One of the funniest times in my life (and also maybe a little scary) is when a person inside Goodwill asked me what car I drove. My first thought was “Oh No!!! Is my car rolling down the parking lot taking out little old ladies and squishing grocery carts like blades of grass?” followed quickly with “Did I leave a kid in the car?” #headcount and then “Am I being hijacked?”……the brain goes where it wants people. And that last one is ridiculous. It would take a solid ten minutes for me to get out of any store with five kids. And then there are multiple diaper changes. And then another five to buckle everyone in. I mean….twenty minutes is how long it takes me to LEAVE anywhere. Surely someone committing grand theft auto would rethink the situation knowing that fact.
But then their voice broke the silence and said “I ask because we have four little kids too and one on the way”. Oh right. That makes sense.
So I am here to share the details on how we fit everyone in the car and how we put one infant carseat, two harness boosters and two regular boosters in the seats as well. First it should be noted that I made Jeremy clean our car for this post. We never have a car this clean. EVER. And we didn’t even clean the car seat pads because well…Max will dump juice on them in two seconds just to see it roll down the sides.
Let’s get to it!
The back row is the seat for Max on the far left and the booster for Weston on the right.
The middle row is where the real action happens. In that row we have Will behind the front passenger on the far left, LJ in the middle in his booster and then Ella’s click-in-base behind the driver.
*Note that these aren’t buckled because we just finished cleaning the massive number of goldfish out from under them!
The key for fitting all of the seats in the middle row is having the biggest seat in the middle – that would be the harness carseat. The booster on the left can fit kind of like a puzzle piece. And then the base of Ella’s seat is stationary – meaning it never comes out. It also fits under the harness seat snug.
So the way we all get in is that the booster for Will is moved for every load and unload. That is this seat right here. We simply grab it and either slide it to the floor in front of LJ’s seat or hand it to Will.
Then we fold the seat down. Did you see what just happened? We made a changing table appear! 🙂
Yes, this is where 90% of our bum-wipes take place. And it is where the kids climb into the back seat.
We can also fold our seat up like this with a tug of a strap but lets just be honest…this is a rare thing. Usually my kids just climb over.
We always have the backseat kids climb in first and then LJ and we strap them all down (double checking the belts) before Will gets in and does his job (buckle up & close the door).
And Boom! There you have it! Five kiddos and all in seats!
And if you are looking for details – we have a Suburban with a center row…not captain chairs.
Also – here are my best tips for cars and kiddos. First – buy these mats from Husky Liners. They are super durable and fit the car perfectly. We have the WeatherBeater ones….and yes, they are pricy but we figure it into the cost of maintenance.
They are heavy duty ones that overlap at seams and the carpeting underneath still looks like new. And they pressure wash off! We also have them in the front seats because we do eat in our car. I know. I know. Someone out there will feel like this is a big no-no but once sports happen and so many different schedules – it is better to have fed kids and happy adults.
And we love the fact that they are custom made for each car….you simply type in your model of car and year and they are molded to fit. No more slippery mats. This isn’t an ad for them or anything – we just love the mats and have bought them multiple times for multiple cars.
Also – this is random but recently we added a lanyard to our keychain and it helps me so much when I am looking for my keys. It may be the worst fashion statement ever but no more keys in the bottom of my purse and I have one less thing in my hands or in my pockets. (my pants don’t need any help falling down, thank you very much!)
Lastly – and I know I will get questions about this….we do this thing with the kids where they have to visit the local fire station to move up to the next stage of carseats/booster. We bring a scale and the car seat fit guide and allow the firemen to ‘graduate’ them to the booster. This way the kids know it is not just a mommy/daddy decision but it’s official business. Most fire stations will also check your carseats to make sure they are properly installed if you have any doubt.
So if you are like the person at Goodwill and have a growing family….or if you just want more insight into life with five kids, this is a big part! And here are the carseats we have used and recommend…click on any of the photos below for more info….
Happy packing them in like tuna!
Does anyone out there have a nifty solution to cover the middle bench seat from dog hair between 2 car seats? Our pouch likes to position himself right there between the 2 seats.
