Car seat freak out!!!!

taylorharber1108 · September 2015

Alright ladies this mama needs some serious advice! My sweet Owen flips out anytime he is in his car seat. He screams from the time we put him in it to the time we take him out. This isn't just a fussy cry either, it seriously sounds like someone is cutting off his leg. He does do much better when either I or my husband can sit back there with him but of course this isn't always possible. We try to give him his paci but he spits it out as soon as he realizes where he is. We have also bought inserts to make the car seat more comfortable but he still screams.

So my question is do I let him cry it out until we get to our destination? Today we were in the car for thirty minutes and I had to pull over to get him out and calm him down fifteen minutes into our trip.

What do you do to help soothe your LO while driving?

Thanks ladies!!

Miz_Liz · September 2015

Have you double checked the straps are at the right height and such and nothing is digging into him?

CaliforniaDream87 · September 2015

Honestly, I just try to time it out right. My DS was like this. Would freak out no matter what. As long as he's fed, changed and not in pain (that I know of) there's not much you can do. I avoided going out a lot those first few months because I hated to hear him scream. He eventually grew out of it though.

prpl11butterfly · September 2015

I second Miz_Liz. Usually if DS is upset in the car seat, its because it too tight somewhere.

taylorharber1108 · September 2015

I'll double check next time. Thanks ladies!

e1223 · September 2015

Try turning the radio to static and blasting it really loud. Or white noise app on an iPhone works well too!

tarheelgirl8 · September 2015

e1223 said:
Try turning the radio to static and blasting it really loud. Or white noise app on an iPhone works well too!

There's also white noise videos on YouTube if you don't want to download an app. I pull them up on my phone quite a bit.

Saratiff · September 2015

Or try a different car seat?

GirlOnTheBeach · September 2015

e1223 said:
Try turning the radio to static and blasting it really loud. Or white noise app on an iPhone works well too!

Just be careful not to make it too loud as their ears are more sensitive to sound than ours.

Kelsie07Ulmer · September 2015

My DS was like that for the first 4 months. He eventually got used to the car rides, but still to this day does not like being put in his car seat. He's almost 2 and sometimes it's like wrestling an alligator to get him in his seat. However, he no longer cries the whole ride, just pouts.

lilana1011 · September 2015

White noise app + a convertible car seat is what made car rides much more bearable with our first. He used to scream so badly he would throw up & it just wasn't safe, as soon as we switched him he was much better.

LSquared3960 · September 2015

My LO is like this too. I got a tiny battery operated fan that blows on him which helps a little. When he starts screaming he gets super hot and sweaty. We also just got a convertible carseat we're going to try. Good luck! It really sucks.

ElleMF728 · September 2015

DS was like this as well. I never understood the whole driving around to get them to sleep thing since he hated being in the car so much for the first few months. DS2 loves it though.

Check the temperature, check to make sure the light isn't in their eyes too much but some kids just seem to hate being in the car for a bit.

squigles28 · September 2015

I have a portable sound machine too which has a heartbeat sound. When I play it it kind of vibrates to the rhythm and either the sound or vibration calmed mine down.

brinbri · September 2015

We used to put a blanket over DD's carseat. I read somewhere that all the movement and light can be too overstimulating for them and putting a blanket over the carseat makes it so they can't see all of that.

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Car seat freak out!!!!

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