Car Seat Issues

Hi My one month old cries when he is back there and is not able to see anybody. have you tried playing music that helps me. good luck

1 mom found this helpful

All babies have different personalities. My daughter was not a fan of the carseat either. Until she was a year old and we could turn her around, car rides were pretty stressful. I used to talk to her or sing or keep lots of toys up front with me that I would pass back at red lights to keep her occupied. If my husband was trying, I sat in back with her. It gets better as they get older. If we travel anywhere that takes longer than 30 minutes, I bring our portable DVD player and strap it to the headrest. Yes, I'm one of THOSE parents now. LOL But, I don't hear a peep out of her.

My daughter never liked sitting in a stroller either. I wore her in a hotsling until she was about 5 months and then switched to an Ergo. If I added up all the days in her 26 month old life that she ever sat in a stroller, they'd probably barely equal a month! To be honest, I travel light, so it wasn't a big deal to wear her all the time when we went out. She was finally too heavy for me around 22 months old. Mostly, she holds my hand or rides in shopping cart. We still rarely use the stroller, but when we do it's exciting for her because she never gets to ride in one.

It could be lots of things. He can be hot in the carseat, or hates not seeing his mom or the infant carseat is already too small for him.

If he is close to the weight limit on his infant carseat then I would recommend that she get him a convertible. You can send me a message w/ her budget, type of car and I can advice her which carseat is better.

I would not attach any toys to the carseat, it is just not safe.

I would limit outings until he outgrows this phase.

I would NOT turn him around for this, not even at 1 yr. old and 20 lbs. It is much safer for them to stay rearfacing until the limits of the seat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI

I almost forgot, you can go to the forum of www.car-seat.org and the ladies there can give your friend some ideas that might work.

Ask her if she is talking to her son. My son would get upset when he couldn't see anyone and felt abandoned. I would talk about our drive (there is a red car, there is a blue truck, oh, the light turned red, we are going to have to stop and wait for the other cars to go...) and sing to him so that he knew that he wasn't alone. He was always happier if I had someone else in the car with me that could ride next to him. Worked fine when my husband was off, not so easy during the week. Good luck!

The child could have motion sickness.................try some handging toys from the car seat and some soothing music in the car? Also ask pediatrician

As far as the stroller issue, has she tried a baby carrier or sling? These can work wonders. For the car seat issue, I think DVD's work great and maybe a mirror, toys, etc.

She can visit www.MamaAndBabyEssentials.com for sling ideas and information.

B.,

Check out this blog entry on ParentCenter. This mom had similar problems with her child and it turned out to be an actual disorder called sensory integration disorder (also known as sensory processing disorder).

http://blogs.parentcenter.babycenter.com/momformation/200...

Good luck!

This won't be very helpful, but she's not alone! My 6 month old son is the exact same way, although now that he can sit up a bit better in his stroller he's happier. Car rides are torture on all of us. My older son did it as well, but as soon as he turned 1 year and was able to face forward in the carseat he stopped...so maybe they just don't like to feel alone and not see Mommy? Good luck...I'll be reading the advice you get too!

Try a pacifier and seat toys...it is boring to sit backwards. Also at 5 months he may have separation anxiety and since he doesn't see his mother he cries.

My son did the same thing, still does at age 3!!! My car has a dvd player, it helps bigtime!!!

Maybe his straps are too tight? I believe they say the harness for the carseat should be snug, but only so you can fit one finger underneath, so not tight tight so it hurts. That's the only thing I can think of is comfort if he's not unhappy for any other reason. He could also be bored. Suggest to her that she try to find some toys he likes to keep him occupied that she can stick on the stroller and keep a supply of "car toys" in the car with her.

When my oldest was little, I would say less than a year. She absolutely hated to be strapped in facing backwards and would scream the entire ride in the car. She grew out of it and was much happier when she reached the appropriate weight to be turned around. Some children don't like to be confined but we have to do it for safety reasons. My two other children always loved the carseat and stroller. My advice, be patient, limit the time needed in the seat as much as possible and travel around nap times.

Has your friend tried toys to keep him busy, try the boomering links hang them in front of him from one end of the car to the other with various toys on it, Jangles, teethers whatever he likes. Check out the toys at www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/LisaRyan Also what about tv? Good Luck!
L.

My older daughter was exactly the same way about the carseat and the stroller. She was also Colicky at the beginning. To keep her happy in the car I would play a white noise Cd--mostly vacuum cleaner sound (the cd also had hairdryer, washing machine, dryer and lawn mower sounds). I even played it at bedtime and nap time to soothe her. Ocean waves sound also works for some kids. As she got older we did animal sounds in the car which seemed to distract from the fact that she was somewhere she didn't want to be. At 10 months old, we took the music together class and they give you a Cd that we played in the car, and she really enjoyed the music and clapping along. She got even better about the carseat when we turned her around at age 1. My husband's theory was that she would get upset because she couldn't see me. Because if I sat in the backseat with her while he drove she was fine the whole trip. During the week of course, sitting in the backseat in not an option.
As for the stroller, she is still not a big fan unless she is exhausted. Because she didn't like the stroller, I used the baby bjorn baby carrier when we got out of the car. She really preferred being attached to me. I really didn't mind, I never had to haul a stroller around or lift it in and out of the car. Having to hold her all the time did limit my ability to do certain things, but she wasn't crying and that made me happy. She walked early, 10 months--so after that she would hold my hand and walk next to me until she was exhausted.
Every kid is different, it is hardest for us as moms because we would like to be hands free sometimes and then we have a clingy baby, and/or we see other moms with their kids sitting in the stroller or not a peep in the carseat and we get it in our head that there might be something wrong with us as moms. We all doubt ourselves. BUT assure your friend that she is doing a great job and she just needs to adapt to her son's temperment abit which is what I had to do with my daughter, and prepare for a very active, independant toddler.