe a salesman could help you as well....
Yep, works in our Odyssey. Love the Odyssey, btw. We were in negotiations for the new Sienna, but they kept trying to up-sell us. So we bought a two year old Odyssey Touring for 10k less, with a million more features.
If you buy the Sienna with the third/middle seat in the 2nd row there is NO problem fitting three car seats...especially with two boosters. We did it for years until #4 came along, now we have two in each row. FYI...check out the 3rd row seating between the two cars. The sienna has much more room.
We have a Sienna. Our kids are in Britax car seats (age 5, almost 4 and almost 2). We have the littlest one behind the driver, and the two older boys in the back.
It's a pain to buckle the farthest one back, but I like them back there together. It keeps them busy chatting all the time :)
Consider having kids in the back, I was against it when we bought the van, but really do like it now.
J.
We have a Sienna and 3 kids. We ended up buying Sunshine Kids Radian car seats & Boosters to fit them all in one row. The baby is behind the passenger seat, the second oldest is in the middle in a booster and the oldest is behind the driver also in a booster. We tried other seats and couldn't get them to fit well at all. It was really hard to buckle things and stuff. We got the car seats from Target. If you're a AAA member you can save on them and they tend to go on sale and Target has coupons.We also staggered the seats an inch here and there to make it easier to buckle the kids. Mine are now 9,6 & 17 months. We've been like this since our thrid was born and it works well.
I have the Odyssey & LOVE it. I just wanna be sure I understnad what you mean by the second row. Do you mean directly behind the driver's seat or in the 'way' back, as we refer to it? If you mean behind you, then no, the little extra seat you put in the middle is not big enough to accomodate all three seats. My van is an '06 & I also cannot fit 2 boosters as well as an infant or toddler seat between the 2 in the way back. And as another parent mentioned, climbing into the way back w/an infant seat & squeezing yourself between the 2 front club chairs will not be an easy daily task. We got my Honda when our youngest was 6 months old & still in the infant seat. It was soooo easy to put him on the passenger side club chair. So easy to get him in & out. My older son was in his booster seat & either sat behind me or in hte way back. Altho, I jsut remembered that when I saw the the new Odyssey recently, I noticed that they're a bit wider & so is the extra middle seat so maybe you should take all the 3 carseats w/you & try to install whole test driving both cars.
I love my Odyssey Touring and the auto doors and build-in GPS were worth every penny and the time I spend driving my husband nuts debating them. The built-in GPS can not be stolen as folks like to break a window to quickly grap a separate electronic device. With the auto doors my 3 year old can get in while i balance a 1 year old and groceries.
3 seats might be tough. In the 2008 model the latches are in the big seats in the 2nd row and the middle of the 3rd. That said they have remodeled the Odyssey for 2011. They do this every 5 years so the interior might have changes. I'm not sure how wide your various seat are... So if you can get someone to watch the kids, take the 3 seats to each dealer and try them in a car on the lot if this is the deal breaker. My 3 year old actually wants me to move her seat to the back row again.
As for buying the car. if you go with the Honda. Google Odyssey forums. I think I signed up with Odyforum.com. They have athread where folks list what they are paying for various models and feature and prob have folks from your area. Lots were from the bay area. They also let you know what rebates the dealer is getting from the manufacture so you don't think those are discounts the dealer is giving you. Once you decide on a model go to the Honda website and get a few bids from the dealers in your area. The online dept can offer much better prices than the salesmen on the floor because they sell more. Their office is on the dealer site so once you have a price you work with them the same. The floor guys really can't compete. Don't worry about SPAM. You get some Honda email but can unsubscribe and I saved a few thousand with this research and getting an online price.
Hi, I know this is not the same but we bought a pilot because they could all 3 fit in the 2nd row and it will fit 8 people. Just wanted to let you know you had options if they do not fit in the sienna or odyssey.
I have a Sienna, but an older model (2004). My model has two captains chairs in the second row, so it is not possible to put 3 seats in the second row because ther are only 2 chairs, thus only 2 seatbelts/latch connections. If the one you're looking at has a bench seat in the second row, it might be possible (I'm sure I could put 3 seats in the back row of my vehicle since it is a bench seat and has 3 seat belts), but not with the captains chairs. Hope this helps!
The new Odyssey is wider so you can fit all three across in the 2nd row in booster/car seat.s
done it...it works! works best when the middle baby's seat is facing back, creating more side space, but even when you have to switch all to front facing, it still works. the sienna seats are also able to slide forward and back, so you can have them alternating a bit to create some more width space.
ps- i've even fit 3 carseats across the back of my civic (with the center rear-facing)
Get the Odyssey. We love ours! Your middle seat comes with it and it store under the passenger floor when not needed. You will be able to fit all those seats in the first row. This leaves the cago bay still open for storage of strollers etc. You won't regret the Odyssey. It is so comfortable compared to other mini vans. The seats are thick and plush and make going on long road trips bearable. Check them both out and I am sure you will pick the Odyssey. Good luck!
