help.. hates his car seat and swing

capstone52501

Do any of you have a baby who hates their car seat and swing? The car seat is a graco snugride and yes I bought it new. He is gradually getting worse and worse. We cant take him anywhere that he doesn't scream. There is nothing poking him, he is dry, and fed before we leave. He is also happy when we are home, then you put him In the car and you hardly get 2 miles from home and he starts screaming at the top of his lungs. I rarely leave but there are just some times I have to go to the store and my daughter has functions she goes to. If we try to go out of town I sit in back with him and that keeps him happy for about an hour then he comes unglued. We have toys on his seat for him to look at but that is no help. Even in the stores I end up carrying him around. He does this in his swing as well... sits in it for a little bit then he has had it and wants out NOW. Our LO is 3 months old so I am just at a loss. We can not afford to buy a different seat just in the off chance he will like it. I have loosened the straps a little, I have taken the little head thing out that is for newborns, I have tried everything. I am just getting frustrated as to what to do. He is an other wise great baby, sleeps all night, content to play in a high chair or jumper for up to an hour at a time. He is easy to get to sleep unless he is in his seat or swing.... will NOT sleep in those for more than 10 minutes. AAAHHHH CALGON TAKE ME AWAY I am just glad I am a stay at home mom and do not have to leave the house more than a couple times a week.... ugghhh We do not have a iPhone so don't suggest the app for white noise.

BabyD316

My son hates his carseat as well. He has since birth. It has gotten better slowly. Most every time we go anywhere someone is in the back with him because he loses it. We use sleep sheep at home for naps and bedtime, so we got a small travel sleep sheep for the carseat which helps a lot. You could also turn the radio on a off station with static for white noise. Our LO loves to be swaddled so we will use the top of the swaddleme to swaddle his arms over the buckle on his chest. This allows him to fall asleep and stay asleep. I know it is so hard to hear your baby absolutely lose it in the back of the car. It keeps me from going places because it upsets me so much. Just know that it will get better. I have recently started going short distances with our LO on my own and he is doing much better. Good Luck and know you are not alone.

suedell

Yup. Both my kids hated the car seat and being in the car in general. Every time I stopped the car, red light, traffic sign, etc. I get a scream fest. Ds1 loved the swing and ds2 hates it. I have to leave everywhere I go to rush back home so they will sleep! It's maddening. But it's not forever. Your LO might just not be able to stay awake longer than an hour and wants to be in a more familiar environment. Good luck.

stephrodgers07

Mine started doing better at about 3.5 months. Screamed all the time. Just like you we checked everything. There's nothing except the fact that he doesn't like it. I wouldn't get a new car seat if I were you. Some people I've talked said their kids didn't like the car seat rill they got older and could turn around and see everyone. That could be the case.

Unfortunately you just pull through those stressful car rides.
Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised when your LO falls asleep one day like a typical baby!

chimneygrl

We have the same car seat and issue. He still gets fussy, but he has gotten much better. I learned how to put a pacifier in his mouth when I am driving.  Of course he is now taking it out of his mouth, but I have about 6 on a car trip with me and when I take him out of the car he is covered in pacifiers. Anyways a sound machine worked for us for a little while.

mrsdeanna

DS1 hated the car seat and swing. DS2 hates the car seat and swing. DS2 is not as bad as DS1. I read one time on a long car trip for example is to crack the window just a tad bit. The noise from that sounds like a white noise machine. Noisy, yes, but it tends to work.

As far as the grocery store, I strap DS2 into a baby carrier and do my grocery shopping that way. I don't even attempt leaving him in the car seat anymore, even if he is asleep because he is bound to wake in the store.

poppyc8

my LO hates the car seat as well we have a graco snugride.  this might be inconvenient if you have an appointment to go somewhere at a specific time, but for the most part we try to plan our trips around putting him in the seat when he is just ready to go down for a nap and i put him in when he is drowsy, that way its usually not a scream fest.  if we cant plan the trip around his nap time then i just put him in there and turn the sleep sheep on and so far that has improved things, but he still does not like the car at all.  

lkm2006

Both my boys have hated the car seats as babies. As in, soaking wet from sweating and can't catch his breath just from a ten minute car ride.

We went ahead and switched to the convertible at 3 months and I have noticed a difference. Not the best ever, but it was worth it!

capstone52501

Thank you for all the advice and for making me feel better in the fact I now know I am not alone. We made it to the church parking lot before he lost it today... a whopping 5 minute ride. He was fed and dry when we left and it was a nice cool ride but when I pulled him out his back was sweaty which tells me that the air flow around those things is awful. He (like myself and my other 2 children) is hot blooded which does not help any. We have tried timing "trips" around naps but that does not work either, yes he hates it that bad. He may fall asleep for a few minutes but if I stop at a red light (ohh the horror) then he lets loose. He does not like a pacifier either, he will take it on rare occasions but only if you hold it in his mouth for a few minutes, quite difficult when you are tooling down the rode at a good clip. LOL He is just lucky I love him so darn much *enter a big goofy smile here*