Well ladies, never in a million years did I EVER think that I would become a “minivan mom.” In fact, I swore up and down that I would never own one. Yet here I am, about a month into owning, yep, you guessed it, a minivan.
I am from a family of six, so growing up we always had a minivan. In fact, my parents still own a minivan. I never really saw myself as a minivan owner and always preferred an SUV. A few years ago, when I got pregnant with our first baby, I purchased my SUV and fell in love. I honestly thought that I would drive that thing until it wouldn’t go anymore. However, now that we have three babies, it just wasn’t practical anymore. We started looking at our options and shopping around here and there. I had my heart set on a larger, third-row SUV but my husband was dead set on a minivan.
Needless to say, we looked at a ton of cars but still couldn’t agree on something that checked off all of our needs. My biggest concern was the amount of space we would have. We would have not only our toddler boy but also two girls under two. We also travel a lot so I still wanted something that had plenty of trunk space but would easily fit and carry our three car seats comfortably. There was also the issue of a vehicle that could carry a double stroller plus the rest of our needs without us being crammed inside.
After looking at several vehicles it seemed that every SUV that I found was always missing one item on our checklist or way out of budget. My hubby was very quick to point out that almost every minivan that we looked at had all of the practical things we needed plus all of the luxury things I wanted in a vehicle as well. I know, I know, it’s weird to read “luxury” and “minivan” in the same sentence, but it was true! I honestly couldn’t believe how luxurious and nice some of those vans were! It may have been a minivan on the outside but as soon as you got inside, you forgot what you were getting into!
As much as I hated to admit it and never ever wanted to get one, I finally agreed to drive my very own minivan. Space, first and foremost, is like no other vehicle, hands down. Not only do we have the third row, but we also have stow-and-go seats and a huge trunk that has plenty of storage, plus luggage racks on top! At the moment, we have one of the captain seats down so I am not only able to easily access my son, who I put in the third row, but I still have tons of room to put our two infant car seats in as well. Another of my favorite features is the sliding doors. Anyone who has gone into a store and come out with a car parked two inches from you can relate to my frustration of trying to get your doors wide enough. Now picture having an entire car seat to get into your car, not to mention your other kids! Now I never have that problem, nor do I have to watch out and make sure our three-year-old doesn’t ding any doors. I was even able to put down all of the seats and haul a huge new dresser I bought without scratching any of the interior or worrying about borrowing a truck from someone.
So mamas, if you are in need of a new vehicle with more space for our growing families and are 100% against a minivan, or even on the fence, let me tell you, look into it! While it has definitely taken some adjustment and a lot of convincing, it was definitely worth it! Space, convenience, and a smooth ride have definitely changed my mind and I am proud to say I am now a minivan mom!
