Expecting twins - fitting 3 car seats in corolla?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Feb 26 2023, 2:51 pm

writeread wrote:

Another option is to skip the infant seats entirely and get three small convertible car seats, like the Graco slimfit. It may not be worth taking infant seats in and out of the car and buckling them in each time.

A lot of the convertible car seats can be used from 5 or 7 lb. They come with infant inserts.

Thanks - I was planning to put the toddler seat in the middle and use the bases on either side, so I could just click the infant seats in. It does add to the expense but I have one already and I would rather not have to wake a sleeping baby after they fall asleep in the car...

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Feb 26 2023, 2:51 pm

amother NeonPink wrote:

I don't have twins but I have 2 of the Graco extend 2 fit and while I'm a big fan, I don't think they'd fit 3 across in a small car. I had 3 across in a minivan (two of these and one cybex) and it was just enough space.

thanks for the info!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Feb 26 2023, 2:54 pm

amother Red wrote:

Mazel tov and Bishaa Tova!
No twins but 3 kids in the back of a corolla.
I found the graco slim fit lx3 to be the slimmest car seat. Can be both rear and forward facing which is a plus. There is another name for the same car seat when bought on other sites but I got it from Amazon as it was cheaper then than walmart but that of course changes day by day.

I was also told the chicco keyfit30 was the slimmest car seat. I use a base for it but that might not work in your car. My corolla is a little newer than yours.

It does depend on which exact model/year corolla you have as they do change the dimensions.

Thank you, amen!
I'll look into that model.
My corolla is supposed to be 51" across in the backseat so that gives us exactly 17" for each car seat/base. I tried to measure my keyfit base and it seems like it's not any wider than the seat.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Feb 26 2023, 2:55 pm

deeygee wrote:

I had 3 car seats in the backseat of a Honda Accord (not twins). When my 3rd was born, before we bought any more car seats, we went to Buy Buy Baby and had a salesperson help us maneuver different car seats to figure out what would work best for our car. Was worth buying from there so we could test everything out in advance. Ended up buying a Diono for our oldest at the time since it had the slimmest profile.
Hatzlacha!

That's a good idea, will definitely keep it in mind. Thanks!

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Feb 26 2023, 2:58 pm

amother Cappuccino wrote:

I’m annoyed putting my one toddler in my Avalon, let alone 3 kids 😂!

OP, are you planning to keep your toddler rear-facing? This will make a big difference in seats. The diono Radian is quite tall with no adjustable recline option so it takes up a lot of room front-to-back. I believe the graco slimfit is quite a bit shorter and has an adjustable recline to help it fit behind seats/not block your view. The clek Foonf and Fllo are also narrow seats that, if you can’t get a good fit with the graco, might be worth looking at. They’re very expensive and .2” wider than the graco, but they sit up quite high on the base so you might have better luck squishing one in between the Chiccos.

My toddler is actually almost a preschooler and has demanded to be forward facing for a while now (it does really squish her legs when rear facing) Smile

thanks for the info! Will look into those models - as my husband says, it's cheaper to buy three new car seats than to buy one new car...