Baby Cries in CarSeat

My daughter really hated her car seat too. Once I started breastfeeding her in her seat, it really made a difference.

Has anyone accidently pinched her skin with the buckle? My 2 year old used to be like that since she was 2months old, when her daddy had accidently caught a piece of her skin on her leg. She still has a major problem with wanting to be in it. But lately I believe its because her 2 older sisters don't need to be in carseats (they're 12yrs and 10yrs.).

My grandson did the same thing. I think they need to know that someone is there. They can't see you. My daughter attached a cd player onto the back seat and put videos, like Little Einsteins in it. It really worked. Give it a try.

I didn't have any chronic problems with my kids in the car seat, but some friends of ours had a problem with their daughter pretty much from the time she was born. Somehow they decided to have their Chiropractor check her out. Sure enough she was having back/neck troubles. They said it happens to babies sometimes during childbirth. Once she started having adjustments from the Chiro she was fine in the car. (I can't remember how many times they took her, but she is four years old and doing fine) Hopefully you will figure out what is causing the crying. I noticed a lot of good comments and ideas from other posters.

We have actually tuned the car radio to an am station with just static and turned it up pretty loud and it seems to work most of the time. Also the mirror is a great idea, we got one at babies R us that has a remote control for the driver and it lights up and sings songs. Even our 1 mo old son is amused by it at times.

This won't be much help. But my son did the same thing. He eventually outgrew the fits. Sorry I cannot help you more.
K. H

Dear K.,

Tiny babies are not supposed to face forward in a car seat until certain pounds or height. I did disregard this due to the fact that my daughter would also react in the same manner as yours so I turned her around and she stopped crying. I was scared and didn't drive often but it did solve the problem! Good luck! -H.-

Hi K.,

My first daughter did the exact same thing. She'd cry so hard she'd gag and I'd pull over terrified she was choking. I got a lot of little toys to hang on her car seat for her to play with & to distract her, a mirror that went in front of her so she had something to look at and it was angled so she could see my reflection. A pacifier worked really well too. I got her used to the car seat by taking small 5-10 minute trips. Sometimes she'd scream but I'd talk calmly to her even if it seemed like she wasn't listening. I had to remind myself that she was ok and she was going to have to get used to it. Keep in mind that this is a phase and she will grow out of it. I hope that helps.

Our daugher, also our second, did the same thing, unlike her older brother. It was winter time and we determined much of her issue was that she was hot and the crying just made it worse. The less we dressed her before a ride the better it seemed (though sometimes she still just cried). I think with most bucket seats, the design keeps a lot of the air circulating in a car away from the baby. The convertible we just transitioned her to (at 10 months) seems to have more space between her and the sides of the seat so air can get in there and keep her cool. She rarely cries now- probably grew out of that crying stage and is cooler too.

Unfortunately the car seat isn't optional. I'm pretty sure in most states it's against the law to turn them around prior to age 1 and 20 lbs and most professionals and carseat manufacturers are now recommending that they stay rear-facing longer. I strongly urge you not to turn her around - if you do get in an accident, and let's face it - that's what the carseat is for - she will sustain much worse injuries, their neck muscles are not strong enough to handle this. I would much rather my baby be mad and alive, then content and get killed. Unless you can find something that's pinching her or making her physically uncomfortable, she is probably just not happy about it. If someone can sit with her and entertain her, great, but there's most likely nothing wrong and she just doesn't like it. Does she have some toys on it or around her seat for her to look at? We had a mirror that played music and lit up (I think Fisher Price) that helped, plus it has a remote control so you can start or re-start it from the driver's seat with no distraction.

Hi - my nephew had this problem and it turned out he was just car sick! Once he was able to turn around and see out the window, he did a lot better. I'm not sure how to handle this with a 4-month old though, with the car seat laws and all... maybe a mirror positioned so she can see the world going by? Good luck!

