New car, new seat, new configuration...

Kiss Me Deadly

New member
As I posted in a different thread, I just got a new (to me) car. It is a 2008 Mazda 5.

I currently have a 3 year old DD in a Britax Frontier, and an 18 month old DD RF in a Recaro Como.

We are expecting baby #3 to arrive in March '11. I am trying to decide which seat to buy, and where to put everybody...

I'm fairly certain I want the Combi Shuttle or the Coccoro. I'm just needing advice for other moms of 3 or more small children as to whether the bucket is more convenient or more of a hassle...

Next, I want to know if I should move my oldest to the 3rd row and put the younger 2 in the 2nd row seats? I really can't imagine the hassle it would be to get a new born out of the 3rd row, and my 3 year old can get in and out of her seat, I just have to buckle it for her...
 
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JerseyGirl'sMama

New member
As I posted in a different thread, I just got a new (to me) car. It is a 2008 Mazda 5.

I currently have a 3 year old DD in a Britax Frontier, and an 18 month old DD RF in a Recaro Como.

We are expecting baby #3 to arrive in March '11. I am trying to decide which seat to buy, and where to put everybody...

I'm fairly certain I want the Combi Shuttle or the Coccoro. I'm just needing advice for other moms of 3 or more small children as to whether the bucket is more convenient or more of a hassle...

Next, I want to know if I should move my oldest to the 3rd row and put the younger 2 in the 2nd row seats? I really can't imagine the hassle it would be to get a new born out of the 3rd row, and my 3 year old can get in and out of her seat, I just have to buckle it for her...
What are your kids stats?

I don't have 3 kids, but I can tell you that a bucket seat was not convenient for me with 2. I LOVED my Moby wrap and wore my baby in that all the time so I had my hands free for my 3 year old. If you live someplace where it is going to be really cold in March then it might be convenient for you to have the baby in a bucket seat, where you could secure him into the carseat inside the house. I just found that it was too hard to carry a bucket with a baby in it and hold onto my 3 year old's hand. I could have used a stroller with the infant seat, but I never did. It was so much easier to wear him in the Moby. He was happier with that too, since babies really shouldn't spend time in their carseats unless they are in the car.

You could always look at getting a Radian. It fits most newborns quite nicely and is very narrow, so you might be able to get a 3 across with that seat. I had no problems in my MDX getting a Frontier, RFing Radian, and a RFing Signo in the 2nd row.

Hope that helps some. :)
 

Pixels

New member
You could always look at getting a Radian. It fits most newborns quite nicely and is very narrow, so you might be able to get a 3 across with that seat. I had no problems in my MDX getting a Frontier, RFing Radian, and a RFing Signo in the 2nd row.

Hope that helps some. :)

OP's vehicle is a Mazda5, which doesn't have any rows with three seats in it. :)
 

Defrost

Moderator - CPSTI Emeritus
I think I'd put the two older kids in the 3rd row and fold one of the 2nd row seats flat (assuming that's allowed - I haven't checked the manual.) I'd load the FR85 kid through the door on the folded-flat side, load the RF Como kid through the back hatch, and then have the baby in the 2nd row.

I, personally, despised infant seats by the time my 3rd kid was born, so he rode in a RF convertible pretty quickly (he was in a car bed for a while.) My fourth never even had an infant seat at all, she went straight into a RF convertible. I needed to carry her in a sling so I could have my hands free to deal with the toddlers/preschoolers!

I might also consider keeping the two oldest in the 2nd row and folding one of the 3rd row seats flat, and loading the baby in through the hatch - I might even consider getting an infant seat just for that purpose, but it would have to be a very special infant seat. ;) Loading through the hatch really isn't that much of a hassle - the "cargo" area (I call it the "rear glove box") is small it doesn't really make you lean much, and the car is nice & low to the ground.

Might even be possible to put the infant base in the 3rd row next to the FR85 kid, so he could "help" by replacing the baby's pacifier when it fell out, but that would depend on the kid, of course.
 

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