I have an older minivan that only has 1 sliding door. As much as I'd love a newer van, there's no possible way right now (plus, not having a car payment is wonderful!!). I have a 2 y/o and another one due in 6 weeks. I've started thinking about which seats in the van to put the car seats, and I can't figure out which way will be easier. I'll use an infant car seat for my newborn, and my 2 y/o has a Britax Regent, so it's kinda big. Currently my 2 y/o is behind the driver seat. I've thought about possibly putting my 2 y/o in the far back, but I don't like having him so far away. But if he's in one of the 2 middle seats, then I'm blocking any way to use the rear seat, and also making it difficult to reach whichever kid is behind the driver seat. So for those of you who have or have had a 1-door van, what worked best for you? I see problems no matter which way I think about it, so any help is much needed!! TIA!
BTW: The van has bucket seats in the middle. If we strap either car seat in behind the passenger seat (closest to the sliding door) then we can't move that seat forward to get in the far back. We use the far back seat when my parents are in town or if we're traveling anywhere with our dogs (about 2 times a month, sometimes more). I'll probably just have to experiment with different ways and see what works best. No wonder they started making vans with 2 sliding doors!! Makes things a lot easier!!!
The infant car seat will need to face backward for a while. It is best this seat is behind the passenger seat to give it more room. Beyond that, I can't envision what your van looks like, so I couldn't give you more advice.
Can you take out one of the middle seats? That way you can have the baby in the middle but you'll still be able to easily reach your 2 year old to get him in/out. I keep one middle seat out and like that extra space to use for diaper changes, etc.
I would put the baby behind the passenger seat, and the 2 year old in the back seat behind him. That way, when you open the door, you can easily get to both of them. You will miss not being able to hand your son a cup or something, but you will learn to work around it...and to pull over more often, which is what I have had to do:) There is no perfect arrangement, but since you will likely set the infant seat in first, it will be hard to climb over to buckle your son. I do like the idea of possibly removing a seat, the extra room would be helpful, but that means the rear facing seat is behind the driver, and I cant stand that..sits me too far forward! Good luck, one of the many changes that having 2 kids make!
If you need frequent access to the backseat, I would put the infant carrier behind the driver's seat. That way, anyone who is riding in the back can get in before you put the infant carrier in because the base should not block access to the backseat. If you are going on any kind of long drive, I would recommend you take out the middle seat behind the driver's seat and sit on the back row with the infant. When the baby is rear facing, it is too difficult to interact with them if you can't sit beside or behind them. For shorter trips, though, if the two year old is on the inner seat, you will be able to hand him a snack or a sippy cup if you are in the driver's seat. The only difficult part will be fastening your two year old into his car seat, but it will be easier to do that than to try to hoist the infant carrier all the way over to the other side of the car and latch it in. Good luck!
