Cars? - Page 2

[Mama Poot]

We have a 2005 Ford Focus ZX 3. It's a 3-door hatchback, and it is one amazing car. We will have two children come August- but I'm not worried one bit about space. The trunk is great and can handle a tandem stroller and then sone. Oh yes and it gets 31 mpg on the highway!! Eventually when we can afford it, we'll get a van. ( My dream van is a Chrysler Town and Country, and my dad works for Chrysler so we can get a hefty discount! ) Wow I just realized what I said- Dream van.... never thought I'd say anything like that. I love having kids!

[Ilovelife]

Have you considered the 8 passenger Toyota Sienna? It has 3 bucket seats in the middle row, and I'm pretty sure you can fit a carseat into each of them (we have the 7 passenger). Just a thought.... Good luck. I certainly don't envy needing 3 baby "buckets." They are just so cumbersome.

[sarahloughmiller]

my mom has an odysey that i have put our seats into a lot. it is very hard to get to the back with carseats rf (we have britax boulevards) in the middle seats. you have to climb in through the front door or step over the carseat. i always put older ds in the back cause i can reach over and buckle him and i find the carseats almost impossible to get rf in the back w/out the latch. i really don't like the way the seatbelts work in the odysey for putting in carseats. we have an chevy astro van which overall i don't like but is super easy to get the seats put into.

[Kathryn]

Originally Posted by Ilovelife

Have you considered the 8 passenger Toyota Sienna? It has 3 bucket seats in the middle row, and I'm pretty sure you can fit a carseat into each of them (we have the 7 passenger). Just a thought.... Good luck. I certainly don't envy needing 3 baby "buckets." They are just so cumbersome.

We will probably look at that one too. We're just trying to get the best car that won't break down and doesn't lose value quickly. We are so angry at the car we have now as it's falling apart at only 37,000 and less than 2 years old.

[mamajody]

"You have a dream van", I have "van envy" and the rest of our posts sound like car commercials! Geez the things we do and say for these kids.: It's a good thing they are so darned cute, huh?

[Kathryn]

Yep. I never dreamed I'd be driving a minivan. I swore against it just a few years ago.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Ilovelife

Have you considered the 8 passenger Toyota Sienna? It has 3 bucket seats in the middle row, and I'm pretty sure you can fit a carseat into each of them (we have the 7 passenger). Just a thought.... Good luck. I certainly don't envy needing 3 baby "buckets." They are just so cumbersome.

oooo, drool.... off to look.

-Angela

[mamadawg]

I was going to suggest an 8 seater minivan. We have the 7 seater Sienna (only two carseats) and I love it. I don't care if it's an uncool minivan. It rocks.

[skye's mama]

We just got a 2006 Odyssey after fitting into a Beetle for six months (the stroller went on top of the car when we took it - oh such much fun during the rainy winter) after our Saturn wagon was totaled...in our own driveway...VENT.

There is a little seat in between the two second row captain's seats that I think is supposed to scoot forward and be able to have a bucket in it. That is my plan, but I haven't tried it out yet so I might be confused. I am kind of in denial about having to do anything real yet. But if that is true, then you should be able to fit all three buckets in the second row.

[Kathryn]

*sigh* I showed dh all our choices and he's now decided that he wants a Ford van. Not a minivan, a VAN. A 10 seater government style VAN. :

[Past_VNE]

I just saw this thread on the main page. Being a car nut, it caught my attention.

The Honda Odyssey is an EXTREMELY safe vehicle. I forget for sure, but think that it's the single safest minivan on the market.

An Econoline van, or whatever Ford is calling them these days is NOT safe, not by a long stretch. The front passenger and driver leg crush injuries in front and frontal offset accidents is bad, the side impact is bad, et al. I wouldn't, for the life of me (literally) want my family in one of them.

(As a note, this comment is coming from someone who doesn't particularly like asian cars, but has had Fords and European cars for years....so I'm not just trying to bash Ford.)

We test drove an Odyssey a few months ago and really, really liked it. It was super nice, the safety was amazing, it rode well and all that. Plus, as long as you didn't get in gold, it didn't even look dorky. The only reason we didn't buy it is that we found a great deal on a Bimmer that we coveted.

[2+twins]

Sorry - skipping replies for now. We have the 2006 Odyssey (LOVE it!). Seating wise, you can configure the 2nd row 3 different ways:

XxX (small x represents the "jump seat" which is in no way big enough to accomidate a carseat - just a relatively slender adult)
X X ("jump seat" removed so you have either a space or a console btwn the two seats)
XX (two seats pushed side by side which gives you access to the 3rd row via the passenger side sliding door.

