Does anyone have/had a baby that cried in the car?

[ryliesmom]

Hi All,

I have a 6 month old baby girl who just is miserable in car rides.  She's ok the first 20 minutes and then nothing could calm her down.  Anyone with a similar problem and found a solution?  Would welcome any advice!

TIA,
Ryliesmom

[twogirlsmommy]

Hi Ryliesmom,

My dd use to be like that and at 18 months still has her moments.  We play music at bedtime for her and have all her life.  I find on long car trips now if she is really freaking I can play the music and give her a lovey and she wont actually fall asleep but just chill out.  When she was much younger I managed to find a classical music radio station and would turn that on and it would soother her.  Other then that we just kind of dealt with it unfortunately. Sorry if I'm not much help and I hope things get better for you

[RothE]

Hi! DD used to cry in the car all of the time (and sometimes still will if she's in the car seat for too long unfortunately.)  I also used classical music. I have a baby lullaby/classical music CD, by Fisher Price I think, and it works wonders to calm DD down. I put it on the moment we get in the car so she doesn't have a chance to get worked up. Also, if you have a sun roof/moon roof in the car, that could help. I open the shade for the sunroof so that DD can look up and she gets distracted by the skying passing by and that calms her too.

HTH

[ryliesmom]

Thanks girls. I'll try classical music again...tried that before but unfortunately it hasn't worked.  Isn't it weird that they don't like car rides?  Almost every other kid I know falls asleep in the car (including my 5 year old DD).

[gogomama]

My DS was the same way too until he was old enough to start facing forward then he was like a new boy! He still can't be in for too longbut it could just be your DD getting anxious because she can't see you.. Is she any better if someone rides in the backseat with her? Kind of inconvenient but that was the only way DS would travel calmly.

[Maeve]

My son did, and stopped crying as soon as the engine stopped. It only improved when I got a new, bigger car.

[my3girlsjde]

Our twins were absolutely horrendus in the car. J would get herself into hysterics and foam at the mouth and choke on it. D would simply scream. For hours upon hours on end Of course our families lived more than a 4 hour drive away too We did find out at 14 months that they did have reflux and once they were medicated it got a little better. A big thing that helped was when they were old enough to turn their seats around and they were forward facing. They're still a challenge now, but nowhere nearly as bad as they were for their first year. NOW we've clued in that all this time they've been carsick just not puking. Even DVD's don't stop them from screaming. Travelling is still horrible. A friend went through the same and put cheesecloth over the infant seet and found that worked really well. Just enough to stop her lo from seeing everything go by and trying to focus on it she figured.

We're actually heading to the Dr to figure this one out with our girls. We were told that they would outgrow it but at 3 years, there is a definite issue. My guess for you is carsickness also.

HTH

[Maeve]

We did find out at 14 months that they did have reflux and once they were medicated it got a little better.

Mine too.

[jesie]

DS hated the car when he was rear facing. If he was in the clio he had to go.in the front and he was fine, but in the mondeo, in the back he was awful, truly hated it. It put me off driving and if all 3 of us went out I sat in the back with DS, then he was fine.

Since being forward we have had no problems at all. Doesn't matter which car we are in or anything. He sits in the back on his own happily

So fingers crossed once your LO turns around the screaming will stop.

Good luck

[Noahsmama09]

This can be so hard at this age. My son was ok in the car for the first bit, but would freak out if the car ride was any longer than 30 min. I would talk to him while I was driving ,put music on, and when stopped at a red light or something, I would reach back and reassure him that I was there for him. It's tough.
I have to say though - that having someone ride in the back seat with the baby...was never a good option for my husband and I. He would cry even more because when he saw us sitting with him he wanted us to pick him up...which obviously is NOT an option while you are driving in the car. I found that he got used to it over time...not fun to hear him cry...I felt awful! But the carseat is a non-negotiable obviously. Also getting into the habit of this can  also cause "accidental parenting", we have friends who did this, and their son is almost 18 months old, and they STILL have to do this. I personally think they have caused more work for themselves in the long run. (Just my honest opinion) Your daughter might be different with regards to that! I think once in a while is totally fine though.

Once my son was forward facing it was a whole other story.
One thing I tried when he was rear facing, was I put a little mirror on the seat facing him...so that he could see himself, and me! He loved that!!! Just a thought!

[story3girl]

I was going to suggest a mirror also. . . I have a big one in my car so I can see her in my rearview mirror, and I didn't realize how much she'd enjoy looking in it herself.

My LO fusses only on very long car rides (we travel 7 hours to visit family, twice since she was born), or when she's growth spurting and gets hungry - then she gets super mad that I won't pick her up and feed her right away.  It's the only time she ever really screams.

Does LO object to the car or the carseat?

[ryliesmom]

Thanks all.  Tried the mirror and even bought a portable dvd player.  Those capture her attention for 20 mins max and then she starts crying.  Yup, having me in the back seems to make it worse.  She wonders why I don't carry her and gets more angry.  She objects to the carseat.  Does not like any swings either so I think it's something about being restrained and moving b/c she's ok with being restrained on the bouncy.  I wonder if she does have motion sickness.  She doesn't puke or anything though so I wonder if it really is motion sickness.  I sure hope she grows out of this soon.  We just traveled with her on the plane and she did surprisingly well on my lap.

[my3girlsjde]

HUGS

We've just discovered that our twins get car sick. It makes sense when we look back and had a very similar experience to what you're going through. They're fine on their grandfather's boat, but I think being restrained adds a new element kwim?
If it is a type of motion sickness, it really does get better when the seat is turned around. Not excellent but far better when they face the front.

[katyusha]

Our baby cries only if it is dark, and I think he does not like the flashing lights as we drive. So I think for him a carseat shade blocking out the outside would have worked better. but then it seams like you may have found your answer if you think your baby is carsick.
Best of luck!

[Maeve]

Now that he is older, I know my fella feels sick in the car on long drives.