My Two Month Old HATES the Car - Help!

Have you tried one of those mirrors for her to look at? The kind you attach to the back of the seat in front of her. Maybe if she could see herself & any other decorations on the mirror, it might calm her down.

That's all I could think of that wasn't already mentioned. Good luck!

Could she have reflux? My son had reflux when he was an infant and hated the carseat as it cunched his belly up and made the reflux worse....he wasn't a spitter...he just had the pain and such.

I also have a GER (acid reflux baby) and the car seat situation *was* a nightmare. My boy was very, very high needs and did not tolerate being separated from me for any length of time for the first 3 months or so and I believe this was the problem with the car seat, not the reflux. Having me or my spouse sitting next to him during trips did not work *at all*--if anything it made it worse. He expected to be comforted when he cried and would become hysterical when we didn't do that. The emotional explosion then increase the acid reflux. So much fun. Things got much better for us once the little guy started feeling better with the reflux, was able to find entertainment in hand-held objects and was switched to a roomier car seat (our little guy is a pudge).

Do you have a friend with a different car seat that you can try out?

I'm sorry you're having such a terrible time with this.

Your 2 month old daughter is probably CAR SICK. Even though she is very small & young, she can still have
MOTION SICKNESS.

As when I was that age, my Mom, said I screamed & screamed, in getting in the car.

So, she made an appointment with the doctor & a prescription for me to take with Applesauce. It helped so much when I was riding in the car.

To this day, I still get MOTION SICKNESS. So, I wear a RELIEF BAND, that I get a prescription for from my medical doctor.

Hope I've helped you out some.

Faye Cutshall

I had two car screamers out of four kids. I feel your pain. I always said that if I didn't end up in Heaven, my own personal hell would be in the car with one kid screaming and crying and making the other two or three cry or complain during a thirty minute trip to dance lessons-lol.

I just had to wait it out. They stopped screaming when I turned them around, finally, at age one. My baby still cries a lot. I don't know if it is car sickness or what, but it is awful.

Now that Chance can talk, he says that he is stuck. I think he doesn't like being tied down. Imagine being tied down and backward going down the road at 65 mph. It would be terrible for me and you...

Good luck! Hang tough!

I use to bring the car seat in the house and let my daughter nap in it when she was young and sit in front of her and play while she was buckled in. After a bit she began to relax in the car seat and didn't cry every time. This might help but if not i wish you luck in finding something that does.

L.--My dd was exactly the same way! I did all the obvious things: checked the harnesses to make sure they weren't too tight or pinching, checked clothing, made sure she was fed before leaving, etc..... Nothing worked, she would just scream and carry-on until she was out of the car and her car seat. Took her on a 12 hour car drive w/o hubby---I thought I was gonna go insane!!!! I stopped so many times to try and get her to calm down that it added 3.5 hours to the trip (we should have only had an 8 hour drive). Fortunately it passed, unfortunately it wasn't because of anything we did. This is something you may just have to wait out. The only thing I found that helped (me from going crazy) was to turn up the radio and sing at the top of my lungs..........LOL
I would say that I agree with the other post, try to keep trips short and if you can leave her at home with your dh while you run errands it will releave some of the stress in the car.
good luck

Hi L.. My son was the same way. He eventually got over it though. Actually, it got better once he turned 1 and we were able to turn his car seat front wards. Have you thought about getting a mirror to put above the car seat? That way he can see you and you can see him. This helped a little. Our son did not like the idea of not being able to see us. And, when in the car seat he has no freedom. Good luck and do not give up!
A.

Does she take a pacifier? Or, could maybe covering her seat with a blanket so she can't see anything else help? The best solution really, is timing, but we all know with real life it's hard to time everything around your baby's nap schedule. Maybe if you set her in her car seat at other points during the day, just around the house. Like, maybe for one feeding a day or something, just so she gets to feeling comfortable and acquainted with it. Children usually relate things together. Maybe she related getting in her car seat to time alone or to being around too many people? There are any number of reasons as to why she hates it, all I can say is try to get her used to it and comfortable with it... or just ride it out. >.< Good luck!

I have been there, try going on a six hour trip with that!!! its not fun, my son cried the whole time. He finally got to where he just quit, it took a few months but he did finally stop. Be patient....i know it is hard. Have you changed car seats or anything?? that could also be the problem, make sure is is comfortable....good luck

I feel for you. Car rides are just unavoidable and a crying baby is very distracting which makes driving dangerous. Is there anyway to make the car seat extra snuggly. Try putting a thick baby blanket in the car seat, put in baby, and wrap the blanket around her so you can get the straps and buckles fastened. There are times that babies like to be tucked firmly into a blanket. The old term is to swaddle a baby. If that doesn't work, (I would not normally suggest giving a baby over the counter medicine), give that baby a drop or two of Tylenol or Advil. There is no reason to let her be so distressed. The medicine would not be a good idea when going to a check up at the doctors. Good Luck.

I had the same problem with one of our children. It turned out to be related to reflux. When he was in his car seat (and swing), it scrunched his tummy up, forcing more acid into his esophagus. Basically, it gave him heartburn.

Especially if she spits up frequently and fusses without any real known cause, I would suspect the same thing. Talk to your pediatrician. When Jason was a baby, they didn't give meds for reflux unless the baby wasn't gaining enough weight. Now they prescribe it if a baby shows signs of pain that isn't relieved other ways.

Is the car seat itself uncomfortable? Is it padded or hard? If you think it may be the car seat itself, you can experiment by putting her in the seat in the house and seeing if she just doesn't like it, or doesn't like being confined. She may be bored--staring at the back seat all the time, which was part of my son's problem--he did better when I finally thought (duh!) to give him some toys.

She may just be a sociable little girl and likes company--I think that's what my son's problem was. He did okay when I was in the back seat with him, but since I couldn't sit with him and drive, we had some horrid trips. I was afraid to put my older son (19 months older) right next to him when he was so young, but you could try to put your son (since he is so much older) right next to your daughter and see if he can keep her company.

My son finally stopped when he got older--I was more conscious to give him toys, he had his older brother right next to him, and he also got turned around. He actually did better facing backwards than forwards when I first changed him, because he could still see my older son easily.

My son, who is now 9 months old, went through a phase where he would cry everytime he was in his car seat. It was horrible. By the time we got to our destination, I was crying too. I tried everything to get him to stop crying...nothing worked. This lasted for about a month and a half. Now he doesn't fuss at all in the car. Hopefully your daughter is just going through a phase and will pass soon. I feel for you!!! Good luck.

Check to see if the car seat is to tight across her lower abdomen. My son would scream in his car seat too, and I tried everything, until one day I realized that as I strapped him in, I would check how tight is was across his chest and then pull to make sure it was right, and in doing so, I would pull it tight around lower tummy. As soon as I made sure that it was loosened around his tummy a little, car rides became very enjoyable.

After reading some of the other moms answers, my son had reflux too, and always in the car seat, but loosening the strap around his tummy helped with that too!

Try rolling down the window- I've really found it to help. Also, you could try a DVD player w/Baby Einstein playing. I know she's young, but you might be surprised...some say tv may not be good for kids, but if it keeps her from being so distressed it could be worth a try!

I have no advice other than to say "it will pass". In the meantime try to make trips as short as possible.

Hi L.. I watched Oprah the other day and she had the baby language expert on there. One other mother had the same problem with her son and come to find out the seat belt was too tight. You might want to check it out at Oprah.com and see if you can find more information.

Best of luck
K. S