My almost 9 week old son HATES his car seat. I know some parents suggest taking him for a ride to calm there babies down, but not my son... I took him to the doctor last week (about 20 minute drive) and he screamed the WHOLE ride down, to the point that he threw up.. He sounded like he was choking and it scared me. Not only is it dangerous for me (because I'm trying to look back to make sure he's okay) to not get into a car accident, I'm EXTREMELY frustrated when I arrive at my destination.. To the point where I don't take him out anywhere unless I have someone to sit in the back seat with him.. I have his hanging toys in front of him and I put his pacifier in his mouth (that he'll spit out from screaming)... Will this ever change???? I feel guilty because most of the time I'm really frustrated and not able to enjoy him because he's never happy.
It's bad enough that he's colicy (or I've been reading, maybe "high maintenance" which is worse than colicy) but now I don't even want to take him out of the house because of his screaming episodes..
HELP!!! Any suggestions?
Also, are there any other websites like this that you can ask mom's questions???
Hi,
Have you tried using a different car seat?
Some babies are just miserable in the car in the beginning, it does change. I never thought that my son would stop crying in the car, he is now 7 months and is fine in the car. It did take like 4 months to stop the crying. Try opening the back window a crack just to make the wind noise - that is the same as shushing and does work sometimes.
Good Luck!
I think it has alot to do with their digestive system. My first child was always sleepy in the car, and wonderful as a baby when riding. But my second was always screaming. I figured out that she needed to burp often and that was part of the problem. she was more fussy in general than my first, so i believe it had something to do with her immature system. Do try to take fewer trips if that;s the thing that works; it's not worth the stress on you and it's only temporary!
I can assure you that a lot of babies don't like car seats or long trips in the car! My oldest daughter was one of those, and I too was very frustrated. I just tried to make car trips less frequent and only short distances as needed. It seems like she grew out of the screaming by 4 months. We did drive to Clearwater a couple of times before then and I thought I was going to have to have my husband pull over and let me out so I could catch a cab to our destination :)
Try to also reduce your frustration by taking breaks from your baby, making time to exercise, and sleeping at least 8 hours total at night even if some of it is interrupted by baby. Drink lots of water! Hydrating your body will give you more energy and make you feel better than caffeine.
If you feel more relaxed, your baby will sense it and also feel more relaxed.
My daughter was the same way. I'm trying to remember when it stopped and I think she started tollerating trips around 4 or 5 months. My husband's mom lives about 40 minutes away from us, and we go every weekend. So, you can imagine, we couldn't have a crying baby all the time. We would time our trip around her schedule. Right after she ate and then fell asleep, we'd jump in the car and go. That was the only way we could manage such a long trip. For the shorter trips, I would sing, we'd switch up her toys, and then when possible, like you said, someone would sit in the back with her.
She's now 9 months old and can ride in the car pretty well. But, it didn't just go away immediately. We still would have episodes where I would have to stop and we'd just get out and walk around whatever store we happened to be near until she had calmed down.
I know it's tough. I've found that if I sing that would sometimes calm her and she'd go to sleep. I don't think it's unusual for a baby to cry in the car. I'd heard all those things about them loving the car too, and just didn't find it to be true. I think they're back there and alone and don't know where you are. Recently, on a 2 hour trip, I gave her a shirt of mine and that seemed to help. They just want to be held and can't understand why we don't pick them up.
Anyway, those are the tricks I can think of. As for him being colicy (or high-maintenance), have you tried Happiest Baby on the Block? That calmed our daughter right down and I know of another family who had a colicy baby and said when they discovered Happiest Baby on the Block there was a drastic change. They sell a book and a DVD, or you can Google it and read about it. Basicly, you swaddle them, shush loudly in their ear (really loud, so they can hear you over their crying), put them on their side, sway them, and finally give them something to suck. You're supposed to do it in that order. By the time we got to the shushing our daughter had usually calmed down.
I don't know of any other websites, but I check Dr. Sear's website a lot for info when I have questions.
I hope that helps!
Hi Kristy!
Take a look at www.askdrsears.com and also, www.babycenter.com. I have heard a lot of moms complaining of the very thing you are talking about. Most of the moms I know, actually, have babies who detest the car seat. Sadly it seems that the only help is waiting it out. One of my friends drives with the windows down, maybe that will help in your case. It seems there should be a support group for parents whose kids hate the car seat. Maybe you can find some info on the aforementioned websites. Baby Center has bulletin boards and Dr. Sears has an entire section dedicated to the fussy baby.
Both of my children were like this. My daughter (now 10 months) outgrew it faster because she usually has her brother (now 2 1/2) in the back to entertain her. My son finally started tolerating car trips around the time he was 4-5 months. It makes the first few months difficult, however, I would time trips to be around nap time and he would usually fall asleep.
Good luck and hang in there.
Dear Kristy, my daughter was the same way up until i was able to turn her seat around and got a vehicle she was able to see out of. i hated having to take her anywhere because i was nervous the whole drive one time an entire 30 mins. Apparently she was getting motion sickness. She also would not go in the swing. Unfortunately at 9 weeks there is not much you can do for them, hang in there it does get better and once they can be entertained it helps. As long as she can see out of the vehicle she is fine now. I only have her too and the best advice I've been given with things that have had me worried is to be patient and this too shall pass and everytime it has. Hang in there.
Did you try changing the base of the car seat to a higher notch so your child is sitting up higher? It worked wonders for my son. Nursery rhymes calm him almost instantly (and me). GOOD LUCK!!
wow I had never head of this my son was also colicy and the only way to calm him was a car ride or a baby swing.
Good luck
My son is "colicy" as well. It gets better though. Have you read the book, "Happiest Baby on the Block"? That helped me a lot. I read a lot of other books and tried a lot of other things, but that seemed to be the thing that worked best. Just to let you know, my family lives in Orlando and I decided to drive up there by myself when he was about eight weeks old. He screamed for almost the whole entire three hour drive. I would pull over and try to feed him, rock him, everything and nothing worked. Finally I just decided to keep driving and as soon as I got to my mom's house I handed him over to her and left for an hour. He has gotten better now. He still hates his carseat, but he tolerates it. He usually fusses for a few minutes and then he falls asleep. The thing that worked when he was younger was getting him to sleep first and then putting him in the seat. It seems like he gets really hot in there, so make sure he's not getting too warm in there. He doesn't mean to frustrate you... that's what I have to tell myself when we have those days.