We have twin 2 mo's & 2 older kids in Britax Marathons. The way we do it is to have the twins in the 2nd row in infant carrier carseats. The older kids are in the 3rd row in their Marathons with the middle seat vacant between them (which becomes extremely narrow when carseats are installed next to it - I'm petite and am VERY squished btwn them).

My recommendation for configuration would be to put 2 of the infant carriers in the 2nd row like we do, put your toddler in the 3rd row on the drivers side, and put another infant carrier or regular infant carseat in the 3rd row on the passenger side. I'd NEVER recommend putting the infant carriers in the last row simply b/c it's freakin' HARD to access that area! I absolutely hate having to climb back there to buckle in my older kids. I can't imagine trying to squeeze a whole carseat into that back corner! Definitely test drive one and bring seats to try it out with - borrow them from someone if you have to or see if you can take the car for a few hours to try and drive it over to Target or Babies R Us or something and see if you can test install seats. GL! What a challenge!

[2+twins]

Originally Posted by Kathryn

I'm really hoping the 2006+ model has latch on all the seats. My neighbors is older and it only has it on the bucket seats. I hate not using latch.

It only has latch on the 2 2nd row seats (not the jump seat that can go btwn them) and the center seat in the 3rd row. I was bummed by that too.

[Kathryn]

That's so stupid. Why would they design the car like that?

[sleepypeanutsmom]

Hi~
Just chiming in here as a mama with a 5 year old dd and twins on the way. We just bought the 8 passenger Toyota Sienna. My dh really liked the Honda because for the same amount of $ as the Toyota it seemed to come with more bells and whistles. BUT, the seating was not practical for me and I was adament about getting the Toyota instead. I can't imagine ever being disappointed with more seating options. We tried our carseats in the middle and it just didn't seem to work. The middle "seat" of the middle row just isn't wide enough in my opinion. I wanted to have the option of putting the babies together in that row and having the third seat in the row available for ME when my dh is with us.

I remember when my dd was little having to ride in the car next to her just to get home sometimes. She just didn't want to be "alone" back there and just having me there was helpful.

I think what I would with the Toyota in your situation is put the 3 babies in the middle row. Then, in the back row fold down the larger part of the back seat and load your dd through the hatchback. Your dd could crawl in on her own and sit down. Then you could put one foot in the back and lean in to buckle your dd than trying to access the back seat from the middle doors.

I would highly recommend going back to the dealership a few times with carseats, etc. We went back and forth between the Honda and the Toyota for many months and visited the dealership several times when questions arose. The Honda and Toyota are neck and neck as far as safety goes, but the Toyota was the only van with seating that I felt was more flexible and realistic. Best wishes to you with this decision!!

[thepeach80]

Yeah, I would stick w/ the minivan, not the bigger ones. These are safer. The bigger the van, the more the insurance, and the less likely people want to insure you. We're picking up our van next week, woohoo! I can't wait! It's an 06 Dodge Caravan, not one of the cool ones at all, but I'm in love. It has a 3/4 bench in the middle and then the full seat in the back, which I'm not sure would hold 3 seats, so it looks like before #5 comes we'll still need another van, lol, that hsould be a while at least. Mine has 3 sets of LATCHes, but I know some of the other Caravans have 4 seat, 2 in front and 2 in back w/ 4 tether anchors. Mine has 3 tether anchors, but I'll probably have another anchor added next year to free up more seating in the back for when we have all the family w/ us while travelling or something.

[J-Max]

I don't know if you are stuck on a van, but we have a suburban and you might want to think about something like that. The milage sucks, but it can get anywhere and we have lots of room. They last for ever, my parents just got rid of there 20 year old one with well over 200,000 miles on it. Mine is 2 years old and has almost 50,000 miles on it and the only problems I have had are my OnStar box died (covered under warenty) and my drivers seat motor makes a weird noise, but works fine - just started this last week. I only have 3 kids, but hall extra people and kids often, and have had my 3 girls in almost every configuration possible. I have 2 in Boulevards and can confortably, but tight, fit 3 across in both rear seats. I have latch on the 2 outboard middle seats and the center rear seat. the passanger side 2nd seat folds flat for an easy set into the back seat or slides forward. I keep mine folded down, so it is easy to get in and out of the rear seat.

We had firends with the 15 passenger vans and the really don't seem very stable. I would go look at some of the bigger SUV, if you are looking at those. Like the others, take your seats try out every possible car - then decided what you like/don't like about them and narrow down the list untill you find the one you like best

[Kathryn]

We don't know what we're getting now. We drove an '06 Odyssey yesterday and really liked it. They're just sooooo expensive! I don't know if we could even think about swinging a $600+ a month car payment plus insurance. That's just a bit expensive. We might just look at maybe a used '04 or so.
We don't want a suburban, my parents had one when I was little. I loathed it. I doubt we'll get the big van.

