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Attachment Parenting
monalua
member
Any tips for 4-month-old who HATES car rides?
monalua
member
Hi ladies,
Just hoping to pick up any tips or advice that may help me! My 4-month-old DS HATES hates hates car rides and always has. If he's awake, he starts fussing after about 10 minutes and then it turns into full-blown heartbreaking screaming. =( It's awful and I end up pulling over several times anytime we go anywhere far. We live outside of town and it takes 20-30 minutes to get anywhere, so it's been a struggle and we mainly stay at home most days. He's better if there's someone to ride in the back with him and play with him. I think when he's back there alone he just gets lonely and bored. He's normally a super happy baby.
I've tried all types of music, talk radio, static radio, children's CDs, rolling down the windows, talking to him, singing to him. The only thing that works is if he's really tired, I can play the white noise app on my phone (waterfall/ocean) and he'll fall asleep. But that doesn't work all the time, only when he's tired. He doesn't fall asleep easily in the car like most babies I know!
He does have one toy hanging from the carseat bar that will entertain him for a few minutes, I'm thinking maybe I should get him some more or something else. Any recs for carseat toys? Are they safe? He doesn't take a paci and I've given him toys to hold and chew on but at only 4 months he can't hold them that well and it's hard for me to reach back and get them.
Anyway, I'm sure there's no magic answer and hopefully he'll grow out of it (?) but any advice or tips anyone has would be greatly appreciated!!! I want to join a mom's group and start taking him to the pool, but it will require some driving so I'm super scared! Sorry so long.
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Re: Any tips for 4-month-old who HATES car rides?
DS is 5 months and exactly the same. Hates being back there, a bt better when someone is there with him but overall hates it. And not to take away your only idea but toys don't work either. DS has 4 toys to play with on his carseat and still hates being in the car.
My next attempt for fixing this is to move his car seat from the center to be next to the window. This way he can see things go by nad possibly be more entertained and calmer. I have to read the instructions for the seat and make sure this is safe. Will let you know if it works
If you come across anything else that works - please share!
DD is similar, but she luckily takes a pacifier when we're in the car (I keep a pile beside me and keep passing them back).
This has helped some: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Einstein-Lights-Melodies-Mirror/dp/B002C1ABO0/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1284144706&sr=1-15
Good luck!
natural m/c 3.28.08,
My Blog
I think that age was the worst in the car for us - kiddo didn't hate, hate it but he would sometimes scream the whole time :-(
It did help to switch him from the baby bucket to the convertible - I think he liked being upright more. Also, have you tried one of the seat back mirrors??
Sometimes, too, you just have to bite the bullet and go for it. I know it really sucks to drive with baby screaming (and makes you feel like crap!) but I think if you are talking to him calmly the whole time, he knows you are there and will be ok. It's good for both of you to get out of the house so unless you are talking major drive times, I'd still go places - he will grow out of it!
Breastfeeding Counselor with Breastfeeding USA
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my kiddo still doesn't like the car much. i have to give it to her though, it has got to be boring back there.
we skipped the baby mirror, but i wonder if something like this wouldn't have helped us a lot. https://www.babyearth.com/manhattan-toy-wimmer-ferguson-car-seat-gallery.html it's all soft so comparatively safe as a carseat toy.
at that age, we talked or sang basically nonstop to help her know we were there with her. you do have to go places sometimes, both for practical and mental health reasons!
DS has hated the car since the day he was born. It gets a little bit better, but I don't think he'll ever be one of those kids who gets excited about a car ride!!
Some things that work for us:
1 - Someone in the back seat with him. This is always best! When I have to do errands on a Saturday without DH, I stop by my friend's house and pick up her 9 year old daughter. Juliana loves getting out of the house, and I get a helper!
2 - A long piece of cloth. The problem with toys was that he would drop them and get annoyed; I bought 2 yards of tee-shirt fabric and had it in the car, and found that he *loved* playing with it.
3 - Toys, lots of them. I keep a box on the passenger seat and pass them back one at a time. Sophie la Giraffe is a big hit.
4 - Finally, if all else fails, I act *really* silly and talk loudly like Mikey Mouse. Silly voices, lots of "YIPPEE!!! YAHOOOO!!" and my throat gets sore, but I can usually hold him off of a full scream for 10 minutes or so.
1) Pacifier if she is sleepy, sometimes she keeps it sometimes not
2) While in the convertible she is much happier, we have the bucket and convertible in 2 different cars
3) Roll the windows down the second the fussing starts, this seemst to shock DD, and she thinks she's flying or swimming, she stops screaming at least
4) Me singing some song
5) Putting someone in the back seat with her, they are usually involved in paci replacement, and handing back the toys she dropped, or just smiling and playing with her. (This is the thing that works the best, but we don't always go places with other people)
DD was like this until just recently. Every. single. time. It was horrible and I dreaded going places more than 5-10 minutes away. She has been better the last few weeks, so I'm hoping that it was just a stage that has passed!
She still gets a pacifier in the car every time, even though I don't think she needs it anymore. If we hadn't had the pacifier, it would have been a million times worse.