Help My Daughter Hates Her Car Seat

Hey S.,
I bought some "egg crate" mattress padding, cut to fit, and put it under the cover. It made a huge difference in the comfort level. Those seats are hard as rocks. I wouldn't want to be in them either:) If you get the twin size, you'll have plenty to replace as needed, in case of spills, or soiling.
C.
www.beachbodycoach.com/motherto2

Mine was the same, I bought a DVD player with Baby einsteins DVD's and I haven't heard a peep since, I tried all the things listed below first so I didn't throw the money away.. it worked for me.. good luck you'll need it!

We had the same problem with my son. I switched him from the carrier type car seat to a convertible car seat. Obviously, you lose a little of the convenience of being able to pop the car seat in and out, but he was much happier. I got him the Britax Marathon when he was about 4 months old. He is now almost 4 years old and he is still in the same seat. It is a little expensive, but it has been worth every penny. Good Luck!

It is a phase. She is separated from you. Restricted in movement. Has a strange view from the backseat. And she is more aware of her surroundings than a few weeks ago. Check to be sure the sun isn't in her face, etc... Then be patient. You may have to endure some crying for a little while, but she will outgrow it. My daughter and son both had a week or two of this,maybe a little more (it's been a long time now so I don't remember too much) but they had no choice but to be in it when we were in the car. And we were in the car a lot. They adjusted and soon became great "riders". Still are. And we don't now nor have ever done movies in the car. They learned to look at books, and play with small toys, leap pad, etc. When our daughter was about 4 we got her a leapster. They have now (at 10 yr and 7 yrs) graduated to Nintendo DS's LOL. But they still both bring books to read also when we go on long trips, and grade appropriate workbooks to do in the car.
Good luck.

My daughter hated it to. I realized that she loves to watch Jacks Big Music Show at home so I took my portable DVD playera and mounted it on the back of the passengers seat with one of those car poches and conect it to the power outlet of the car and PRESTOOOO NO sreaming. She watches TV and she loves it, keeps her calm and quite for upto 45minutes straight. I did this with my son and it has worked both times. She is harder than he was and it has been a blessing. Now our car rides are so enjoyable.

Hi S., My son was the same way as a newborn, We foud that the classical station soothed him or even white noise. It acts as a relaxing tool. It worked for me. My son is almost two and we still use those tools when he is uneasy in the car.

My daughter did the same thing and now my newborn son is doing the same thing. The only thing that helped me was letting them cry it out and eventually they got used to the seat. My son is now almost 8 monhts old and the crying stopped 3 months ago or so. Like it was seperation anxiety. It started suddenly at like 4 1/2 months and stopped suddenly. But nothing really helped. Not toys or music. Just letting them cry. I mean what else are you gonna do? Not leave the house? A little crying never hurt a baby. After a week or so I bet it stops.
Good luck though, I have been in your shoes. It's not fun!

I would get a Britax Marathon (not a Roundabout bcse you'll get longer use out of the Marathon)
and then use a babycarrier when you would ordinarily be lugging that heavy infant carseat around.
www.thebabywearer.com/forum is an excellent site- free to register- and you'll learn so much, not just about baby carriers!
I am VERY into carseat safety and still have my 2 yr old rear-facing, because the SEAT allows it. Just because the LAW says baby can be 12 months old and 20lbs to face forward, does not mean this is the SAFEST. Please research all you can for your precious cargo!

are you sure it is the carseat or the car? does she cry if in the seat in the house?

yes, unfortunately the only thing that works is growing out of it. My daughter didn't like it for almost a year. Once they can turn around it's much better. Some kids just don't like being backwards. But it's safe and that's all that matters. Good luck. :)

So very common; will dissipate with age.

Hi S.,

I have a child that fought the car seat every time we went anywhere until she was almost 18 months. By then she was in a toddler seat, forward facing and could interact with the world. We tried absolutely everything and she would fight every time. As far as I figured out, about the only thing you can do is keep putting her in the seat when you go somewhere and pray that she outgrows it soon.

Good luck!

