I've got a car seat screamer...what do I do?

One of my boys absolutely hates being in the car seat. As soon as I put him in, he starts crying or screaming. If I take him out and calm him down as soon as I put him back in he starts crying. The crying will sometimes last from 15 minutes to the whole car ride. Staying at home is not an option, b/c I work and I have to take my oldest to school, etc. I've tried different things, putting him when he's asleep/not asleep, before he eats/after he eats, I've switched car seats, switched him places in the car, put toys on his car seat handle...
Any advice is greatly, greatly appreciated

 

Is something in the seat poking or scratching him?

 

Hi, My DS had problems in the car, too. Ugh, it was awful. It sounds like you have already done a lot of checking to make sure he is comfortable. My DS would only stop crying when the car moved, and then start crying again when the car stopped. We were always on surface streets, so it was at predictable intervals. It was ear splitting and frayed my nerves. He would cry the whole time we were waiting for the light to turn green.

Have you tried music or something he likes on the CD player?
Honestly, I'm not much help. It sounds like you've tried your best to help him feel better.

I took my aunt's advice and just went out anyway. My DS was very colicky and I would go crazy if we stayed inside all day. He finally outgrew it and we don't have problems anymore.

 

My 2 hated their carseats, too. We live close to a highway and I think like a pp said, not stopping is key. I got to go, too, so I just kept doing it and they did grow out of it. We've taken them th Michigan and yesterday got back from Oklahoma. I can't say they loved the trip, but did well for their ages. You can do it!

 

Ugh! We had that too. It sucks. The change to a convertible carseat did help. But we still had occasional screamfests. I did find that a Fisher Price CD of really annoying nursery rhyme music did the trick too. Hang in there. At least it's quiet when you drop him off and go to work ardon: :lol:

 

Nathaniel hates his seat too. I just plug the paci in his mouth, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. When we are moving he is fine. Have you tried the vaccum recording in the car. I know a mom who swears by that.

 

DS was getting poked by something in his car seat. Even though we looked several times, we didn't see it :FIFblush: cause it was stuck in the folds of the infant positioner. Took it out and had a happy baby.

 

Mine screamed off and on til recently. Sometimes they liked it, and sometimes they hated it. I timed car rides around naptime as much as possible, and when I couldn't... they cried.

Just remember, it's very important that you keep calm and keep your eyes on the road. Don't reach around and try to comfort your babies, because it can be very distracting. You job once you're in that car is to get it where you are going safely. Get a loud CD or find a white noise radio station and drown out the crying a bit (it may help them too). It sounds mean, but their safety and yours is key.

Though I agree with the previous poster. The change to convertible car seats helped a lot. I hated doing it, but I moved them at 6 months just for easier car rides.

 

When Colin was around 4-6 months he didn't do so well on long trips on the interstate while in his carrier. So I bought a CD called Hush Little Baby (Soothing Sounds), or something like that, which many reviewers said helped their colicky baby. one track on the CD was of a vacuum running. I saw it work one day when Brandon was crying in our living room and within minutes of me putting that track on repeat he fell asleep on the couch. So my husband made a 60 minute CD of just that vacuum track (using some free software to "loop" it). When we traveled to the in-laws for Thanksgiving and Christmas we played that CD, and it put both boys to sleep within minutes on both trips. Though on the second trip after they fell asleep we thought we could switch it to the radio...BIG mistake as Colin woke up and then proceeded to scream for over an hour until we reached our destination Anyway, perhaps some repetitive CD like that will help? GL!

 

We just got home from a 12 hour road trip yesterday and other than toys they could play with, my DH used to sing a song by They Might Be Giants to the boys when I was pregnant. When they were about a month old & screaming all night, we'd sing it to them. Well, we put it on repeat on our iPod yesterday & they'd stop screaming IMMEDIATELY in the car. DH would start it out loud, then every time it ended, make it a little quieter. I think we may have listened to it 500 times, but it really worked.

 

I had one who hated carseats too. I tried absolutely everything & nothing worked with her until she could face forward, then the crying stopped. Of course, that was 14 years ago, back in the day when they could face forward at a really young age. Hang in there, I hope he outgrows it soon!

 

We bought portable DVD players for our twins because one of them was a screamer. One day the tv was on and he started watching Horton Hears a Who. He was quiet!

So we bought the movie and put it in and he watches that everytime we are in the car. And it works.

I only have to take them on short trips most of the time but it really helped us. Now he is better on the longer trips to visit the family.

Good luck. I know how horrible this is!

 

My babies were like that, especially my DS. It got better when they got older (around 12 months) and they could play with toys and read books. Now they don't cry too much unless we are in the car for a longer trip. They are still rear-facing.

 

He is soon at the age where he will start to notice toys more and play with them which will help you. We had toys that were only for the car and they attached to their seatbelts. It is only a phase and he will outgrow it.

Heather

 

Mine did that from 6-12 weeks old. It sucked and then all of the sudden, they stopped. We also stopped using the snap-n-go. We used the double stroller and we were able to go places.

Turn up the radio while you are in the car,
Jenn

 

Thanks ladies for ur support and advice!! There were a couple of things that u guys mentioned that I haven't tried yet, so I will be trying those things pronto This problem has been really hard for us, b/c we have a long commute. My poor little guy It's really stressful - I try to breathe and relax, but it's difficult. It's also headache-inducing.
Again, thx for the tips and advice, hopefully relief will come soon