Luke and I went through with The Great Carseat Experiment this weekend, and we were able to come up with an arrangement that will suit our needs well enough to bring Baby Brother home in the Outlander.
We first tried using the three existing seats presently in our possession - Kara's Britax Marathon, Nathan's Britax Roundabout, and the Baby Trend infant bucket and base from Jenn - but the Marathon kept bumping into the passenger door upon closing, so on Saturday afternoon we made a trip to Target to invest in a highback booster seat, which bought us the couple of inches we needed to avoid a budget-blowing vehicle upgrade. We are lucky in that Kara meets both the height and weight requirements for a booster, and we went with a highback so our girl could enjoy the benefits of side impact protection a while longer. Though we have the seat in our possession now, we will continue to use the Marathon for Kara until right before the baby's arrival, when the bucket seat will be permanently installed.
We don't know for sure how long we can get by with our current car; at some point Nathan's Roundabout will need an upgrade, and I don't know how three convertible/booster seats will fit back there, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, we are just grateful to retain our status as a car-payment-free family, however long that lasts.
Kneeling on the front passenger cushion to look back at all those child seats nestled together, I realized this was the first time I had a tangible representation of what life will look like with three children. And honestly, it was a little overwhelming. I assume that was only the first of numerous similar-type moments to come.
ABOUT THE STROLLER
Luke and I have given the whole stroller situation some more thought and decided against buying anything for now. For one, Luke reminded me we have a perfectly good umbrella stroller collecting dust in the garage. Also, we have a several baby carriers at our disposal - an infant-sized Baby Bjorn hand-me-down, the Maclaren I received while writing for Parents.com that worked splendidly with Nathan, and an Ergo that will see us into toddlerhood. With all of those things, we own more than enough gear to transport this baby on errands, zoo trips, etc. My main concern was having something for Luke to use when getting Kara and Nathan to and from school, but he has already assured me he would rather use the carrier instead of a stroller to keep both hands free.
Also, about the double stroller: I appreciated all the suggetions, but Luke and I have a double stroller. With two kids 13 months apart, it was sort of a necessity, at least in the early months when Nathan was brand-new and Kara was still a baby herself. Nowadays, though, it doesn't get much use since we received a wagon as a generous present from my in-laws and Kara and Nathan much prefer that to being strapped in to individual seats. Plus, even with the wagon, they actually walk most of the time, so Luke and I anticipate needing only one stroller (if any, what with all the aforementioned carrier options) to contain the baby.
Does your brain hurt? I know mine does. Another recurring symptom of Life With Three Children, I suspect.
Hooray for figuring that out without your head or budget exploding!
Posted by: Blanche | February 28, 2011 at 02:41 PM
Thanks for the update! I want to see a pic of what THREE CARSEATS looks like! It's good that you have figured this out - buying a new car sounds like just too much when there is so much other change and expense coming up.
We are just lucky that Megan will last in the Roundabout for a while longer, and when we get Emily out of her bucket seat in September-ish, we'll just put her into the Roundabout and get a bigger convertible for Megan since she won't hit the booster requirements until junior high at the rate she's going:)
Posted by: eva | February 28, 2011 at 03:46 PM
Sounds like the experiment worked out well!
To help ease your mind (please keep in mind I only have one and could not wrap my head around two) I have heard the jump from two kids is a lot worse than the jump from one to two kids.
You will make it work and will do a great job of it!
Posted by: kim | February 28, 2011 at 06:54 PM
On car seats (or boosters) there are some really excellent boosters out there that STILL have the 5 point harness and seem to be smaller overall. We just got one for Maggie and it's almost like a convertable booster. Glad you found a way to fit three though! That alone is a parenting feat!!!
Posted by: Bren | February 28, 2011 at 08:32 PM
I always preferred my carriers to a stroller when I had my third. Glad your carseats worked. We are at the other end of that delimma. Two of mine are out of carseats, one is so big he can ride in the front and Ben is in a booster, we want something smaller, but I am scared I will feel claustophobic. I'm used to driving a bus. It will feel weird having them that close to me :)
Posted by: Erica | March 01, 2011 at 10:42 AM
Congratulations on fitting 3 seats!!
Like Eva's daughter, my oldest son did not reach the booster requirements until he was MUCH older than Kara. I finally let him switch to a booster seat when he was about to die from the embarrassment of being in the harnessed seat. He was 8. It did save us a couple inches and made it so much easier to fit everything.
Posted by: Katie | March 01, 2011 at 01:27 PM
Yay for you! I'm so glad it worked out!
Also, in my vast experience (almost FOUR WHOLE MONTHS) with three children, it is not your brain that will hurt. It is your ears. You're welcome.
Posted by: lisa | March 01, 2011 at 03:25 PM
I am definitely going to get a sling for baby #3. I want something i can easily put the baby in (and take the baby out of) for things like shopping. And I find the only times I use the stroller are when we go places like the mall or on walks, and I bet the stroller you have would work for those...
Posted by: AJU5's Mom | March 02, 2011 at 01:40 PM
I just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading about your current path. It has given me a whole new perspective for the minutiae of what my parents must have gone through.
My parents had my oldest sister in '76, my older sister in '76 and me in '81 [they were 26 when they had me]. As I've aged I've tried to imagine what it was like, but this has been much more enlightening!
Wishing you and yours the very best.
Posted by: Amy | March 02, 2011 at 02:00 PM
I totally want to see pictures, too. I'm mad impressed!
Posted by: Jen L. | March 03, 2011 at 06:53 PM