Yup! Expecting our fifth and the van is so dang tight! Eventually wanting a suburban (but that’s the same amount of seats if we do captains….) or an eigh passenger ford transit (but we love in northeast Ohio and rear wheel drive and snow are ewwww). Thanks for sharing! I don’t think we’ll buy anything right away but with long legged kids who don’t always like to sit right next to each other it’s on my mind a lot. My husband and I have always wAnted a black suburban- there has to be a lot of them somewhere- like every car jack Bauer used in 24 and every show that features presidential escorts always has like twenty- so somewhere in a movie lot there hs to be a zillion black shiny burbans right???
Thanks so much for posting this (I had annoyingly asked you a couple times on Instagram!). Question for you or other parents of 3 kids: do you think captains chairs would be better than the bench (since we don’t have to fit as many as you)? We are getting a new car soon and I can’t decide. We have a 4.5 year old, 2.5 year old and about to have the third.
So timely as we’re having a similar conversation with our 3rd on the way in 8 weeks and trying to figure out 3 carseats across!
Thanks for sharing your post and being so brave. We all know how stressful it is with lots of kids in the car but looking at your carseat situation without the full story makes me uncomfortable. I am not a certified tech but with (that many) carseats it is always recommended to have a certified tech look them over to ensure the carseats and installations fit for your children and vehicle. We all want our kids safe and certified techs can be found at hospitals etc. and charge a minimal donation. Again, I don’t have the full story and I realize a lot of people are not aware of all the recommendations so I just wanted to let everyone know. Remember that all carseats need to be top tethered when forward facing and that even though carseats may “seem” to fit some have very specific recommendations of not overlapping (Graco) is one of them.
I am not trying to be upsetting or rude but I know a lot of people read your blog and carseat safety is close to my heart, especially since a lot of carseats are installed incorrectly and/or kids are using the wrong seat.
I should also note that while firestations may offer a carseat check they are not always certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST) . Another great resource is Carseat for the littles, who will answer all questions about carseats, in connection with your child height/weights and your specific car.
I love this post! Speaking as someone with 3 convertible car seats in her car (We have 3 1/2 year old twins and a 2 year old.) I get questions like this a lot! Thank you for sharing!
We had our 5th at Christmas and bought a 12 seater van right before. We looked closely at suburbans, as well all the usual mini vans (hubby was in there measuring seat width with a measuring tape!). In the end we went with the 12 seater so we could haul friends. It’s not exciting to drive and a beast to park BUT I can drive my kids and their friends AND ALL THE GROCERIES. We will probably downsize to a suburban or a Yukon XL one day. Love your set up though!
I have a (probably) silly question. Why don’t you put Will in the back row? That way you don’t have to mess with moving his booster every time.
Did you read to the end? She specifically noted that they visit a fire station to get their seats looked at & to have the firemen “graduate” the kiddos to bigger seats.
I’ve had a lanyard on my keys for ages for just the same reason – fashion wise recently just upgraded to a nice one (like this: https://de.liebeskind-berlin.com/p/schluesselanhaenger-T2.899.93.7963.html?cgid=ac_schluesselanhaenger&sku=T2.899.93.7963.8627.1) and now I am all set 😉
Greetings from Germany
Jenn(ifer)
Just as an FYI both Graco and Chico do not permit seats to puzzle together – they can touch as long as they are independently secured but can not overlap each other’s space or push each other. There are combination seats (the harness to boosters) that are much more narrow which might be better for your middle row. For booster riders the shoulder belt should be firmly in the middle of the shoulder and making full contact with the body. It looks like your booster riders could benefit from high backs or at minimum using a belt guide with their no back boosters. Also the vast majority of Fire/Police Departments do not have actual CPSTs – though if yours does that is awesome! Just be careful recommending it to others. You should always search for a CPST who has been certified through Safe Kids Worldwide. The current recommendations are to rear face to at least 2 (though longer is preferred), forward facing harness to a minimum of 5, and then a booster until 10-12 (when the 5-step test is passed).
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AQYZCXK/ref=oh_aui_i_sh_in_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For anyone out there! I drive a Nissan Rogue and can only fit two seats comfortably in the back. My oldest is 4.5 and very tall so she can ride in a backless booster even though she mostly doesn’t. We ordered this and it is the ONLY thing that will fit in between the 2 car seats (we have Gracos similar to Katie’s). So if I have to tote a third kid around, I stick this in the middle for the largest child (usually my 4 YO). It is inflatable, though we rarely deflate it. But you could and stick it in a backpack or something if they are riding home from school with a friend or grandparent or whatever! It’s been very handy. We will have to get a new car, but this is helping out in the meantime!
