featherhead
Well-known member
I'm trying to figure out how I want my van configured when baby comes in October. At that time DD1 will be 6y4m. She is currently 40 lbs and 45" and rides in a Monterey. DD2 will be 4y6m. She is 37 lbs 40" and rides in a FrontierXT. DD3 will be 23 months. She is 23 lbs 30" and rides rear-facing in a Radian XTSL. The baby will ride in a Keyfit.
I drive a '98 Odyssey. It is a 6 passenger. All positions have shoulderbelts and headrests. With all the seats up, I only have top tethers on the back bench. This is a really small van. The captains chairs do not slide forward or back, they also do not tilt forward. So to get to the back you have to go past the seat and down the aisle. The only rear-facing seat I have been able to get in the back so far is the Radian with AA, though I'd have to double check that it was an acceptable instal. The buckles are 4 inches forward of the bight, on a long flexible stalk.
So DD2 will have to go in the back in her Frontier. Keyfit will have to be in a captains chair. I need to figure out if I should put DD1 or DD3 in the other captains chair.
DD1 can easily buckle herself in the Monterey. She can also unbuckle herself, as well as the other girls for me. This has become her job. It has made things a lot easier for me. We will be working on DD2 buckling herself this summer. She can often get one side buckled, but not the other. And I'm afraid that in October she won't be able to when wearing a jacket as the straps are even tighter then.
If I put DD3 in a captains chair I will have to go through the front, and all the way to the back to buckle DD2. DD1 can do the unbuckling so I don't have to worry about that. They would have to all climb in before I pop the infant seat in.
If I put DD1 in a captains chair, she would have to wait outside the van while I climb in the back and buckle DD2 and DD3. Not sure how easy it will be to buckle DD3 rear-facing in the back. Like I said, this is a small van. It would be like leaning through the front seats of a car to buckle your rear-facer.
So, neither option is easy or convenient. Which would you choose?
I drive a '98 Odyssey. It is a 6 passenger. All positions have shoulderbelts and headrests. With all the seats up, I only have top tethers on the back bench. This is a really small van. The captains chairs do not slide forward or back, they also do not tilt forward. So to get to the back you have to go past the seat and down the aisle. The only rear-facing seat I have been able to get in the back so far is the Radian with AA, though I'd have to double check that it was an acceptable instal. The buckles are 4 inches forward of the bight, on a long flexible stalk.
So DD2 will have to go in the back in her Frontier. Keyfit will have to be in a captains chair. I need to figure out if I should put DD1 or DD3 in the other captains chair.
DD1 can easily buckle herself in the Monterey. She can also unbuckle herself, as well as the other girls for me. This has become her job. It has made things a lot easier for me. We will be working on DD2 buckling herself this summer. She can often get one side buckled, but not the other. And I'm afraid that in October she won't be able to when wearing a jacket as the straps are even tighter then.
If I put DD3 in a captains chair I will have to go through the front, and all the way to the back to buckle DD2. DD1 can do the unbuckling so I don't have to worry about that. They would have to all climb in before I pop the infant seat in.
If I put DD1 in a captains chair, she would have to wait outside the van while I climb in the back and buckle DD2 and DD3. Not sure how easy it will be to buckle DD3 rear-facing in the back. Like I said, this is a small van. It would be like leaning through the front seats of a car to buckle your rear-facer.
So, neither option is easy or convenient. Which would you choose?