3 car seats in the back.....????

[sunshine's mama]

So...

with baby due any time now.....

We have a 2005 Hyundai Elantra. We will be trading it in late spring bc that's when we can afford to do it...just can't swing it right now....

I have a 7.5yo sd who is currently in a backless booster behind the driver seat.

DD is almost 3.5 and is in her Evenflo Triumph DLX (think it's dlx) in the middle.

New baby doesn't have a new car seat yet.....but her aunt was talking about getting her a Graco Snug Ride...

Will all 3 of these fit in the backseat????

Was looking at a Britax booster for when the time came for dd to be in one but am unsure as to when that is bc one company says this, one says that, someone says this, someone says that etc......I can get one now for under $100 at a local store. NEW.

The nearest BRU to us is about a 30 minute drive (they'll let ya check out all the seats in your car) and I don't want to walk in their blindly and be there forever..would like to walk in there a bit more informed than I am now...

We have about $100 to spend on a new carseat.....wish we had more right now but we just moved and are paying out of pocket for all our medical care right now and with the upcoming birth......there just isn't any to spread out....Luckily, our doula is bartering with us so that's just wonderful....

Not that I want to totally compromise on any of their safety and take the cheap way out....so I hope that this doesn't come across as that. We are choosing an infant seat bc it's easier to switch in and out of cars (if i go out with a friend or grandma) than a convertable seat. DD's seat is just over a year old (we got it bc of a car accident and replaced her other one) so when the baby outgrows her infant seat she will inherit her big sisters (provided all is still ok with the seat and such safety wise..)

Where would each seat go??

Thanks much!!!!

[Katerz2u]

I dont know for sure but I think you will have a hard time getting a snugride, triumph and booster in the backseat mainly because the triumph is so wide. How heavy and tall is your DD? Is she close to outgrowing the triumph?

I would replace DD's triumph with an Apex 65 it allows you to harness to 65lbs and is about 1 inch slimmer then the triumph. You should be able to get DD closer to 5 years (a better belt positioning booster age) with it. Then when babe outgrows the snugride I would get a cosco scenera. You will be able to rear-face baby till 35lbs and then move him/her to DD's apex when she outgrows it for a booster. Baby will then get around 2 years use in the apex before it expires, putting baby around the age of 5 which at that point could theoretically go into a booster. Apex is only a good choice if you have headrests or high seat backs as they are required.

[angie3096]

I hate to be a pessimist, but I'm doubtful it will work too. The Triumph is a really wide seat. If you put the booster and the Triumph side by side back there, how many inches do you have left to work with?
I'm trying to think of what would work that wouldn't break your bank account.
If cost were'nt an issue, I'd say put the 7 year old in a Fisher Price Safe Voyage Booster (not the most popular booster but I believe it's the narrowest), put your daughter in a Radian, and then go to BRU with a tape measure and pick the narrowest infant seat they have. Latch-Loc, maybe?
But that's not realistic for your budget, so I don't know what to tell you! Other than take your tape measure to BRU and get the narrowest thing you can afford!!
The suggestion to replace the Triumph with an Apex is a good one. The Apex is only $100 most places, and that might buy you another inch. Hopefully it will be enough!

[the_lissa]

Well I don't know about those specific seats, but we had a 98 Civic, and there was almost no room between two car seats.

Now we have an '07 Kia Spectra and it fits 3 car seats in the back. The Elantra and Spectra are the same car, but I don't know how much difference there is between an 05 and 07.

[JBaxter]

I suggest replacing the triumph with the sunshine radian. Its the narrowest seat I know of and goes to 65lbs.

[an_aurora]

Originally Posted by Katerz2u

I would replace DD's triumph with an Apex 65 it allows you to harness to 65lbs and is about 1 inch slimmer then the triumph. You should be able to get DD closer to 5 years (a better belt positioning booster age) with it. Then when babe outgrows the snugride I would get a cosco scenera. You will be able to rear-face baby till 35lbs and then move him/her to DD's apex when she outgrows it for a booster. Baby will then get around 2 years use in the apex before it expires, putting baby around the age of 5 which at that point could theoretically go into a booster. Apex is only a good choice if you have headrests or high seat backs as they are required.

If you have a limited budget, I would go with this setup.

[hottmama]

I would also suggest the Radian 65 for your 3 yr. old. It should last her another 2-3 years in the harness and then the baby could go in it.
SD in the booster should be in the middle seat, assuming there's a headrest there (you have to have a headrest with a backless booster). She is the least protected because she isn't in a carseat, and the least protected should always be in the middle. Then I would get a Scenera for the new baby because it is only $40 and rear-faces to 35 lbs., which is around 2.5-3 yrs. At which point your oldest will be 6 and can go into a booster seat and the baby can go into the Radian until 6, at which point it will expire and the baby can go into a booster too.

[an_aurora]

Originally Posted by hottmama

I would also suggest the Radian 65 for your 3 yr. old. It should last her another 2-3 years in the harness and then the baby could go in it.
SD in the booster should be in the middle seat, assuming there's a headrest there (you have to have a headrest with a backless booster). She is the least protected because she isn't in a carseat, and the least protected should always be in the middle. Then I would get a Scenera for the new baby because it is only $40 and rear-faces to 35 lbs., which is around 2.5-3 yrs. At which point your oldest will be 6 and can go into a booster seat and the baby can go into the Radian until 6, at which point it will expire and the baby can go into a booster too.

You need a lap/shoulder belt, too.

[hipmummy]

I have a toyota matrix and I can barely fit a roundabout forward facing and a decathalon rear facing. One day we had to add a Graco (with the back) turbo booster to the mix and lets just say it took 25 minutes in 0 degree weather to get it right and they still were crooked!!

[sunshine's mama]

thanks..

i will look into all of those...we are hoping to get everything this weekend just in case...

i forgot to mention that we won't have the backless booster in the car 50% of the month (we have her 15d/mo, mom has her 15d/mo). We can't put the booster in the middle bc there isn't a headrest in the middle. Just on the 2 outside seats.....