Baby Hates Car Seat!

Have you tried a different car seat? This happened with my daughter. She hated the infant bucket-type seat and would scream forever in it! Right about 3 mo we switched her up to a convertible seat (facing backwards) and she was SO much happier! At 9 mo, she now rides in the car pretty happily. Good luck!

my first hated it too, cried the entire ride. I think she was 3 months old and we put in a dvd player. It helped, it was like she wasn't all alone back there.

My little one hated it, too. Hate to say, but it persisted until she was allowed to sit facing forward (not constantly, but very nearly). She was too big to put anything in her car seat with her. But sometimes, if she had a toy to hold onto that would at least keep her occupied for a little while. A thought occurs to me -- I"ve seen a product called Jakeez (or something like that). They are hand-shaped cushions, filled with a heavy-weight material to help approximate hands. Apparently, they are soothing to preemies and NICU babies. They are a bit expensive, but something you could try is to find a pair of gloves that fit you (soft gloves) and keep them with you for a few days to make them smell like you, then stuff them with something non-toxic, and tuck your "hands" in the car seat with her. Never know. It might help?

I noticed a surprising difference in my guy's fussiness once I put on the Bundlme car seat cover. He stopped fussing almost immediately - I guess he found it more comfortable.

could she be too hot? does she have reflux the angel of the seat might bug her.

We have 5 kids...they all hated the car. In fact, my oldest has a permanent mark on his hand from sucking on it so hard when he was about 3 months old. He's 13 now and he has a slight purplish mark on his hand below his thumb. Our 7 month old will sometimes sleep and our 13 and 11 year olds are in charge of comforting him if they're with me when I drive (we have a suburban so there's enough room for them to sit on either side of him). They all eventually grew out of it at their own pace, but we found that once they were all forward facing they were much happier. I have about 5 months to go until I can do that so for now I tune him out to the point that I can drive without much distraction but listen enough to tell if there's something really wrong. Because we have a suburban I am able to reach my hand behind and rub his head before he gets too upset. The dvd player didn't help him because he has absolutely no interest in tv at this point. Do you know the saying "This too shall pass"? Just keep that in mind. Best of luck to you and remember you're not alone!

Talk to her and sing to her. Try not to let your stress over her stress show through too much! Also, please make sure to be careful about any loose toys which may fly through the car if, God forbid, you ever have an accident. I know it's very distracting to drive with a crying baby in the backseat, but you must concentrate on driving! A firmly secured DVD player might be well worth the money!

I don't know much to tell you other than I feel your pain. My daughter (now 8) loved her carseat. She even slept in it rather then the bassinett when she was first born. I couldn't get her to sleep unless she was wrapped and inclined.

Now with my son . . . if he so much as saw the car seat he would start screaming. It got ever so slightly better when he was moved to the convertable seat when he outgrew the infant seat at 10 months(he was too tall), but he would still scream whenever I went to put him the the seat.

The only thing that helped any at all is having my daughter distract him while he is sitting in the seat. He has just recently gotten slightly better, but he is also now 13 months. Now he only screams when he is getting buckled. Once he is in he is ok now.

my 2 year old also hated the car. She wouldn't just cry but would scream so hard I thought she would vomit or go hoarse. Neither ever happened, but she would start the second we put her in until the moment we took her out. I wouldn't drive more than 45 minutes (to my in-laws) because it was just that torturous. There were even occasions I would cancel plans we made with my in-laws because I just couldn't bear to hear her scream anymore for the day. As she got older, it became slightly better. I big difference was noticed when we finally were able to turn her car seat facing forward at 17 months (even at 17 months she was only 17 pounds but I couldn't wait any longer and was praying it would help the situation). She would still cry but the blood curdling screams stopped. She is now 28 months old and still whines EVERY time we get in the car saying, "Is it a long drive? I hate the car!" She is still not able to verbalize why she hates the car. BTW, I tried everything (and I mean everything) to get her to enjoy the ride, or at least not to hate it. Nothing worked other than if my husband drives and I sit in back with her and hold her hand. But that only helped once she was turned 2. Sorry I have no advice, only sympathy and even though I am still in the midst of it, I wanted to let you know it DOES get easier if she is one of those kids who just simply don't like the car. I just keep telling myself in 14 years she can drive herself!

Hi F.

2 things come to mind when I read your question. The first is that once you put her in the car seat maybe try tucking some blankets around her to get her nice and snug. If she misses your closeness that may help. The second is music, my kids all loved loud car music - my kind not theirs!!! Think blackthorn, ozzie and the beatles, lol...

If you don't find things that work she just may unfortunately be one of those babies that doesn't like the car. It stinks, but you have to just wait until this passes. As she gets older and can hold and focus on toys that might help keep her occupied.