Please help! 3 across?

[PrayzGod]

I am pregnant with #5 due in November. I have to figure out how to make the car seats work because I really don't have money for a new van. Right now I have

3rd row
4 1/2 year old (will be 5 when baby comes) in a Boulevard
4 1/2 year old (will be 5 when baby comes) in Regent

2nd row
almost 2 year old RF in Boulevard (will be 2 1/2 when baby comes)
7 year old in Parkway

My kids are at the top of the charts for height and weight. And they all have long torsos. So I am planning on moving the 2 year old forward. If I get new seats for the twins I am afraid it will only last a few months because they will need boosters. That is what happened to my oldest. I wanted to keep her in a harness as long as possible but she was so uncomfortable and the straps weren't long enough and I wound up moving her at 6. So can I make this work?

 

[jjordan]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. I have a few questions that will help people help you better.

What is the year/make/model of your van? What is your budget for new seats? Have you had a chance to browse through the 3 across thread? Do you have a seat for the baby (if so what)? And are you set on using an infant seat for the baby, or would you be okay with a convertible?

 

[PrayzGod]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. I have a few questions that will help people help you better.

What is the year/make/model of your van? What is your budget for new seats? Have you had a chance to browse through the 3 across thread? Do you have a seat for the baby (if so what)? And are you set on using an infant seat for the baby, or would you be okay with a convertible?

I have a 2006 honda odyssey. I will need a new bucket seat this time because ours expired. I don't want to spend too much because my kids are usually big (20+ lbs at 4 months) so I don't get to use them long.

I don't have a budget really. Safety is most important. If I have to spend $1000 on new seats its cheaper then $20,000 on a new van (husband won't let me buy used)

Where can I find the 3 across thread?

 

[jjordan]

Here is a link to the 3 across thread. It is searchable.

 

[PrayzGod]

Is there a place that tells me what all the abbreviations in that thread mean. I know what RF and FF means and that's about it. lol

 

[jjordan]

Very good question. I don't know of a list of abbreviations, though there might be one hiding here somewhere. Probably most of them are abbreviations for specific car seats - here are a few:

BV: britax boulevard
MA: britax marathon
RA: britax roundabout
RN: Diono/Sunshine Kids Radian
CCO: Combi coccoro
BT: Baby trend
SR: graco snugride
KF: chicco keyfit
CA: safety 1st complete air
TF: the first years/lamaze truefit
MR: graco myride
PW: britax parkway
TB: graco turbobooster

That should help get you started; ask if there are specific ones you're wondering about.

 

[Jeanum]

There's also a list of frequently used carseat acronyms posted in the Articles and Faqs section of car-seat.org at: http://www.car-seat.org/showpost.php?p=308760&postcount=2 to help out with the lingo.