My oldest grandson had the same problem. He hated the car and would cry for entire rides. Have you tried singing? When your older child is in the car, can he talk to her, pat her, give her a bottle or pacifier? She is very young and will outgrow it, but I know how difficult it is.

My daughter was the same way and like a previous poster said switching to a convertible seat helped. Most convertibles can even fit a newborn so give it a shot.

My daughter did this when she was a baby too. HATED riding in the car! I did buy her mirror that seemed to help. She could see me when she looked into it, as long as I had my visor mirror open. I would also sing to her the same song over and over. Boy, those were some rough days, but atleast this time I can say that it REALLY IS A PHASE!!

Hi K.! I experienced the same thing with two of my three kids. I ended up putting them in the big carseat and facing them forward, then they were perfectly fine. My older son is now ten years old, but he gets car sick! No wonder he cried all the time! Now my ten month old daughter is the same way. Since I've turned her around, she's much happier and doesn't stress herself out back there. In my opinion, it's worth it to turn them around, rather than letting them cry so hard that they are sweating and making themselves sick. I wish you the best of luck!

Its might be as simple as the straps are too tight, or she is slumped to low. Find her comfort level and she will be fine

My first response would be for you to sit back there with her, but I see you have a toddler. You could try one of those mirrors, they make them so a single driver can see the infant in the car seat, it might help her. If nothing else seeing her own reflection might amuse her. Talk to her soothingly and lightly rock the seat, touching her might help too. See if you can get your son to help, he's only 2 so I'm not sure how that will work. You can pack a bag of soft toys and ask him to play with the baby when she get's fussy. He might be able to get something an reach over to her to give it to her.

Good luck.

PS: I see someone mentioned car sickness, ginger helps with nausea, boil some up and make a tea, sweeten it up to your liking and let her have a cooled bottle of it before the trip or even during if she can hold a bottle.

My son did the same thing until recently (he's 7 months now)i just shooshed him and let him sorta chew/suck on my finger it seemed to calm him down pretty well of course he still whined a little....

K.,
My son never became quite this upset being in his carseat. However, around 4 months old, I did switch him from the Graco infant carseat into an Evenflo infant-toddler carseat. He was not at the weight limit of the Graco, but he began to become more and more irritated with it. He does not like to be held in a swaddle position or to be laying down a lot when held. At 4 mo. he was becoming strong enough to look around and hold himself upright. The Evenflo positioned him into more of a sitting position rather than a laying position and he was happier with this. Of course, I do not have the convenience of removing the carseat to carry him around in, but he was getting heavy anyway. Also, he seems calmer/happier when I crack the back windows and give him a gentle breeze...it almost always puts him to sleep now.

Our daughter did the same thing. She would scream and cry the entire time we were in the car to the point that sometimes she would vomit or have diarrhea. Just before her first birthday our peditrician gave us the go ahead to put her forward facing and it helped alot but she would still have the occasionally episode. Prior to putting her forward facing we went very few places because it was such an issue to have her in the car. We were never sure what caused this until she was old enough to communicate this to us... She gets car sick!

Now she is going on five years old and anytime the roads are hilly, bumpy, curvy or there is alot of stop and go and turning she will get a tummy ache.

Good Luck to you!

try taking the cover off and folding a couple receiving blankets and placing them under the carseat cover, sometimes they get worn and it hurts their backs. good luck

Hi K.,

Your daughter might just want to be more upright in the car. I had a friend who's daughter did the same thing in the carseat - just cried and cried for no apparent reason. They bought a forward facing seat (that can be used rear facing until child's old enough to face forward) and she LOVED it! She just wanted to be upright and seemed to enjoy watching out the window. If you have a very alert little girl she may enjoy being able to see what's going on around her in the car. Good luck - having a crying baby in a confined space is no fun.

First of all, do not turn your 4 month old forward facing. The law is 1 year AND 20 pounds, but 2 years AND 30 pounds is actually better. So, not only is it not safe to turn a 4 month old forward facing, it is not legal either. So, if you get that advice, please dismiss it immediately.

