3 car seats for 3 under 4?

[cherub59]

Hi all
we have a 3rd baby due in March and will have 3 children under 4. We don't want to change our car but can't fit our 2 Maxi-Cosi Tobi and 1 Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix all across the back, and don't really want to put the baby rear facing in the front seat with one of us squeezed between the two toddlers (who will be 3.4 and 1.11 when the new baby comes). We have a lexus RX 450 which is quite large but doesn't seem large enough! Any ideas on narrower car seats? Or did you have to change your car?

Thanks!

Depends how old your eldest will be and how often you are all likely to be in the car together TBH. When I had 3 under 5 I decided to put the eldest in the front as my ex was very rarely in the car with me and all of the children. I switched the airbag off but still wouldnt have wanted the baby in the front as it would have distracted me when I was driving if she'd been screaming (which she often was in the car!).

My sister managed to fit all 3 of hers in the back. Her oldest 2 had got Graco seats which she had on one side and the middle, and the baby seat, a Britax one, fitted at the side. She started off with it in the middle but found it an absolute nightmare to get her baby in it without hurting her back and also to get him out without waking him if he'd gone to sleep.

Hi we got a Britax Nordic Secura (dd2 now 2.11), Britax First Class (DD3 now 12m) and a Britax Two Way Elite (dd1 now 4.10) all rear facing 3 across in our Mazda Premacy (5 seater mini MPV). Can also fit the TWE in forward facing.

None are narrow seats but all the car's seats are full sized and can be removed. Is your car similar or a bench seat?

Have you tried installing the baby seat in the middle then fitting the others around it? Or can you fit the Tobis next to each other?

hi, i had a two way elite in the middle seat, a KISS in the rear driver and could fit a cabrio in the rear passenger. the twe had to be in the upright toddler position to fit under the other seats. this was in the back of a vw golf.

:)

The tobi car seat is quite wide you could try britax prince in the middle. Not putting the baby seat on isofix may also help as you may have a little give to put it nearer the door.

thanks all - definitely want all 3 in the back and the 2 oldest need to be forward facing. we are only really in the car all 5 of us together......will take a look at the britax...I also saw the graco's are a bit narrower? the multimac is really expensive and doesn't look that comfy!

just checked the britax prince - and it is actually 1cm wider than the maxi cosi tobi!

we have a volvo v70 and have across the back

1 besafe izi combi rearfacing (for ds2- 3yrs)

1 britax 2 way elite (in the middle, for ds3, age 18 months)

1 britax adventure highback booster (ds1, 5 yrs)

think there is a pic of them on my profile

btw, it's really worth trying them out in your car rather than going by printed widths

we got a graco highback booster for ds1 because it was the narrowest one we could find

unfortunately because it had arm rests it wouldn't fit in with ds2's seat next to it. we swapped for the britax adventure which, on paper, is wider, but has no arm rests and fits fine

I am in the same situation and will have 3 under 4 come January. If you are anywhere near Essex its worth making a trip to the essex car safety centre. They have all the seats on sight and they are really helpful. They tried lots of different combos and managed to fit three seats across the back of my ford focus estate:

On the rear driver side: Maxi Cosi Rodi SPS HBB

On the rear passenger side: Britax baby Safe Infant carrier

In the centre: Britax Eclipse SI

They are not retailers so are not trying to sell you anything either.