Hi ladies! Our 8 & 1/2 month old HATES car rides. Occasionally (but only if he's sleepy) he'll fall asleep - but most car rides, he will at least fuss the entire time, and quite often he'll cry through the whole thing. Since he's usually a ridiculously good-natured boy, and rarely cries at all, this is very stressful for us - ideas?
Are you still using a bucket seat? If so, things might be better if you move up to a convertible. Our son was a nightmare in the bucket and greatly improved when we moved him into the convertible at seven months. Greatly. Good luck.
I feel your pain as my daughter was not good in the car either as an infant. You didn't mention what type of car seat he is in. Have you tried moving him from an infant car seat up to a convertible car seat. My daughter seemed to be a lot more happy and comfortable after we moved her to a convertible. It wasn't perfect and she still is a whiney car-rider, but it was much better than the infant car seat.
I also wondered if our brand of the infant car seat just wasn't comfortable for her. I am expecting my 2nd and will be curious to see how this one does in it. Sounds strange, but I could never figure out why she cried so much.
What kind of car seat is he in? Also, is it installed properly? (local hospitals and even IKEA do car seat safety-checks on periodic basis) Are you buckling him in too tight? You should be able to slide your finger (one finger width) pretty easily, but not too easily, between his chest and the strap. Is the sun/brightness in his face? Do you have a mirror up so he can see you and you can see him?
Our daughter was over her infant seat ("the bucket") by the time she was 5 mos. We switched her to rear-facing convertible (a Britax) and she was SO much happier!! Worked for me as a 5'3" woman, dragging "the bucket" around was very cumbersome!!
Hope you find some relief!
My son use to cry and scream whenever we stopped in the car. As long as we were moving he was fine and then we would stop at a stop light and the screams would come out, as soon as we started moving he would immediaetly stop LOL kids.... I agree with the other posts, he may be really uncomfortable or he may just may not want to be going any where. I think distraction might work. Get some kind of moving toy or even a dvd player and put it so he can see it. Loose toys are good but if he drops it, which they will, then it isn't worth anything to help. If he is paying attention to something else he might forget he is in the car. I would also look at the carseat and make sure there isn't something that is making it uncomfortable for him. Good luck!
Hi L.,
While I don't have any ideas for solutions, I have a couple of thoughts on causes. Does your son fuss if he's sitting in his car seat but not in the car? If he only complains while you're driving, he may be feeling some motion sickness. I'm not sure how it affects babies, but I know that for myself, I have have a generally unpleasant queasy feeling if I can't look out the window. And it tends to make me a little grouchy. :)
How active is your son? If he really wants to be on-the-go, he may be protesting to being confined in the car seat. If so, maybe putting a mirror where he can see himself would be a bit of a distraction.
Good luck!
