Question 2yr old twins plus infant - 3 in a Jetta?

U

Unregistered

Guest
Hi all,

We just found out I'm pregnant again. Our twins will be just barely 2 when the new baby comes. We have them now in first years true fit seats, but these are definitely too wide to fit another infant in car seat. I wrote asking my twins forum and heard that some people have gotten three across in a Prius (which can't be bigger than our VW Jetta wagon) using the Radian seats. Would this be possible? Does anyone have any experience with three seats and a Jetta?

I am guessing we'll have to switch the twins to forward facing to fit the other seat in rear-facing, though a friend thinks she's seen three rear-facing Radians in a Prius.

We have two Jettas, one is brand new. So while eventually we will buy a minivan, we are hoping to be able to wait a year or so before buying another new car. I'll be super grateful for any help!!!
 
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thtr4me

New member
I know that the Combi Coccoro is also a narrow seat. If 3 Radian's RFing won't work in your car, possibly a combo of Radians puzzling with a Coccoro might work. I have a Passat wagon, and I think I could swing two Radians and a Coccoro. DS2 was asking to have his seat (Frontier) moved to the middle of the back. I think if I put a Radian RFing outboard, that I just might have enough room to get his seat in the middle. It would be a REALLY tight install though, and I would be puzzling a FFing and RFing seat together, which is a bit different than your situation.

Hopefully some of the techs on here will have some good options for you.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Thanks for the tip about the Combi Corroco -- I hadn't heard of that seat, but it looks great, perhaps even for the infant. Several of the online reviews I read mentioned that it has a snapngo sort of stroller for it as well and people said they take it out of the car with a sleeping infant, but it doesn't have a handle, and I assume that means you can't have it installed with latch if you are taking it in and out all the time. Do you (or does anyone else) know if the combi infant seats with handles are also narrow, or is it just this model they made to be smaller?
This is already a great lead. I might even see if we can get that seat in with the two truefits we already have -- maybe if I remove the cupholders...
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
You are going to have the most luck with a tight three across alternating high- and low-profile seats, if you'd like to keep all three kids RF (which I recommend.) I would say my go-to puzzle would be two rear-facing Radians and a rear-facing Graco MyRide, although you could possibly make it work with two MRs and one Radian, if the cupholders puzzle over the door properly. The trick in that scenario is that the Radians are narrow on the bottom/seating area, and the seat is down low, while the MyRide has a very narrow base and then widens out where the seating area is, which sits up higher. I was also able to get a Radian, MyRide, and Coccoro in my very narrow third row, so depending on the size of your twins, that might be another possibility. All three of those seats have the potential to fit newborns well, but they are all convertibles and do not have the convenience snapping in a bucket. You MAY be able to do something like a rear-facing Radian in the center and a rear-facing MyRide outboard with an infant seat (do you still have one leftover from your twins?) on the other outboard.

The Coccoro puzzles similarly to a MyRide, but it is more expensive and less long-lasting. It does have a compatible stroller, but you would be completely reinstalling it via LATCH (or seatbelt) each time you took it in and out. If you are someone who prefers to wear or carry baby in arms *most* of the time with just an occasional need for a travel system, it can work very well. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for frequent reinstall, both for ease of use in general, and because that lack of ease of use and frequent reinstallation is more prone to lead to installation errors.
 

BW1426

Well-known member
The coccoro is a great seat, but I would not recommend it in a tight three across if you are wanting a seat that you can take out of the car. Getting uninstalled and reinstalled each time would be a serious pain, especially if you have the twins with you too.

You might be able to fit a keyfit and 2 rearfacing radians. I also have had luck with the complete air fitting in three across situations. Make sure you try your seats out before you buy them or buy from somewhere that has an easy return policy.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Thanks so much! Many of these are seats I hadn't heard of or thought of. I do think we'll have to go somewhere to test out some of these options. I was sort of hoping for an infant bucket seat mostly so we don't have to buy two seats, just two bases, for our two cars. But since we'll eventually need two at the convertible stage, maybe I'm just putting off the inevitable anyway...

I think we had the graco snugrides (whatever that most common one is) for our twins, but we sold them when we got the convertibles, so we can start fresh with the new baby in terms of seats.

Thanks again -- any more tips are welcome. I would also like to keep the twins rear-facing a little longer, but I have heard that those Radians are very long rear-facing. The truefits work fine, but there is definitely not any more space length-wise if the Radians are much longer.
 

corrielainedd

New member
I have a 97 vw jetta. you can get 2 Radians, and 2 of their angle adjuster inserts one cwnter and one passenger, then a coccoro drivers side. Otherwise you cant get a radian rf at a newborn/ infant angle, but the coccoro should take care of that.
 

trippsmom

CPST Instructor
In a 2009 vw jetta, I could put two rear facing radians, with either a Cybex Aton or Britax BSafe. The Aton was the best fit.
 

Kel

Well-known member
I just got 2 coccoro's a couple of mos ago. I really like them. I switch my almost 6mo old DD into them full time last mo. My DS was not 2 yet when she was born, and I found the bucket hard to carry while dealing him too. So I ended up wearing her most the time. With a good carrier It's do able. Mine Is a beco butterfly II.

Kelley
 

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