Please help me fit all these seats in my car!

[Jillybeans5]

We recently bought a 2005 GMC Yukon XL, we currently have 4 children, but #5 will be born this Fri. and after I heal, I will also need to fit a little boy that I babysit in there too. Here is what I have: 10yr old DS seatbelt, 8yr old DD cosco ambassador LB booster, 4yr old DS FF Marathon, 2.5 yr old DS FF Marathon, NB DS Combi Connection infant seat, 17mo old boy I babysit FF Uptown(this one I could change since I just bought it today, can't cost more than $65 though). Our current positions are 2 FF MA's in second row captains chairs, booster and belted child outboard 3rd row. I won't need to take extra child with me far, just the 1/4 mile drive to take older 3 kiddos to school and back, morning and afternoon. It would be rare that I would need to take him anywhere else. I know someone will have to sit in the front seat, it will have to either be my oldest DS or the boy I BS. My 4 children in car-seats will have to stay in the same positions at all times and if the boy I BS is in a rear seat it has to be a seat that my oldest DS can use when we don't have the boy I BS. I hope that makes sense cause its confusing me.

[lynsgirl]

Congratulations on your newest little one arriving :love:.

I'd probably keep your 2.5 yo in the MA in the captain's chair in the 2nd row, and move the 4yo in the MA to the center of the third row. The baby can go in the other captain's chair/2nd row. Have your dd in her booster on whatever side of the third row is easier for her to get to, leaving the other outboard spot open for either the Uptown or your 10yo.

I'd double check if your 10yo passes the 5-step test in the front seat or not, because kids can definitely fit differently in different seats in the same vehicle.

How much does the 17mo old weigh? At under 2 yrs old, RF would definitely be to his benefit. I would not put him in the front, even if he IS FF. Front-facing Too Soon? (http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx) is an excellent article that can help with the RF/FF decision. :)

If you put your 10yo in the front, move the front seat all the way back and I'd probably even lock the seat belt, if possible. This just removes the temptation to mess with anything in the front seat. If he does *not* pass the 5-step test (http://www.carseat.org/Boosters/630.htm), then having an extra backless booster like the one you already have for your dd is pretty much your only option if you don't want to move any of your other seats around.

I hope you are able to figure out a workable solution and kudos to you for keeping your kids all safe :). And I think it's great that you're providing a safe/decent seat for the little boy that you babysit :thumbsup:.

Hope all goes well w/your birth/delivery! Congrats again!

[Jillybeans5]

Thanks, that is what I thought I was going to do, but it just doesn't fit. The marathon is so wide in the 3rd row, I'd do good to squeeze my DD's booster on one side, I think I can but it will be wedged in tight. My 10 yr old is 5'1.5" and a little over 90 lbs, he has passed the 5 step test for over a year. The uptown simply will not fit on the other side of the marathon though, not even close. I would need a different seat to be at least 3-4 inches narrower to maybe fit and I can't afford a Radian for a spare seat. I tried leaving both marathons in the captains chairs and putting the infant seat in the middle of the 3rd row and it fits fine there but it is nearly impossible to get in and out with it like that. I can't get the carrier back their w/o turning it on its side and when its in it blocks my older kids in their seats. The uptown will fit next to it but barely, they are wedged tight. Realistically I can't put my NB in the 3rd row, because I can't actually get him and the other kids in and out that way. The only way I can find for it to work at all is to put the 17mo old in the front in the uptown. My car does have the sensors that shut off the airbags if a light passenger or child seat is detected. I would be using this configuration only to take my kids to school in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon, I live maybe a quarter mile from the school and would be in the neighborhood or a school zone the entire time. If he were MY child he would be RF'ing(my 2yr old just turned FF 2 weeks ago at 32lbs) but his parents won't RF him and they don't secure him properly either, I'm trying to teach them w/o offending anyone, but it is slow going. Will this be okay, if not can you think of something that I haven't?

[lynsgirl]

Will the Uptown fit in the middle of the third row? Could you use that instead of the MA for your 2.5yo? I know that's not what you bought it for, but you're still kind of stuck with no third row solution, no? (not trying to be rude, just not sure if that part is resolved). Does the MA fit in the middle, w/the booster on the side and your 10yo on the other side? Did that work or did you still need something to work out there?

OTOH, what about this? What about 2 MAs in the third row, next to each other (not the best puzzling) and 10yo next to them? Put your dd in one captain's chair and the baby in the other?

If you absolutely have to put the 17mo in the front, again, I'd move the front seat as far back as possible.

Hope something ends up working! :)

[Jillybeans5]

Will the Uptown fit in the middle of the third row?
It would fit.
Could you use that instead of the MA for your 2.5yo?
I could, but I still wouldn't have a spot for the 17 mo old.
I know that's not what you bought it for, but you're still kind of stuck with no third row solution, no? (not trying to be rude, just not sure if that part is resolved). Does the MA fit in the middle, w/the booster on the side and your 10yo on the other side? Did that work or did you still need something to work out there?
I haven't had a chance to double check that but I'm pretty sure I can wedge her booster on one side and my 10 yr old can definitely fit on the other side.

OTOH, what about this? What about 2 MAs in the third row, next to each other (not the best puzzling) and 10yo next to them?
The 3rd row isn't wide enough to do this, the only way 2 MA's will fit back their is if they are on the sides with no one in the middle.
Put your dd in one captain's chair and the baby in the other?

If you absolutely have to put the 17mo in the front, again, I'd move the front seat as far back as possible. I had planned to do that, if it is my only option. I was just hoping that maybe someone else could come up with an idea that I was overlooking.