[hotmamacita]

Kathryn

First of all, congrats. <----- you in a few months

Typing fast, I hope this will make sense and encourage you. I feel called to support women with multiples and women who can't afford homebirths or who don't speak english to have homebirths one day when I am a midwife. Until then, I can support you this way since you have multiples.

Second, protein, protein, protein around the clock. Read Anne Fryes sections on multiples in Holisitic Midwifery. NO, none, NADA sugar, refined flours or breads. 1 to 2 gallons of water a day and salt your food to keep your blood volume. Salt to taste and nothing extreme.

I ate 160 g protein a day. Turkey is highest. I also hard boiled eggs and always grabbed some when I went for a pee break. I wasn't a millk drinker but I drank whole milk and put Whole FOods protein powder (NO SUGAR IN IT AT ALL and I think its $8.99 for a large container) in it to double my protein. Its a lot of protein but its worth it. Eat it every 2 hours or so around the clock. Everytime you get up to pee, eat pure protein.

You can and should eat orange and green veggies. Squash, yams and other orange/yellows are great for a strong amniotic sac. And green leafies are great for iron levels and calcium.

DO NOT EAT, DRINK or SWEETEN WITH SUGAR Or anything like it.

Once you get into a routine, your body wwill only crave protein, and good veggies. Butter is great as it has protein and good fats in it. Olive oil and flax seed oil on salads too.

Also, I wasn't a big meat eater pre-multiples but I realized I couldn't eat enough rice and beans or grains and lentils (proper protein combos) to keep my protein levels up and I didn't want that many carbs, even complex.

Please know that what you eat has a direct relationship on that multiple pregnancy and success of your homebirth. Anne Frye and my midwife BOTH told me that in order to have a homebirth and not 'spill' my babies early I had to eat like this. I heeded their advice the instant I heard it and went past my due dates and my multiples were over 8 pounds each. My midwives said my placentas were the healthiest they had ever seen, even among singletons, in their careers and they both attributed it to my diet.

I began eating like this at 23 weeks. It took me 2 weeks to get a good rythym and routine down for drinking all that water and all that protein around the clock. And I took yellowdock tincture 'shots' to keep my iron levels up and absorbed. I also drank a TON of dandilion tea. I also bought meats and dairy with no hormones in them. We didn't have a lot of money but we made this sacrifice and sold some things to keep my diet pristine and to pay for the homebirth. It was so well worth it.

I AM 100% behind you. I know you can do this. ANd I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that you are homebirthing them mama. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU NEED AND IF I CAN HELP.

Concentrate on your diet and let everything else fall into place later.

Car: We have and had an old mercedes wagon. We fit three britax roundabout, some used, one donated to us across the second row and had the fourth child in the jumpseat in the back. Two children can sit in the jumpseat and it has great seatbelts. We paid $4000 cash for it a year before I found out I was having multiples. The best investment we ever made.

BUt those roundabouts ARE THE narrowest seats available and will fit three across on most, if not all, second rows.



.

YOU ROCK, KATHRYN! And you can do this.

[Kathryn]

: I love you.

I've been aiming for 200g of protien a day. I pretty much don't stop eating all day. I have a full meal every two hours and then snacks in between. I've been drinking about 130 oz a day right now, but I'm trying to up that.

I didn't realize Turkey had the most in it, I will get some asap. I hate meat, but I've been forcing myself to eat a ton of it.
I wish I could force myself to drink milk, but I can't even gag it down. I was planning on getting protien powder and adding it to my favorite treat - ice cream fruit smoothies. Is that a bad idea cause the sugar? I don't know how I can manage it otherwise. I can't drink straight protien shakes. I've got sensory issues and they make me throw up even if they taste good. The texture is just too much for me. What I usually do is take a couple scoops of vanilla bean ice cream, 4 peaches (or blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc..), about 1/3 cup half n half and then just blend it together and drink it. I love it. I figure I can easily add the powder to it and it won't change it much.

Re: refined bread/flours. Is that all store bought bread? I don't eat bread much at all, I just don't like it. However, every once and a while, I get a craving for the cinnimon raisan (sp?) bread at the store. It's not the same if I make it, I hate homemade bread. : I can easily give that up though. What about pastas? Those are alright? I love pasta. I've switched to whole wheat, tomato, veggie, etc.. pastas instead of the normal white flour pasta though.