3 Car Seats in a Row

I've heard many people say that once you have 3 children, you might as well have 4.  They typically support this statement by saying that once you have 3 children, you have to upgrade the cars and the house in order to "fit" the expanded family.  It's apparently at the 3 child point where most mothers bite the bullet and go for the (da da da dummmmm)--THE MINI VAN.

Maybe I'm an insecure snob, but I just don't see myself driving a mini van, ever.  I am well aware that they are practical and mom/child friendly, but I just don't want a mini van.  I have friends from all walks of life that rave and rave about their mini vans.  But I still don't want one.  So, when I found out that baby #3 was on the way, I was determined to find a way to fit my 4 year old, 2 year old, and infant in the back bench of my Dodge Charger. 

We bought the Charger when Baby #2 was born with the knowledge that it could be useful should we have Baby #3, because it is equipped with 3 car seat harnesses in the back.  Plus, the backseat is huge.  So I have to confess that I was floored when Dear Husband and I couldn't fit our booster, our front facing car seat, and our rear facing infant carrier across the back.  Thus began my mission to find the "solution" to the 3 car seat dilemma.  After all, it's a lot cheaper to buy an expensive car seat than a new car.

The rule of thumb for properly placing 3 car seats in a car is that they must all fit in the back without touching each other and with enough room for any child in a booster seat to buckle their own seat belt.  Thus, you've basically got to find the narrowest car seats on the market.  Unfortunately, as the genius government has forced cars to get smaller, the safety "idiots" have made car seats larger and have discontinued many narrow seats.  This means that mommies and daddies have to either get creative or look to our friends the "Europeans" for some help. 

To start my car seat project, I chose a Graco Snuggle ride infant carrier so that I could use the bases that I already purchased when my boys were babies.  So seat 1 that needs to go behind the front seat passenger is the infant Graco seat.  (I went ahead and purchased the entire travel system so that it was both "girly" and clean compared to my old travel system.)

 Graco Spree Travel System, Ariel

Next, I searched online for the narrowest front facing car seat I could find.  That's when I discovered the Evenflo Tribute.  It's 17 inches wide, available at Walmart, and priced very reasonably compared to some of the other 17 inch seats.  This seat fits nicely behind the driver's seat.


 Evenflo - Tribute 5 DLX Convertible Car Seat, Saturn

Lastly, I had to find the perfect booster seat for my 4 year old (who weighs enough to meet the 4 years/ 40 lbs requirement to safely ride in a booster seat).  Finding a narrow booster is easier said than done.  Mainly, because most boosters have arm rests that rub alongside the infant carrier base or the car seat.  While the armrests are removable from these seats, safety experts warn that if you have to remove the arm rests to make the seats work, then the booster seat doesn't really fit. 

After purchasing 2 narrow booster seats that still didn't fit in my car, I discovered every mommy's secret weapon.  First used in Europe, the Bubble Bum is a small inflatable booster seat that has finally been approved for use in the U.S.   This seat is awesome and affordable (thanks Amazon).  It's a sturdy and narrow booster seat that is small enough to fit in the back seat of a Porsche. And it fits perfectly in my Charger.

Bubble Bum Car Seat Booster

So I have officially solved the car seat crisis for mommies with sedans and 3 children of car seat age. None of my car seats touch.  My son can easily buckle his own seat belt.  We now have an inflatable booster that we can easily pack and travel with.  And the best part of the story is that Mommy is still driving her fun little Dodge Charger and is living happily ever after...  So much for the mini van and the need for 4 kids.