3 carseats and a '03 Honda CR-V

[angielarue]

I am curious if there is anyone out there who has solved the dilema of getting 3 car seats into the back of a CR-V. Mine is almost paid off, so I am trying to figure this out instead of taking on a new car payment.

Anyway, there is just barely enough room for all three seats (1 booster, 1 convertible and 1 infant rear facing) in the back. The problem is that the booster has to go in the middle because there are no L.A.T.C.H. attachments in that location; however, the booster seat covers the buckle part of the seatbelt (the part the latch snaps into). We tried just using the buckle for the driver's side back seat, but the side seatbelt latchs are slightly longer than the middle seatbelt latch so it doesn't latch into the side buckle.

We thought that there would be something like a seatbelt extendor, but apparantly there isn't since Auto Zone, O'Rielly's nor Honda sells them.

Have any of you successfully figured this out, or have you just had to bite the bullet and get a bigger vehicle? If so what are the pros and cons of a huge SUV (child-wise) vs. the dreaded minivan?

Thanks all!!

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Convertible Car Seats Convertible seats are for infants and toddlers. The seat can be used as a rear-facing seats for younger children, and switched to a forward-facing seat on the child's first birthday if the child weighs at least 20 pounds. However, experts recommend keeping the child in a rear-facing position until he or she outgrows the weight or height allowed by the safety seat.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	LATCH LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. It is a system mandated by the Federal government in an effort to standardize and simplify the installation of child restraints without using the vehicle's seat belt system. New vehicles and child safety seats manufactured on and after September 1, 2002 will be equipped with the LATCH system. Cars, minivans, and light trucks will be required to have anchor points between the vehicle's seat cushion and the seat back in at least two rear seating positions, and a top tether anchor (with the exception of convertibles). Child safety seats will have a lower set of attachments that fasten to the vehicle anchors. Most forward-facing child safety seats will also have a top strap (tether) that attaches to the top anchor in the vehicle.

[Papooses]

Seatbelt extenders are an emergency last resort option only.

What is each child's age, weight, height?
What are the exact carseats you currently have?
What year is your vehicle?
What is your budget?

LATCH is not required for installing carseats -- it was invented in hopes of being easier, but the seatbelt is perfectly fine so long as you're following both carseat + vehicle manuals! The most important thing is that each seat is independently secure: harness seats must have less than 1" movement at the belt path.... In general, we would prefer to have the boostered child in the center but not because of LATCH, rather simply because safest practice means puting the least protected passenger in the safest location (boosters are not as safe as RF harnesses). If the center has a lap only belt, then the booster cannot be used there.

	Rear Facing Car Seats A rear-facing seat is one in which the infant faces the back of the car. Always install a rear-facing seat in the back seat of your car. This is the safest position for an infant. NEVER place a rear-facing seat in the front seat of a vehicle with passenger airbags.

	Booster Seat A booster seat raises your child up so that the car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly. The lap belt should fall across the upper thighs. The shoulder belt should go across the middle of the shoulder and chest. A booster seat is used for older children up to about 80 pounds. Some states have passed laws requiring booster seats for children up to age 8 or 80 pounds. Check your state's law.

	LATCH LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. It is a system mandated by the Federal government in an effort to standardize and simplify the installation of child restraints without using the vehicle's seat belt system. New vehicles and child safety seats manufactured on and after September 1, 2002 will be equipped with the LATCH system. Cars, minivans, and light trucks will be required to have anchor points between the vehicle's seat cushion and the seat back in at least two rear seating positions, and a top tether anchor (with the exception of convertibles). Child safety seats will have a lower set of attachments that fasten to the vehicle anchors. Most forward-facing child safety seats will also have a top strap (tether) that attaches to the top anchor in the vehicle.