Question Twins+1: HELP! Need Carseat&Car Advice.

hq3473

New member
Hello!

I've been reading this forum obsessively since I found out I'll be having twins :)
But I still have a few unanswered questions.

Here's the deal: When my twins will be born during the summer, my daughter will be 2 years old. Now she is 20 months, 34in, and 23lbs and is Rear Facing in her Radian XTSL in my Mazda6.

  1. Based on what I read here, I will be getting two Keyfits 30 for the twins. How would you put 2 KF and a RN rear facing in a sedan? "KF, RN, KF" or "KF, KF, RN"?
  2. Also, we’ll be getting a new car for the longer/weekend trips to fit all of us plus "stuff." Where would you put my RF car seats in an SUV like Acura MDX or Mazda CX9? I’d like to seat next the twins or at least have access to them while my husband is driving.
  3. Would 2 strollers, a single and a double, fit in the back with three rows up? What about with two and a half rows up?
  4. If we go the minivan route and get a 2011 Odyssey, how would you place my car seats then?

Sorry for too many questions at once..I would appreciate any tips!
Anna
 
ADS

laccaycol

Active member
I dont have a ton of advice but wanted to say congrats on the twins:D Im Due July 12 with my tiwns but dr said they will prolly take them around june 15th due to them sharing the same plecenta.

Anyway there is a 3 across thread on here that has a lot of different options in a sedan.

as for 2 strollers in an suv i doubt it. in a van that has the hole in the floor for the 3rd row to fold down into you should be able to get 2 in that. I know i can get a lot in the back of my nissan quest. im not sure what the odyssey is like in the back.

For the odyssey if you get cap's chairs i would put the twins in those just easier. you goin to get the 8 seater?

For me this is # 4 and 5 so i need all 3 rows lol but if i only had the 3 i would put them all in the same row of the suv. it is easier than tryin to get in to the 3rd row to buckle up your daughter. i always hated when i had to buckle a kid in the 3rd row cuz you have to get in the car to do it. Just a pain

Anyway hopefully someone else will come along with better advice im just sayin what i would do and will be doing in my expedition ill have my 2 older ones in the back and my 4 year old and the twins in the second row.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
[*]Based on what I read here, I will be getting two Keyfits 30 for the twins. How would you put 2 KF and a RN rear facing in a sedan? "KF, RN, KF" or "KF, KF, RN"? My guess would be that kf,rn,kf would work best. With the kf next to each other the handles might get in your way.


[*]Also, we’ll be getting a new car for the longer/weekend trips to fit all of us plus "stuff." Where would you put my RF car seats in an SUV like Acura MDX or Mazda CX9? I’d like to seat next the twins or at least have access to them while my husband is driving. You could put the twins in the 2nd row and the oldest in the 3rd row with half flipped forward. You will need to watch what you put back there with her though because it would hit her in a crash.


[*]Would 2 strollers, a single and a double, fit in the back with three rows up? What about with two and a half rows up? Have you thought of baby wearing? We have done it with all of ours. So you could use a double stroller and use a carrier for the 3rd. I just stopped using our mei ti at the end of last summer. DD2 is almost 4y and 45#. The right carrier works great. I would stay away from the baby bojurn and snuggle types. My sis has an ergo and she is really liking it. She can't handle the tie type.


[*]If we go the minivan route and get a 2011 Odyssey, how would you place my car seats then? Are you looking at the 7 or 8 passenger? Also, we travel often (family 4 hours away), but our problem with our minivan was when we got to the city we would want the stroller and it would be under all the luggage. So, I would wear the youngest and dh would carry the older kid. So, think about that when you are car shopping. We upgraded to a suburban and had 2 kids in each row. We could use the stroller even with all the luggage. Now that we are out of the stroller stage we are back to a minivan.
 

lpperry

Active member
Based on what I read here, I will be getting two Keyfits 30 for the twins. How would you put 2 KF and a RN rear facing in a sedan? "KF, RN, KF" or "KF, KF, RN"?

I would put the RN by one of the doors so you can buckle the older one and then easily snap the two infant seats in. No climbing over a base to get the older child in. It really depends on if they fit that way though. You might not have the option.

Also, we’ll be getting a new car for the longer/weekend trips to fit all of us plus "stuff." Where would you put my RF car seats in an SUV like Acura MDX or Mazda CX9? I’d like to seat next the twins or at least have access to them while my husband is driving.
Would 2 strollers, a single and a double, fit in the back with three rows up? What about with two and a half rows up?

SUVs don't have as much storage room as minivans. I don't think you are going to be able to fit all of that. I would put three across the middle and fold the back seat down.

If we go the minivan route and get a 2011 Odyssey, how would you place my car seats then?

