5 car seats in 7 passenger Sienna

U

Unregistered

Guest
I am expecting baby #5 in the spring and am trying to figure out how to fit them all in the car. When the baby is born, I will have an 11, 9, 5, 2, and newborn. My kids are very little (less than the 5th percentile for height and weight) so currently they are still all in car seats. My oldest is in a backless booster (grace nautilus), the 9 yo is in a high back booster (nautilus), the 5 y.o is harnessed in a Graco argos, and 2 year old is RFing in a Graco My Size, and the newborn will have a Chico Keyfit. I don't know which 3 to put in the back. I'm pretty sure I can't use any of the nautiluses back there, which is fine. I'm open to getting different boosters or car seats so everyone can fit comfortably.

My concerns are - will anyone in a booster in the back be able to buckle themselves if they have an infant or harnessed car seat next to them? But if I put the little ones back there who need help getting buckled/unbuckled and tightened, etc. how will I get back there to do that (or at least how do I somewhat easily do that!)? The two captain chairs in row two don't slide at all - anyone going to the back has to go through the middle aisle. Thanks!
 
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wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
If you got a couple of Harmony Youth Boosters, I wonder if you could do those on either side in the third row with the older two, then put the baby between them. Then since you don't need to reinstall the base every time you can install so they can buckle, ideally, and that won't be a problem. Then they'll be there with the baby, and you can load the rear facing seat through the trunk, or just put the baby in after they're in.

Then put the other two kids who need help buckling in the second row.

Otherwise, put the baby on a captain's chair, the older two in new boosters in the back, the five year old in something like a Graco Tranzitions/Wayz or Harmony Defender in the rear center, and the two rear facers in the second row. Let the older kids in first before you put the Keyfit in the base so they have a little more room.

Wendy
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Thank you! I have a question. I've had others also recommend the baby in the back and loading from the trunk. I would obviously then just keep the base, buckle the baby in before they were in the car, and then just pop them in the base, but I can't imagine the seat fitting through the trunk. There doesn't seem to be enough room between the seats and the ceiling? Maybe I just need to actually try it out to see....

With your second suggestion, what boosters would you recommend for the two oldest? I worry about there not being enough room for them to buckle with a car seat in between them. I've heard the Graco Transitions or Harmony Defender are both pretty narrow. How do they compare to the diono radian? I've heard that's pretty narrow too, but I would only really be using it forward facing for the 5-year-old harnessed and then as a booster. Any recommendations between those three seats? Thanks!
 

mamah

New member
I have five, similar age/size in a seven seat suburban. Two of radians in back, 1 cosco lbb. RF cocorro and FF radian invasions chairs. Mine are 3 weeks, huge three year old, small 5, 7, 9 year olds.

My oldest can buckle llb next to the radian. She can also buckle the bubble bum next to the radian.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
I got new car seats to try to make it all fit and it didn't work! I put my older two in the third row outboard in a turbo booster and amp. I tried to put a graco transitions in the middle back row and it didn't work. They all fit but the transitions sits on top of where you'd buckle the seat belt. If I move it over, then there isn't room for one of the booster anymore.

I then tried to put a rfing car seat in the 3rd row middle and that fit and you could still buckle if you were in the boosters next to it BUT you couldn't get back to the 3rd row to sit! It completely blocked the way from the aisle. I'm not sure what to do!
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
How wide is the harmony youth compared to the amp or turbo booster? So many people recommended those two which is why we got them! We had a bubble bum before, but my kids hated it. It was such a pain to thread it each time and I think with 3 car seats so smoothed together back there it would be even worse for them.
 
U

Unregistered

Guest
Is the harmony youth narrower than the amp and turbo booster? I got those because so many people told me how narrow they were!

We used to have a bubble bum and my kids hated it. They had a hard time threading it through the loop and just found it a pain. I worry too that it would be even harder when there isn't much room to begin with to buckle them in.

I just can't believe how narrow the spacing is for the middle seat in the 3rd row. I measured it and it is only 9-10 inches in between the two seat belt stalks to fit in! So I can't use the buckles unless I can fit something in between. And the latch takes over half of the other seat so using the latch wouldn't help either.

A rfing seat does fit in the middle there, but I can't see how people can get into the back row next to them though. I didn't try an infant car seat so maybe that wouldn't be as long as the my size I tried there.
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
Did you try the rearfacing seat on the drivers side? It won't block access there. The bubblebum fits nicely in the center spot and I think the Cosco topside and harmony youth work in the center as well.


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