Hope something ends up working! :)Thanks, unless somebody thinks of something else, I really have no choice but to put the 17 mo old in the front. If for some reason I have to go somewhere else during the day while my older kids are at school I could move the seats in the 3rd row to put the uptown back there.

[mom2acrew]

Definately a tough situation and why I traded my 05 Suburban for an 08 Ody recently. 3 across the 3rd row was alway difficult. How skinny is your 8 yr old? The base of the Fisher Price booster or Star Riser comfy, a Right Fit may fit nicely beside the MA in the center (MA center not booster)then your 10 yr old on the side? A RA also fits well in the center w/ the newer base it is slightly narrower. Anything you do will be a tight squeeze back there. I ended up purchasing a Ride Safer vest and using it in the center lap belt position. Another option could be having a Ez on harness installed in the center lap belt spot w/ a HBB, something narrow like the FP seat? And MA's on either side? Of course there are not top tether anchors but that is a whole nother issue/gripe I had with the Suburban. Not that our 08 Suburban is any better but I make DH drive it and the center 3rd row is a L/S so we put a HBB there w/ an unboostered older child on either side.

Even with the sensor it is still a gamble that the front seat sensor will stay off with a car seat there and because of liability unless the parents of the 17m say they are okay with it I would be hesitant to think of that as even an option. Hugs sorry I don't have any solid ideas..is it too late to trade the Yukon for a nice, child friendly vehicle? ;)

[Jillybeans5]

Definately a tough situation and why I traded my 05 Suburban for an 08 Ody recently. 3 across the 3rd row was alway difficult. How skinny is your 8 yr old? The base of the Fisher Price booster or Star Riser comfy, a Right Fit may fit nicely beside the MA in the center (MA center not booster)then your 10 yr old on the side? A RA also fits well in the center w/ the newer base it is slightly narrower. Anything you do will be a tight squeeze back there. I ended up purchasing a Ride Safer vest and using it in the center lap belt position. Another option could be having a Ez on harness installed in the center lap belt spot w/ a HBB, something narrow like the FP seat? And MA's on either side? Of course there are not top tether anchors but that is a whole nother issue/gripe I had with the Suburban. Not that our 08 Suburban is any better but I make DH drive it and the center 3rd row is a L/S so we put a HBB there w/ an unboostered older child on either side.

Even with the sensor it is still a gamble that the front seat sensor will stay off with a car seat there and because of liability unless the parents of the 17m say they are okay with it I would be hesitant to think of that as even an option. Hugs sorry I don't have any solid ideas..is it too late to trade the Yukon for a nice, child friendly vehicle? ;)

It is definitely not an option to change vehicles, we just now were able to get a safe vehicle for our family, and it took a lot of work to get it done.
Unfortunately the only thing I can afford to change seat wise is the uptown and it has to be for something else $65 or cheaper. I am not a daycare and the boy I watch is as babysitting for friends(not close friends though). If you ever saw how poorly he is restrained in his own parents vehicles, I am certain you would agree that front seat with a properly installed seat and buckled child would be much safer. Thanks for trying though, I really had hoped that I was missing something. We tried to get one with a second row bench but there were none available in about a 5 state area in the price range we were looking for, I know that having that extra seat would have avoided the problem I'm having now.

[TerisBoys]

Have you checked to see if the MA and Uptown will mesh together in the third row? The MA *might* overlap the Uptown enough that it'll fit on the side.

That leaves your 10yo up front unfortunately :(

[Jillybeans5]

Have you checked to see if the MA and Uptown will mesh together in the third row? The MA *might* overlap the Uptown enough that it'll fit on the side.

That leaves your 10yo up front unfortunately :(

That was what I tried first, the marathon isn't enough higher to make it fit unfortunately. When I tried to force them(wouldn't have been tight independent of each other) the marathon nearly ate up the whole other side. Only someone toddler size would have fit even if it had been a good install.

I'm okay with my 10 yr old being up front sometimes, I have (small female adult)friends who are smaller than he is, and they drive. I was hoping to avoid putting a toddler up there but I don't seem to have another option.

Thanks for trying!

[Jillybeans5]

Are there any cheap convertibles that are narrower than the uptown but lower sitting than the MA?

[lynsgirl]

I've been thinking about this some more. For a while, we had only one car (which is now just dh's work car) and 3 kids. His car is a 95 Subaru Legacy. Not the most spacious back seat at all. I did get a Husky (Regent), FF MA and RF Touriva (phased into the Scenera) in there with a LOT of work. The only way I was able to do it at all was to install the Husky first on one side, the MA next and it slightly overlapped the top "wing" of the Husky. Then, the Touriva got tucked under the lower "wing" of the MA (since it was RF, it worked). The Touriva *was* independently tight, but it was a huge PITB to get this done.

OK, I was rambling. I am sorry. The reason I was thinking about this was because what if you installed the Uptown RF as far over as you could, then installed the MA with the lower wing over the lower wing of the RF Uptown (did that make sense?). Would that possibly leave you enough room for the booster? The only problem with this, even if it did work, is that it would be kind of stinky to have to redo every day.

The Uptown is, I think, a relatively low-profile, narrow convertible, and other than the Radian, I can't really think of a better one at this point. The Scenera might work, but I don't know that it's any narrower than the Uptown.

How old are your MAs? Would selling one be a possibility, to help fund a Radian for one of your younger boys?

If nothing else, then I guess you are stuck with a little guy in the front seat :o.

Good luck tomorrow and congratulations again!