When I have my brothers girls we have to pile 5 kids in a Tahoe with captains chairs and use carseats for all of them also. I needed 3 car seats across the back so we ended up purchasing a harmony carseat which is smaller on the sides and fit between the 2 Graco carseats like a glove. Might be an option for you guys if you want to leave that seat folded up for easier access to the 3rd row. Hope you have a great day and thanks for sharing your post!!
I am not a parent of 3, but I am one of 3 siblings 🙂 We had captain chairs in our van growing up and loved them. I think it avoids a lot of the drama of not wanting to sit next to someone since each kid can have their own separate space. Or if 2 kids did want to be next to each other to play a game or something they could always be in the back row. They were also a lot more comfortable for travel since the captain seats could recline and the person in the back could stretch out.
That’s the best license plate!!!
For car seats – check our Diono’s – they are some of the narrowest for three across!
I have three kids – 8 yr old girl, 6 yr old boy and 4 yr old girl. We have a Sequoia with a bench seat in the middle. We love it because sometimes it’s nice for all three to sit in the front row when we need to take the back row out to haul stuff. On vacations we always either take out or fold/roll up the 3rd row to make room for everything. Also, we often find ourselves hauling an extra kid or two to sports/activities and like having the extra seat.
We have a Sequoia and LOVE it. We have 3 kids and often 1 or 2 extra kids. It has a bench seat in the middle and the 3rd row is comfortable for adults too. I can sit there and no issues with leg room.
Looks like good seat situation but a certified car seat tech might want to weigh in, Weston looks too small for his seat, I don’t believe he’s high enough (the strap on his neck could be a risk in a crash).
You might want to look up your model car on car seat lady blog, she will have recommendations for seats that fit three across for your car!
So glad you commented saying this! When it comes to safety like this, I feel like blog posts should have a disclaimer that say “I’m not an expert, this is just what we do. Here’s who you *should* consult about car seat safety if you have any questions ________.” Many readers will take what an influential blogger does as gospel. Like Sarah-Nadine, I’m not trying to be rude, you can just never be too careful. I’m close to a situation where a family has to live with a “why didn’t we have an expert look over our car seats.” scenario, and it’s heartbreaking.
What about one of the rubber under car seat mats. We have britax ones, they don’t slide even if there’s no car seat on it and you could take it out to wash off.
Yes! We love husky liners, it’s the first purchase my husband makes for our vehicles. In general it makes cleaning the car out so much easier even without kids. We have 4 boys, all in car seats. We have a Yukon with bench seats, no captains and a suburban, no captains. I love my Yukon as a daily driver but it’s impossible to do anything that requires bringing more than a stroller in the very back. We have a small enclosed trailer that has been amazing for longer trips and for grabbing things at Lowe’s or Home Depot I won’t ever have captains chairs in the second row, it’s so easy to fold the bench seat down like you showed and it gives us a place for either an extra person to ride or for me to sit next to the babies if they’re upset. I’ve also squeezed in the third row between our two oldest’s car seats so we could fit two extra passengers in . The suburban has been a must for us for grocery hauls or short trips out of town. Love this post! Great idea on graduating car seats at the fire department. Oklahoma has made stricter car seat laws, thankfully, although we’re believers in car seats for as long as possible so we‘d have them in them regardless of the laws minimums. Do they make them to fit teen boys?
I am from a family of 9 children, so I can relate. But I grew up when seat belts were not required by law. So glad some things have changed. We always had station wagons, and we just bounced from seat to seat. Boy have times changed. But then again, there wasn’t as much traffic either. Love seeing your little ones. They look happy!!! Blessings to you, and thanks for sharing life with us! You go girl!!!
We have two, soon to be three, and LOVE the captain’s chairs. Has made it so easy for an adult to get in the back, which we need to do frequently too. We have a Chevy Traverse btw and love it.
I agree. Fire Stations are great for fires but most don’t know ANYTHING about installing car sets unless they have a CPST. It is also recommended that children under the age of 7 be in 5-point-harness. At least two of your children should be in a safer car seat. I say this because I ALWAYS want children and babies safe and have followed the conservative advice of several CPST over the years (my oldest is almost 17).