...she will grow out it... we went through the same thing with my son... of course you have no option but to hang in there. That is one of the things in life that there is no negotiation about... Good Luck

Many babies HATE the infant carrier type seats. They aren't very padded and are too surved. My daughter also hated her seat until we got a Britax. It is much more compfrtable and will also allow her to rear face until she's 35 pounds, a BIG must for her delicate spine. Also, at this age, she is not old enough to self soothe herself with toys, etc, but is smart enough to realize that when she is strapped in this contraption, she is stuck there and people won't pick her up the second she cries. She's having her first tantrum, congratulations! It will pass, make sure she has every need met before you put her in the seat so she doesn't panic. If you need to nurse her in the car or change her there and hold her until she is very calm and relaxed, do that before heading off. Also, at this age, they are VERY easy to teach routine through music. If everytime she is nursing and about to fall asleep, you play soft music, something you know the words to, so you will sing along to her, then you can pop that CD in after a week or so of it reprsenting calm memories, and play it. My daughter LOVED Praise Baby Cd's...me too. It's soft Christian praise music that also comes on DVD. She, at 3 months old, would watch the calming babies faces, bubbles, waves, birds etc, and would fall right asleep. This was our emergency music. Now, at almost 3, she likes her music every night before bed and we take it with us when we travel. Even if i'm going to be running some errands and really need her to nap in the car, I just play the music and she's out. Good Luck, it will get better, remember that complaining about certain situations is a sign of intelligence, something all new moms are happy to see in their babies.

The Britax Marathon is a great car seat. I had one for all three of my children. It is a very comfortable seat. I gave my friend one and she found it to stop her fussy baby from crying in the car.
Good luck!

If it's one of those moveable car seat, try using it in the house so that she can get used to it under better circumstances; Put her in it when she is asleep, feed her there, when she is happy and interacting with you let her sit in that instead of something else. She can then associate the seat with better times and may begin to feel more secure when she's in the car. Hope this helps!

My second daughter hated her car seat too. It was always a struggle...I remember the crying very well. The reality is that she HAS to be in the car seat no matter how much she screams and cries. You know this and every mom who's been there knows it too. With that said, strap her in, turn the volume up on YOUR favorite CD and drive away. She may never grow to love her car seat but at least you'll know that she is safe.

P.S. I think my daughter "outgrew" her dislike for the car seat around 4 years of age. She's in a booster seat now and has no problems at all. Good luck.

Only thing that cures it is turning them around. You have to wait until you can do that. Until then, earplugs. Good luck.

Hi S., this is a tough situation to hear your daughter cry in the car; I went through the same thing with my daughter. The only thing that helped was for me to nurse her right before we got in the car and that helped to calm her down. Other than that nothing else worked and she just had to cry it out. She stopped around five months so hopefully yours will stop soon enough. If you have the money to go out and buy another seat and see if that works for you, but if not then you'll have to "ride it out" (excuse the pun)! Good luck and you get used to the crying after a while...

Maybe the carseat is hurting her in someway, like pinching a leg for example. As another mom mentioned, a switch of carseats was all it took to make a big differance..but thats just my two cents. Good luck!

Hi S.; I feel for you. Sounds like this is just common in babies. My son never liked being in the car seat. He wouldn't even fall asleep from all the crying. It used to hurt my heart to hear him cry.

My husband would try and rock the car, rock the seat, music, you name it, nothing worked. Even after we turned him around, he still didn't want to be in it. I went out and bought an Eddie Bauer car seat, it really didn't matter until I went up North for a visit and I borrowed a friends car seat. He didn't cry at all. Needless to say, I went online, bought it right away. I can't remember the brand but when I go out to the truck, I will find out and email you the name of it.

My daughter also hated her infant car seat. We planned our trips around her nap time so she would sleep and not scream. When we took her out of the infant carrier car seat and put her in a convertible one she loved the car. She still faced backwards and they convert for kids 5 lbs to sometimes 100-lbs. It's less convenient because you can't just grab the carrier out of the car but if it makes her happy it might be worth it. Also I had a friend who had a baby einstein toy that attached to the seat where the baby is looking. It has a remote you can attach to you visor and you can push the button and it lights up and sing. Her baby loved that. Hope something helps or she grows out of it soon. I know it's miserable to listen to your kid cry, especially when their so small, but sometimes you just have to do it.

My children were the opposite, they'd fuss if not in car seat when I cranked the car.Frm the time they came home from the hospital until they big enough by law to not use one. But then they would yell if their seatbelts weren't done. It had become a habit. MY own personal belief is better fussing than having a crash without being secured. At least you know she has good lungs.

I had that problem with my son and we figured out that he was getting too hot in the car seat. We put some shades on the back window as well as increased the A/C.

You would be surprised on what a difference a shade can do!!

Good Luck and remember we are getting into the coller weather but it is still sunny in Florida.