wwyd - 2 babies, 2 toddlers, 7 passenger montana...

i've been playing with this in my head since we found out we are having twins. i have a 3 year old ff in a nautilus (with a very long torso) a 2 year old rf in a blvd (with a few inches of shell and 10 lbs to go rf) and i am pregnant with twins (currently we have two loaner snugrides for them). my 3 year old and 2 year old both have developmental delays that make it unlikely that they will be able to buckle themselves up anytime soon (they can't even get into their seats themselves). i am a plus size mama and cannot get to the third row with both the middle captians chairs occupied (need to be able to fold one down to get back there). the only solution i can see is putting both babies in the 3rd row through the hatch (can do this pretty easily) or putting 3 of the 4 kids in the third row and being able to fold down the seat. i was able to get both snugrides and the blvd in the third row but then the babies are not only so far away from me, but they are also both net to a not very trustworthy 2 year old and out of my site completely. i could get a radian for ds and put him, dd, and one baby in the 3rd row. i am would still be far from one baby but ds might be helpful if i put him in the middle seat between the baby and 2 year old (might be dreaming there haha).

wwyd? a friend said in her car she can fold down the middle seats if they only have an infant base in them. that would totally solve this problem, but i don't think there is any way that will work with the base and captains chairs we have.

none of the solutions i have come up with seem that great and i wonder if i am missing some huge obvious fix....

Does your van have LATCH? I saw a picture one person had where they were able to flip their van seat forward when a seat was installed with LATCH. Otherwise it sounds like through the hatch is the way to go. And congrats on your twins!

it does have latch, but the middle row seats don't flip foward. my only option would be to unlatch them from the bottom and remove the seat

yeah, i think we're looking at through the hatch...

okay... here is what I'd do...

and keep in mind that I'm plus sized, too... and have put a ff toddler in this way when I was babysitting my friend's brood (she has 6 kids... 4 of whom are under 5)

I would put the little babies in the 2nd row. I would put the older two in the 3rd row.

Now, I'd load the 2yr old through the hatch (you can remove your vehicle headrest to make it easier.

with the 3yr old... if he can get into his own seat once he's on the bench, I'd put him through the hatch and have him climb in.

IF NOT...(and this is so fun to do... lol... well, it gets some looks, at least... and it is easier if the headrest of the captain's chair in question is removed) put the 3yr old feet first (requires two hands... one under the arm closest to the 2yr old's seat, one at the crotch) over the captains chair.

Then... and this is the tricky part, but I did it first with a 1.5yr old and then with a 3yr old and I'm REALLY big (look at my new siggy pic for an idea of how big I am) buckle the seat one handed... all you have to do is set the crotch strap up on him... grab one buckle... hold it between your first and middle finger... grab the crotch strap with your ring finger and thumb, and slip it in... repeat.

then, do the chest clip (this may require one foot on the van to get a second hand if you can't do it one-handed like yours truly) then tighten.

when the babies are bigger and older and move to convertibles, I would move them to the third row with your 2yr old, but not until they are more sizeable and you can depend on him to be gentle with them.

what van do you have, also?? if it is a honda, you can push the two captain's chairs together to make a bench.

Another idea is to post an ad on craigslist... asking to trade your captains chairs with someone who has the same van with a bench.

or (if you feel comfortable doing this) you can call around to those places that let you pick out parts from vehicles and go BUY a 2 passenger bench.

my friend ended up doing this to get herself a second THREE passenger bench so that, when she wanted to go somewhere with her husband AND all 6 kids, they didn't have to take two cars.

Where do you have top tethers?

i have a 2004 montana with top tethers in the captains chairs, and the 2 outboard seats on the 3rd row. none in the middle of the 3rd row (annoying) and i cannot borrow from the sides for that seat either.

i think i'm gonna move their seats to the 3rd row and start practicing that. i would like to give it a good try before i am too huge pregnant to even try it.

thank you for the help guys! it is encouraging to hear other people have done it. :thumbsup:

I'd put the older kids in the back if the younger will be FF by then. Get lower seats so they can climb into them themselves. You can easily slide the middle seats up enough to reach in just to buckle. Get them practicing putting their arms though the harness.

If Marvel will still be RF, put her and an infant in the middle and Jet and an infant in the back. You should still be able to slide them up enough to reach in just to buckle.