Perhaps you can make your outings shorter, so she isn't in the car seat as long. Make sure that the straps are snug, but not too tight. If she can't take a deep breath comfortably, then they are too tight. If you can pinch the straps (without your fingers slipping off) then they are too loose.

Also, the majority of after market products are not safe to be used with car seats. This includes towels underneath the car seat, blankets used under the straps and pad of the car seat, etc. If it did not come with the car seat, it is an after market product, has not be used in a safety test, and if you are in an accident, your insurance company can deny the claim if an after market product has been found to be used in your child's car seat.

Have you ever checked out www.car-seat.org ? It is a web site full of wonderful information and you could probably find great suggestions on that site!

Good luck!

ergh, I feel for you!:( Pacifier?
It occurs to me someone else wrote about this a while back and said that what helped them was to put the baby in the car seat and start driving, when she started to fuss, go home. Lengthen the trips every few times and she will get used to it. However, with a toddler, it may not be easy to get away to do this or put them both in the car once or twice a day just to drive around and waste expensive gas:(
Good Luck!

Wouldn't you hate to be strapped into one of those things too? My kids all hated the car seat also. It seems that about 3-4 mos., when they really get to contol some of their actions they start hating the car seat. When I looked at what I was doing to them, and thought about someone doing that to me, I realized that I would hate it also, especially in a snowsuit! We switched our kids to the convertable rear facing at about 4-5 mos. because they were too heavy to carry in the infant seat. Like the others said, that seemed to help. I also found that big sisters, singing and patting and playing with them helps immensly. I imagine that a big brother would do the same. They hate the screaming and crying also. We used to take turns singing to her, we'd start a simple song, then each make up a verse. It amused and distracted us, even if it didn't help her to quit crying. She'll outgrow this, it is a lesson to learn in life, that sometimes we just have to do whatever because we have to.

Make sure she's comfortable - that the straps aren't overly tight. I've heard a lot of cases where the straps were too tight.

I'd probably make sure she has a buddy or toy to play with - or some sort of toys that can hang down from the handle of the seat (if it has that).

The idea with the mirrors sounded good.

Just for kicks, you might see if you can try a different car seat to see if that works better.

Good luck!

refulx try a rear facing toddler set .

Hi K.,
My daughter did the same thing. She ALWAYS hated the car seat. The ONLY thing that ever made her happy was when we put on a Josh Groban cd. She has always loved his music, and as soon as it came on, the crying would stop and she would just listen. Eventually, she would fall asleep to it. Even now at 27 months, it keeps her happy in car trips. She likes to sing along. :) I would say to find soothing music for her. Something instrumental, slow, and melodic and/or with smooth soothing voices.

Also, a lot of replies mention the mirrors. If you choose to try them, be very careful. When I took our car seat for an inspection at our local fire department, they said they didn't like mirrors because they can't be secured very well to the seat and can become a serious missile hazard in a car accident.

Good luck!

All my best!
A.

I can sympathize with you. Both of kids were screamers in the car. What I found that worked was putting on some white noise in the car whether it be a station set to static or a cd with the sound of rain. It is a little annoying to hear, but so much better than hearing the kids scream and a bonus, it usually put them to sleep. Good luck!!!

Unfortunately, all my kids have hated the carseat, to the point where I stopped going anywhere that I couldn't walk to. My second two (twins), though, seemed to hate it slightly less after I lined their seats with memory foam under the seat cover. It was easy to cut it out, and I just cut slits for the shoulder straps and crotch lock thingie. It doesn't affect the safety of the seat as all the locks still lock and they aren't raised above the level of the high sides. They still complain ALOT but not with the same intensity. Good luck!

Do you have any distractions for her? I had some toys that dangled from the handle and jingled for my son and he loved them. I also sat in back with him whenever we went somewhere (assuming I wasn't driving, of course). Maybe one of those things would help. Good luck!