When did your carseat hater finally get over it?

[~inbalance~]

Not sure if this is the right place for please move if necessary! 

Well, I'm don't think F hates the carseat so much as he hates car rides, but either way it's making getting out a nightmare!  At first I thought it was the seat, but actually he's ok when I put him in, and is usually fine in there when I transfer it to the stroller or a shopping cart.  It just once we start driving he goes bonkers, screams until he's purple and hoarse.    Sometimes he's not as bad, only crying part of the way or not too much, but most of the time it's a nightmare.  Very stressful!

Now, he hated baths and diaper changes initially and grew out of that, so I'm hoping hoping hoping he grows out of this too.  I can't imagine him doing this for months and months still!

Experiences?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

oh, Spencer didn't like the carseat until she was big enough to turn around and watch the DVD player...sorry, not what you want to hear!!! But, she hated baths until 6 months and still hates diaper changes, so maybe there is hope!

[brenda2]

uh...dd1 hated the carseat from day one.  hated it less when it turned around at 1 year but still had many many screaming sessions.  at about 20 mo it started to get better when i played her music and at 21 mo when the baby arrived and she was no longer alone in the back seat it got much better.  something there to keep her occupied.  the baby had some trouble with the carseat initially too but dd1 would sing her a song and pass her toys etc and she grew out of it about the same time she started sucking her thumb - around 3 mo.  now she sucks her thumb and is such a good traveller.  so i hope you get my dd2 version!

[~inbalance~]

Ah well, I can hope!   

[Nauvoo]

I would consider car sickness at this age.  My DD hated the car seat as well.  But if your LO is fine in it at other times I would expect the motion is the problem.  Does he like the baby swing or other things that cause motion?

[~inbalance~]

We don't have a swing.  He's mostly been fine in the stroller before (it's the kind that the carseat attaches too).  How do I know if it's car sickness?

[Nauvoo]

I have no idea.  It's just a thought that was a thought someone gave to me when I posted about my LO hating the car.

[~inbalance~]

Was your LO ever actually sick?  And when did she get over it?  DS1 started getting car sickness as a toddler, he was totally fine up until about 16mos or so, but has since then been sick a few times on long rides.  But like really sick, throwing up all over the place, so it is different.  I'm just wondering how it would be for little babies if that was the problem, and if there's anything I can do about it.

[tigerlilly905]

Car sickness makes SO much sense!  My ds is touchy/txtbook, so I attributed him not liking car rides to that (I'm sure it can still play a factor)... but he always seems to throw up during car rides, whether he's worked up and crying or not... so maybe it is motion sickness.

[Nauvoo]

My LO never threw up but she hated the baby swing and stroller as a baby so it makes sense to me.  I'm not sure how you would know or even what you could do about it.  sorry.

[MeAndVee]

DS hated car rides too.  He was 13 or 14 months when we could actually go places without the screaming.  Singing loudly helped kinda.  And when we turned DS around at 12 months we would hand him stickers from the front.  Granted this won't work if you have a child that likes to eat things.  DS was never a mouthy baby so wasn't an issue.

[ss]

Martina - we had the same problem with DS from about 2weeks old. We found that if one of us rode in the back with him, he was alright. We had to do this for about 2 months and now he is happier in the back on his own. Obviously this doesn't work if you're alone...

We also noticed that he is much happier if the shade on the seat is back and he can see things - have you tried that? We also have one of those toy bars for a car seat which we sometimes put on for him to look at.

Hope some of that helps, sorry if you have already tried all of these.

[*Liz*]

Megan is a car seat screamer as well. It isn 't fun at all is it?

[Mrs. A]

Marina was a car sear hater for awhile too. I was so surprised because the other two used to just zonk out as soon as we started driving. I think her problem was separation anxiety. For the first few moths I carried her almost constantly in a wrap and I think she just did not like to be apart from me. She did much better when I sat in the back with her. It sounds like Finn's problem is a little different though because you mentioned he's fine as long as you're not driving, so I guess I can't reallyoffer much help- just sympathy. There was a short period where I refused to go anywhere without DH because the crying was that bad!

[~inbalance~]

I think her problem was separation anxiety

I think we might have this too.  He's fine when he can see me, but freaks out because he thinks I am gone.  Talking to him doesn't work. 

Liz, Megan and F must be related somehow! 

Things are a teeny, tiny bit better.  He now lasts up to 5mins before the screaming starts.  It's so odd, I will watch him in the mirror and for a few minutes he just hangs out looking around, doesn't look upset at all.  But then it starts.  I do think he's improving slowly.  I figure I'll start taking him for walks more in the carseat/stroller so he starts to realize it's not a horrible place.