Baby hates car rides!

amyfelice · October 2009

I thought babies were supposed to love car rides. My LO often screams the whole time. Occasionally she falls asleep but any little thing will wake her up. I drape a blanket over the seat (securely so it doesn't go in her face) to keep out the sun. Doesn't help. Played a white noise CD. Doesn't help. Played baby einstein Mozart, doesn' t help. Sang "you are my sunshine" at the top of my lungs. Helped for a minute or two. She is clean, dry, nursed, and dressed appropriately. Is it our carseat? We got a Britax Marathon, maybe I would have been better off with the Graco snugride. or whatever it is called.Does it make any difference? What else can I do? I just knew I would not be lifting the seat so I got a covertible. Cannot figure this little girl out. But she hates walks in the stroller too most of the time.

GirlStylist · October 2009

Cam HATED the car also ( sorry to tell you for quite some time ).

It helped when he was super little when we took out the smallest neck support thing and put in a bigger one. He honestly just hated being confined.

He has never been a car baby. Sorry I know it was super tough in the beginning, I remember.

She will get used to it and just remember she isn't in pain Sad

titantsmama · October 2009

GirlStylist:

Cam HATED the car also ( sorry to tell you for quite some time ).

It helped when he was super little when we took out the smallest neck support thing and put in a bigger one. He honestly just hated being confined.

He has never been a car baby. Sorry I know it was super tough in the beginning, I remember.

She will get used to it and just remember she isn't in pain

Same here. Both boys.

I told my mom that I now know what the "Baby on Board" signs are all about. They are little S.O.S. signs to others...HELP ME. I am held captive in my car with two screaming children. It's a miracle we get places sometimes.

amyfelice · October 2009

Sometimes she chokes and gags, It scares the heck out of me!! Thanks though, I guess not all babies love the car.

alibee09 · October 2009

titantsmama:
I told my mom that I now know what the "Baby on Board" signs are all about. They are little S.O.S. signs to others...HELP ME. I am held captive in my car with two screaming children. It's a miracle we get places sometimes.

OMG, I love you. That made me laugh LOUDLY (in agreement and understanding).

amyfelice · October 2009

Oy, two screamers! I guess I should count myself lucky I've only got one.

bcb4me · October 2009

Same boat here and we have the snugride. It sucks!!! I always wonder if it's because they ride backwards. I know I get sick riding backwards and think maybe some of the poor babies get sick feeling too?

AvaLikeLava · October 2009

G was just like that too. Screamed the moment you snapped his Graco seat in the car (fine until then). It was horrible, but it was a phase and he grew out of it.

The whitenoise CD didn't help, but putting my iphone in the carseat with him on LOUDEST setting playing whitenoise did work... occasionally

Good luck. I've been there, and can relate. It sucks. Hopefully it will be a phase for you too.

amyfelice · October 2009

AvaLikeLava:
G was just like that too. Screamed the moment you snapped his Graco seat in the car (fine until then). It was horrible, but it was a phase and he grew out of it.
The whitenoise CD didn't help, but putting my iphone in the carseat with him on LOUDEST setting playing whitenoise did work... occasionally
Good luck. I've been there, and can relate. It sucks. Hopefully it will be a phase for you too.

Wow, so it didn't even matter that he was already fine in the carrier, he knew the second you snapped it in. that does make me feel like it would not have mattered if I had the infant car seat. they really are so aware, aren't they? I guess maybe it's a sign of being sensitive.

ZoeMay06 · October 2009

Kyva hated the car too. It was awful, I felt like I couldn't leave the house and like I was going absolutely crazy. When she was really little we had to wait until she was in a deep, deep sleep before we could put her in the carseat (we have a Graco SafeSeat, but I don't think the seat makes a difference). If she happened to wake up, it was a total screamfest. Then that stopped working, so we had to time our trips for when she was awake, fed and happy but that didn't usually help either. She wouldn't take a pacifier at first, but when she was about 6 weeks old I popped one in her mouth out of desperation during a particularly bad car ride, and she took it and fell asleep! She still wasn't a fan of going for rides, but the pacifier really helped. She just grew out of it right around 3 months, and now she IS that baby who falls asleep as soon as you pull out of the driveway. I'm sorry you're going through this, I know how hard (and scary) it is to listen to them cry so hard that they gag. She'll grow out of it eventually...hopefully sooner rather than later.

love22 · October 2009

M needed someone in the backseat with him until almost 3 months or he fussed/screamed. If you have someone with you I would see if it makes a difference. For us it was night and day.

futrkingsley · October 2009

DS has hated the car since he was a tiny baby. I'm sorry. I wish I could say it was the seat or that he outgrew it but he really hasn't. Only a singing ourselves horse and a few select toys have ever helped.

We have had 4 different car seats and none was any better than the others so don't waste your money on trying to find one she will like.

green*eyes · October 2009

This is how we learned that baby E is a Grateful Dead fan... we cranked it up when he was going nuts in the car one time and he immediately quieted. Now many different types of music work. Can't hurt to try?!

amyfelice · October 2009

green*eyes:
This is how we learned that baby E is a Grateful Dead fan... we cranked it up when he was going nuts in the car one time and he immediately quieted. Now many different types of music work. Can't hurt to try?!

Well if that's all it takes, I'm in!!! Broke down palace it is!!! hahaha, love it. Well thanks everyone. BTW, even when I am sitting right next to her she screams Sometimes it helps if I do the loud shushing right up in her ear, but the poor pathetic thing has tears streaming down her face most of the time. Next time, I'm bringing Jerry with me, we shall see!

tri_bride05 · October 2009

I'm sorry - I know how you feel and it totally sucks. You are definitely not alone with a car-hater. And it's so frustrating because everyone under the sun will tell you to just go for a drive to get baby to fall asleep or that now is the perfect time for road trips because baby will sleep the whole time. M didn't sleep in the car until he was 6 mos and, even then, it was only for 30 min. max and stopping at a red light or going over a bump would wake him. He hated stroller rides as well. M started liking the carseat a little better when we switched him out of the infant seat into the convertible seat and were able to just put him directly into the stroller, but he didn't really like the car until he was forward facing, which we did when he was 18-ish months. Now he really likes looking around and telling me what he sees while we are driving and listening to his songs on the stereo (even though they drive me crazy after a while!). No great advice, but it does get better...eventually.

NotJustAnAuntie · October 2009

When Max was tiny, he hated the car too, and we had 100 miles of driving every day! I found that cracking the back window, just an inch or so, helped him. The noise, the air movement... I don't know what it was, but it was the only way he *ever* calmed down in the car... good luck! I know it's tough!

emeraldwednesda · October 2009

Tanner has never liked the car seat either. I've been using the principle of gradually increasing his exposure. He still has his moments, but it's a lot better than it was.

edited to add, now that I'm at a real keyboard: ?if we didn't drive for a few days, he'd regress in terms of how long he could handle being in the car. ?I really had to make an effort to go somewhere almost every day.

yosemite · October 2009

Mine hates the car too and it is very frustrating. I feel like I've tried everything and I just accept it. If it's a long trip, I always try to feed her and get her pretty sleepy before we go. Then, she'll only scream for a few minutes before passing out. I think my baby hates riding alone and backwards. If I sit back there with her, she is usually content.