People often told me I was taking it a bit too far but as the recommendations changed, I never had to change what I was doing because I was always following the safest advice.
Maybe we are just lucky then because the only person we know that is a CPST works at our fire station! Maybe that is not the case but our hospital even told us in their new parent initiation class to take it to the fire station. Hmm.
xo – kb
Hahaha! Right?! I mean – can we pass a law that means all of our children need to wear helmets full-time?! xo – kb
Try a Kurgo bench seat cover. It’s handy for reducing kid crumbs in the seat and catching spills, too.
Haha! Yes please one of my twins is so clumsy we made need full pads for protection!
Any reason you are not publishing polite posts that say that your car seats may not be fitting your children correctly? I made a comment earlier not to be rude but to point out that Weston in not in correct height seat and the belt should not be on his neck. Other parents could benefit knowing this is not correct or safe. By only approving glowing positives you are in an echo chamber. I’ve read your blog for years but moderating our anything even remotely critical has turned me away from your blog.
we have a Yukon XL – like the suburban – and we specifically waited to get the bench, NOT the captain chairs. 3 kids. With having such a big vehicle, I like putting down the third row if I had stuff to haul so the kids can sit by each other. I also always have extra kids with me so I like being able to bring 6 kids/2 adults. With that being said, we do have an Acadia with bucket seats in the 2nd row and for that car, smaller, it works out much better.
Do you like your oldest in the middle bench seat? I have my oldest ones in the back and keep that seat behind the passenger flipped up for easier entrance/exit. I am sure you have tried that before and I know everyone has their own preferences! 🙂
We can’t seem to fit the booster in the back with the two others because of the wheel wells. Do you also have a Suburban?
ox – kb
Both boosters and the harness belt seat will not fit in that back row because of the wheel wells. I think it would be ideal though!
xo – kb
Yes – these do not touch….they also don’t overlap like other seats do. And I guess I am just lucky that my area has a fireman that is also a CPST – I thought this was standard since our hospital told us to go to the forestation to get their help. I figured that was standard. And the boys were fooling around in the picture…this isn’t supposed to be a tutorial on seatbelt positions 🙂
xo – kb
He is just fooling around. All of the photos were hilarious of the kids as we told them we were just gonna show off our carseats. He is five but well over the recommended size to be in a booster. And yes – the only certified tech works as a local fireman and he is the one that graduated him to the booster 🙂
xo – kb
I definitely don’t want to be taken as gospel. Yikes. And in the disclaimer section I clearly say just that!
xo – kb
We have three in car seats all rear facing on a bench seat in the middle! Ages, 4, 2 1/2, and 7 months! For those debating between bench vs captains, it is SO MUCH easier to get kids in and out with the bench! It’s hard for anyone to get in the back with car seats in the front and realistically, how many times do you take other people around w three kids? When people do ride with us, they just get in through trunk and we fold down the 40 bench, leave the 60 and then move it back up once they’re in. No less convenient than having to uninstall and reinstall car seats from captains chairs. I can’t get back there to buckle once my oldest so theee straight across works great. ALSO, when it’s just our kids, like 90% of the time, we can keep the third row fold folded down and we have lots of storage space in the back. I always loved captains but with three, it is just so much easier with the bench.
All comments go into moderation. I am a busy mom of five and sometimes I don’t get to all of them for approval. Sorry that yours got stuck there for a bit. And yes – completely agree that no belt should be on their neck…he was just fooling around for the picture….we weren’t moving and we weren’t taking it for a seatbelt tutorial…it’s just to show that five kids are in our car.
xo – kb
Thank you for this post!!
We actually have an Expedition which I *think* is a hair slimmer than the suburban. We have gotten 3 in the back to work in family/ friends suburban without overlapping or being too tight. Maybe my eldest booster seat is a slimmer brand… or maybe I have no idea what I’m yakking about.
