hollyh Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Hi. I figure there are a lot of moms on here with lots of kids, so... We are looking to buy a 2010 Sienna. I need some help knowing what car seats to buy to fit in it. :) Specifically I need 3 seats for the 3rd row. The kids I would like in the 3rd row: 7.5 yo 45 lb, 4ft 5 yo 40 lb, 42 in 5yo, 40 lb, 41 in I would prefer these two to be in the 2nd row. 2 yo, 26 lb, 34 in infant Rear Facing Currently they are all harnessed in our other vehicle. I will be buying new seats for this car - I would like to probably use boosters for the older 3 in the back- but I've never even seen a booster in action... will they have room to buckle themselves, or will it be too squished for them? Any recommendations for what will fit (and is safe, of course). Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I have a Honda van, but I too have 5 kids, 2 rear facing infants and 2 in boosters (14 yr old not in a carseat). Is your new van going to be an 8 seater? It is much easier to get 3 across in the middle rather than the back. You could then keep the 5 yr olds harnessed in the 3rd row and put the 7 yr old in a booster in the 2nd row where the kids in the back could get out. I am not sure about the size of the Sienna, but the Honda is no longer wide enough for 3 across in the back unless they are all in no-back boosters. Good luck, it is a mess getting everyone to fit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustEm Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Well 3 high back booster won't fit. Likely only 3 non back boosters will but it would be a tight squeeze. Do you have the option of getting the 8th seat? Then you could have the oldest in a booster in the second row. Any configuration will be tight and hard for someone to buckle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I don't think you could fit 3 no-back boosters back there (mine is a 2005) and reach the buckles. The middle seat in the third row is skinny. ETA: I forgot you are buying seats specifically for this, perhaps you can work with the seat dimensions and find skinny boosters that would fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I have a 2011 Toyota Sienna (8-passenger). I talked to several car seat techs online and looked and measurements for various seats. I bought and returned seats until I found a combination that worked. What worked for me when I had five in car seats was this: Rear Row Diono Radian R120 forward facing in the center LATCH position Two Bubble Bums (one on either side of the Radian) The child in the harness was a petite 5.5yo at the time. The other two children (average 7.5yo and skinny 10yo at the time) were tall/heavy/old enough for high back boosters, but no high back boosters would fit. I tried! Bubble Bums were the smallest boosters I could find. They needed help at first to buckle the Bubble Bums correctly, but they soon were able to do it themselves. The 5yo was able to buckle and unbuckle the Radian with help from the sisters on either side. Middle Row Britax Chaperone (infant seat) behind the driver 12yo (no car seat) in the middle seat (which folds down for entry into the rear row) Diono Radian R100 forward facing for the 4yo behind the front passenger seat Having the youngest two in the middle row made it easy for me to buckle/unbuckle. The higher-than-most height and weight limits of Radians combined with their very narrow footprint made them pretty much the only option. After my infant outgrew his Britax Chaperone, I took the Radian from the rear row and installed it rear-facing behind the driver seat. The child who had been using it was then 7 years old and switched to a high back booster (which fit because the other two children in that row no longer needed boosters). The now-6yo is still in her Diono behind the front passenger seat. She won't outgrow it for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 My best friend and I both have this model of Sienna, and she is a car seat tech. I recently needed to get all 3 of my kids in the back row (all ride in boosters) and she helped me do it. It's possible, but not super fun. We managed with two harmony literiders and a graco turbo booster. The turbo had to be on the passenger side to make it work. You need the two skinny boosters (like Harmonys) on the driver's side and in the middle. They cannot easily buckle themselves. It was a giant pain. I would not want to do it long term. If I had your kids in my van, here's what I would do (not that you asked, LOL). I have the 8 passenger version, and those three middle seats are ROOMY. At one point, I had three Britax convertibles installed with room to spare in the middle row of my Sienna. Seriously roomy. So, I'd put your 5yo twins in the back row, in boosters, in the two outboard positions, and they should easily be able to buckle themselves. You could use high or low back boosters, with just two of them back there, anything would be fine. I'd put the 2yo in the middle seat of the middle row and the infant on the driver side of middle row. I'd put the 7yo in the spot by the sliding passenger door, because she's old enough to handle a small lightweight backless booster. When you're loading the toddler and baby, she could remove her booster, tumble her seat. let the 5yos into the back row, put her seat back in place, reposition her booster, and buckle herself up. I imagine that would be the most straightforward way to do my van with kids those ages, and it's similar to what I do when we babysit or have other kids that need to ride with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I think you will have the most luck getting 3 Radians for the back. They harness forward facing up to 80lbs and 57 inches tall. Then they can be used as boosters up to 120lbs. I'm not sure, though, if you will be able to use them as boosters with three across; I have heard many people say that they can't reach their hand down to buckle the seat belt when there are two seats right next to each other. There is a picture of three across on this Amazon page. If the 7 year old really doesn't want to be harnessed, maybe you could keep the 5 year olds harnessed in Radians and put the 7 year old boostered in a Radian in whatever position gives the most access to the seatbelt. Or harness the 5 year olds and the 2 year old in the back and put the 7 year old boostered in the second row. FWIW, we have two Radians (both rear facing) in the outboard seating positions in the third row of a Sienna. A third Radian would easily fit between them, but when I sit there it is a squeeze and I end up sitting on the seat belt buckle. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFwife Claire Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 If I had your kids in my van, here's what I would do (not that you asked, LOL). I have the 8 passenger version, and those three middle seats are ROOMY. At one point, I had three Britax convertibles installed with room to spare in the middle row of my Sienna. Seriously roomy. So, I'd put your 5yo twins in the back row, in boosters, in the two outboard positions, and they should easily be able to buckle themselves. You could use high or low back boosters, with just two of them back there, anything would be fine. I'd put the 2yo in the middle seat of the middle row and the infant on the driver side of middle row. I'd put the 7yo in the spot by the sliding passenger door, because she's old enough to handle a small lightweight backless booster. When you're loading the toddler and baby, she could remove her booster, tumble her seat. let the 5yos into the back row, put her seat back in place, reposition her booster, and buckle herself up. I imagine that would be the most straightforward way to do my van with kids those ages, and it's similar to what I do when we babysit or have other kids that need to ride with us. This is what I would do too. We have a 2007 8-seat Sienna, and while we now have 9 kids and don't all fit in it, we still use it with smaller subsets as often as possible because our big 12-passenger Ford van is such a pain, lol. We have also found that 3 boosters are a really tight squeeze in the back row, so we just have 2 there, in the outboard positions (and then we usually have someone who doesn't need a booster in the middle as well). In the middle row, we have the harnessed carseats installed behind the driver and in the middle for the baby and toddler. Then someone else who just needs a booster (or doesn't need anything at all) sits by the passenger door, helping buckle the little in the middle as well as themselves, and just moving their booster to the floor to tumble the seat when it's time to get out. It works well. It can be nice to have someone in the middle row who can be helpful for the littles during drives, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilma Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Is there a special reason to have three in the back row? We have four girls in our Toyota Sienna, and they've always been divvied up 2 + 2 in various configurations. We usually leave out one of the seats in the middle row (making it a 7 person car instead of 8), so that the back row people can access their spots without hassle. I've tried putting three Radian seats or combination of Radians and backless boosters in the back row when we have extra kids, but it just doesn't work. Whenever we have that situation, I let the nine y/o ride willy nilly to allow 3 across back there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Is there a special reason to have three in the back row? We have four girls in our Toyota Sienna, and they've always been divvied up 2 + 2 in various configurations. She has five kids, so she has to put 3 somewhere. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I have a 2011 Sienna and 5 kids. We have 3 Graco Nautilus seats in the last row. The two outside ones are secured by the seatbelt and the middle one is secured with the latch thing. It's super tight but they are in there! In the middle row I have another Nautilus and a Britax Roundabout. We have huge car seats but we've been able to make them fit. We love our sienna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilma Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 She has five kids, so she has to put 3 somewhere. ;) ha! I missed the two kids on one line part. Now I've got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrygal Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 :lurk5: Interesting. I'm driving a gas guzzling SUV and considering going back to a van but the car seat issue is the killer!! All I can say is mom's need to start designing vans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia. Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 We had 3 Radians across the back seat of our 2008 Sienna, the booster situation was a little more difficult. DS1's Britax Parkway SG booster could fit next to 2 Radians, but he couldn't fit his hand in to buckle it. The only boosters that worked for us (in the 3 across the 3rd row) were the Evenflo Big Kid boosters that I found at Walmart. They are 0.5" narrower and didn't have protruding cup holders, that was enough to make the difference. First we had 1 Evenflo booster and 2 Radians, now we have 2 Evenflo boosters and 1 Radian. It's a tighter fit on the driver's side than the passenger side due to the location of the LATCH that is used in the middle for the Radian. Right now in the middle row I have DS3 rear-facing in a Britax Boulevard and DS1 in the (now backless) Parkway booster. I'll need to install the middle captain's chair in the 2nd row in December and I'm hoping to be able to fit 2 Britax seats there. Never-ending car seat Tetris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 The Car Seat Lady has a video on her blog about keeping a booster buckled all the time and teaching a kid to get in and out of it and adjust it without unbuckling. We have a Sienna and have a carpool kid who rides on a Bubble Bum in the third row, and this is what I have him do, because otherwise, it's just too hard to get buckled. DD sometimes does it with her Turbobooster, too. That video plus other info about narrow boosters is here: http://thecarseatlady.com/narrowest-boosters/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollyh Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Thanks for the help! We bought a 2011 Odyssey. We installed our three Radians in the back and they tightly fit... although we were only able to install using the seat belts and they don't feel tight enough to us... Not sure what to do about that. But the car is beautiful. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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