I would forget the SUV and forget the sedan and get the Odyssey. It is much easier to to load and unload the kids, plus you will have trunk room. I think the Sedan is just going to be a pain every time you need to get the kids in and out. The minivans are so nice because there is so much room. Also, you have room for your diaper bag, a place to change a diaper, etc.

With the Odyssey, I'd put one twin by the door and your older daughter in the middle. Then put the other twin in the third row, but leave that space open so that you can lift the infant bucket right back to the base. Or you can put the twins in the middle and put the older one in the back in the middle or on the side so that you can climb in the back and buckle her.
 

hq3473

New member
laccaycol, congrats to you too! I am exactly a month behind you! :)

If we go with the Odyssey, we're thinking the 8 sitter, so we can get a three across in the middle if we need to. I hear that the middle seat became more user-friendly this year.

Do you think a double stroller could fit in the back of your Quest with all three rows up?
 

hq3473

New member
Stefanie,
Thank you for the tips! We do wear our #1. We used the Ergo at first and then switched to the Lillebaby EveryWear for the forward facing option.
We might have to do just what you suggest if we can't fit the strollers in...
 

hq3473

New member
Thanks, lpperry!
Seems like there a lot of options with a minivan...
I'm still trying to get my head around driving/parking a large car and buckling everybody in safely.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
You will be able to put a double stroller in any minivan. We had a graco duo, which is not my favorite but it was very cheap. We got it off craigslist for $25 and they had only used it 2x. My double in-step jogger fit. We just removed the front wheel.

Our only problem was travelling and having the stroller under all the luggage, playpen, etc. when we wanted to go into a store. The one time I really remember this was when we got to Omaha (4+ hour drive) with a newborn, 1y, 5y and 6y. I opened the rear hatch and just started laughing. We had not been to his parents house to drop off stuff, we went to see his sis at work and ride the ferrris wheel first. I put newborn in the maya wrap that I kept in the van and dh put ds2 in a stroller in the store.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
Thanks, lpperry!
Seems like there a lot of options with a minivan...
I'm still trying to get my head around driving/parking a large car and buckling everybody in safely.

totally understand. I really watched where I parked when we had the suburban. I would park further out so that no one would park near me. The door dinging worried me. It had big heavy doors.

I even got sandwiched the other day when I parked the minivan. I knew the car behind me was leaving soon, so I just waited for him to leave. It is to stressful for me sometimes. I really try to just not parrall park.
 

mmr713

New member
Congratulations on the twins! I have a 4.5 year old and 27 month old identical twins. Here's what we have done and are currently doing: driving a 2006 Land Rover LR3.

Newborns: Peg Perego Infant seats rf middle and passenger, Marathon ff behind driver

Once the girls got too heavy to lift to the middle in the infant seat, we put DS in the middle in the marathon and the Peg's outboard.

At 9 months we put DS on the passenger side and had two RF Roundabouts in the middle and behind driver.

Around 20 months we turned the twins forward facing. So DS is now in the middle in a Marathon. Twins in Roundabouts forward facing outboard. Sometimes we put a Marathon in place of one of the Roundabouts.

I can put multiple strollers in the back of my SUV when the third row is folded (stays this way all the time). I keep a Maclaren double in the back lengthwise which gives me alot of room for groceries.

HTH! Enjoy the babies!
 

hq3473

New member
mmr713, thanks for the step-by-step guide! :)
That was very helpful!

One question: if you had to take one more passanger with you for a ride, would they be able to get to the third row somehow in the LR3?
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
As a tech, we like to see kids rearfacing longer. 2y is a minimum, perfer 3-4y. We want to see a kid outgrow a seat rearfacing before turning forward facing.

Stefanie, cpst in iowa - mom to 4 great kids
 

laccaycol

Active member
laccaycol, congrats to you too! I am exactly a month behind you! :)

If we go with the Odyssey, we're thinking the 8 sitter, so we can get a three across in the middle if we need to. I hear that the middle seat became more user-friendly this year.

Do you think a double stroller could fit in the back of your Quest with all three rows up?


Yes i do believe i have at one point had a double (graco duo) stroller and my single stroller in the back of my van before.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I agree that we would prefer to see children kept rf until they are at least 3 or 4 years old.

OP - It sounds like you already know about the benefits of extended rear-facing so I won't include any links. Just in case this situation comes up, I don't think you have you turn your twins ff at the same age. I have 6yo twins. My DS is huge and he hit the limit of our rf seat at 2.5 years old. His petite twin sister sat rf in our primary car until she was 4y4m. I thought DD might want to ride forwards like her twin brother, but it ended up being the other way around. DS wanted to ride "backwards like Isabelle" when he was 3 1/2 years old.

Good luck with your twins. If you haven't done so already, see if there is a twin club in your area - www.nomotc.org.

Melanie
 

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