The cup holder on LJ’s seat is overlapping Will’s booster. You should be able to draw a straight line between the seats. It also appears to be being pushed by the infant seat. The Graco That LJ is using is VERY wide and known for not fitting three across. You said yourself they are puzzling together. Something like a Graco tranzition/wayz or a harmony defender would likely fit much better. It also looks like both LJ and Max’s straps are too low or about to be too low – they should be above for forward facing. It’s great you are seeking out a CPST but I would worry they are not up to date if they approved this set up…
I am a CPST and would recommend for people to look for a local Safe Kids chapter, they are the ones that do the training and certification. On their website you can look up and find a local tech. Sometimes police and fire departments do have certified techs, some health departments, sometimes hospitals just depends on your area. 🙂
I’m just curious, why did you decide on an SUV over a mini van? I always just assumed mini vans would be the top choice for two rows of kids.
And how long does it take to get all those kiddos in their seats and ready to go? I feel like with just my two it can be a process haha.
Hey, Katie!
This is not entirely related, but what is your system for navigating parking lots with your guys on foot and loading/unloading them in the car in public places? (I guess I’m wondering what your tips are for keeping them close to you and the car when you don’t have enough hands to physically keep them close to you.)
I guess because I have always had an SUV and feel more comfortable in them. I am constantly having to jump the curb and park in random spots so I felt less nervous doing that with a SUV. And it takes about 3 minutes if we go fast….but sometimes it feels like 3 hours 🙂
xo – kb
They were all approved by a CPST at the local fire department. And like I said in the post – it wasn’t to show off the proper buckling (the seats are not even strapped down) but to have a fun picture of five kids in a car (it’s a visual aide for a blog post just explaining our situation – not a tutorial on buckling).
xo – kb
We do the ‘hand on the cart’ method. They must be holding the cart or my hand or one hand on my car.
xo – kb
I love seeing the car seat setup! We have four boys ages 5&under and drive an Odyssey. The two oldest go in the back into graco nautilus seats like you have, then our middle seats can fit three seats but we take the middle seat out(it can be stored in the floor)and slide the captain seats next to each other-it’s my favorite set up because it creates a small “aisle” to the back and is way easier for us to get back there to help with buckling etc.(than going through the middle). in the middle we use a chicco infant and radian. I love the idea of an suv but I LOVE my minivan and storage. We joke we are going to end up with his and hers Honda Odyssey’s when we replace my husbands car lol
Hi Katie. This is my first time commenting, but I’ve been reading the blog and following you on IG for years. I just wanted to pop in and say I absolutely love when you post about kids, kids gear, safety, thrift shopping kids clothes, etc. I’m pregnant with my first baby at the moment and have been gobbling up as much info as I possibly can about this stuff. =)
Bless you for making a post about car seats. For some reason people have quickly forgotten that we sat in a “car seat” with one airplane style buckle across the lap and a metal bar that came down over our heads like a roller coaster ride. I am all for safety and doing my best to keep my kids safe, but we can all do our best for our kids without the masses chiming in with their opinions. Locally our Extension service provides car seat inspections. Its different everywhere. How awesome that your kids get the added adventure of going to the fire house. Keep on rocking it Momma! Love following your blog and kiddos.
This post made me laugh – especially the idea of “packing them in like tuna”, because that’s how I feel! We have two kiddos with one due in August and we will be playing with car seat positions once we get closer to the due date. We recently upgraded from a Toyota Rav4 to a Highlander – there was absolutely no way a third car seat would have fit in our old car!
Clek also make really narrow seats that can fit in a regular car three across and they have great safety ratings. They are also extended rear-facing!
Any chance you can show the back? like how big the storage is? and how you pack that all in? Thanks Katie!
What’s it like going grocery shopping in the Suburban? Can you fit groceries in the back? Or what about day trips (with all of the kid “stuff”)? I ask because we have a minivan at the moment with 4 kids and its getting to be a tight fit (we have the captains chairs in the middle). We’re thinking of upgrading to something a bit bigger in a year or two and I’m gathering ideas. Plus, who knows, maybe we’ll have another little one some day…;)
It is big! My sister has a minivan and I have about double the space that she does!
xo – kb
Thanks for mentioning rear facing Allison. I see so many children being turned forward facing as soon as they reach the age or rate as a minimum, when you should keep them to the maximum limits of the seat. Unfortunately, people do not understand how much safer it is to keep children rearfacing. Most people would never dream of a 5 year old still rf’ing, but my granddaughter is still doing it in a Diono Radian without issue. And as someone who lost a 5 year old family member to internal decapitation in ff booster, this is so important. People never think it will happen until it does. 🙁