4 Week Old Hates Car

I sing to my 4th baby, and it helps! She is now 9 mos. and doesn't cry much anymore, but it wasn't fun a while ago! It will get better when she can do more:)

My daughter went through something very similar. We used Enya music, especially the song "Caribbean Blue." The sounds soothed my daughter when she would scream. It was rather annoying to hear the same thing over and over again, but it kept her quiet.

Good luck!

My 6-week old likes when we are on the road, but on the days when she is not in the mood, she is briefly quieted by two soft toys we hung from the handles on the ceiling of the car, near the door. She likes to watch them sway. It doesn't usually calm her for very long, but a little is better than nothing.

I also try to avoid traffic and rush hour, as she likes the feeling of the car in motion only. I've tried putting one hand on the back of the carrier and jiggling it while I drive with the other hand. It worked once.

My 14 month old was the same way! Sometime between 6 and 8 weeks, we moved him into a rear facing convertible car seat and he was soooo much happier. He just hated that carrier and nothing that we did in attempts to soothe him helped.

It was more difficult because we weren't planning on moving my then 3 year old into a booster, but we did and everyone was much happier! If you have an extra convertible seat, you may want to give it a try before you move everyone around.

I hope her unhappiness is short lived.
Good Luck!!
B.

My son was the same way and he has eventually grown out of it. When we would open the car windows it would make white noise that would cam him. Of course that was the summer but a good white noise cd might help.

My daughter and the boy I nanny both were that way with the car. When my daughter was bitty I found that putting the handle of the seat up and covering the whole carseat with a blanket helped. But that solution only worked for a few weeks. But once we moved her into a convertible carseat she was SOOOO much better. Turns out she just hated the baby carseat. The same thing happened with the boy I nanny. As soon as he was put in the upright seat he was happy as a clam. I don't know if it's because of the recline or because now they get a view, but both of them do just fine in the car.
Good luck!

maybe try playing some soft soothing music while she is in the car. Some kids hate cars, some love it. My niece was the same way -- as soon as u put her in the carseat, immediate screaming and screeching! She grew out of it eventually. Good luck.

IF it is motion sickness,and at that age you cannot know for sure, try avoiding juices or eating/drinking anything not bland before a car trip. For those that have not experienced it, it feels similar to morning sickness. It is NOT pleasant. I have it and they say it is an inner ear thing. Until children can sit in the front seat and eat crackers, try limiting car rides when you can. Slightly open window, for fresh air, also helps sometimes.

Hi,

My daughter (now 18 mos) was the same way when she was a newborn. And she was WAY worse at night. It was awful... driving and listening to her scream and not really being able to do anything... sometimes if i spoke to her she would calm down a little - but that would be short lived.. and sometimes if I tapped lightly on the handle of her car seat with my ring she would calm down - again shortlived.. but she grew out of it.. and is totally fine now... it did last for a few months though.. i'm hard pressed to remember exactly how long but I think she was about 4 months old maybe a little more when she stopped this... yeah its tough.. but she'll outgrow it. Its tough I know... I hated hearing her scream - sorry I can't give anymore suggestions. Just give her a lot of hugs when she gets out of there :)

Aarti.

i feel your pain. my daughter hated the car seat until she was 1! i had a two year old too and felt very bad for him. my advice is stay out of the car. she is now 4 and much better but she still on occasion will get car sick. i saw 3 different docs when she was small. all of them claimed that babies can't get car sick. i totally disagree with that. hang in there. it will pass.

I also went through this, I hope it doesn't last long for you.
I would swaddle, and for white noise I put the radio on a static station and I got my older child headphones and a cd player, he would start screaming about her crying and that would just push me over the edge. It is so nervewracking to have a screaming child in the car, try to stay calm if you can.
good luck!

p.s. i think my kids felt car sick too, until I switched her to a more upright seat, she cried

I'm totally with you...my 2yr old daughter actually used the car seat as her bed for the first 4 months of her life. My 12 week old loathes the car seat. But...it does help me to only leave when I know she's going to be sleeping and swaddle her in one of those kiddopotomus (sp?) swaddles...there is a hole in the back of them so that you can use it in the car seat. Much luck!

welcome to many mom's situation! Almost all newborns hate being in a carseat when they have to be bundled. I am assuming you have her in a coat or outdoor wear of some kind and unless they are only in regular clothes many newborns will shreak and holler the entire duration of your trip. Its normal and mostly there is nothing you can do about it. Try some calming music or once she is in her seat you could warm up the car and loosen her coat or snow suit so she feels a little more free. Each child, as you can see has a different temperment and probably it'll just be harder to keep her settled in the car than your son. I wish you luck with this - been there done that, and just know it DOES NOT last forever. hang in there and have a great Thanksgiving.

My mom said I was the same way. Happy unless I was in a car seat. Obviously try to spend as little time in the car as you can and plan trips around nap times and such.
My son didn't take a pacifier for 3 months. We were tired of wilted pinky fingers and the screaming for hours at night. My only advice is forget the cost and buy every pacifier on the wall at Babies R Us (or borrow them from anyone who has a different type than you have). You may just have a baby as picky as we did. He never really took a bottle and only took one pacifier. Luckily, it turned out to be the cheapest available and we bought a ton of them once we found the one he liked.
Good Luck!

Try the Swaddle-Me Traveler. One Step Ahead (onesteapahed.com) carries it. It's a godsend! My youngest hated the car and screamed the entire time for the first month. When she was 4 weeks old I saw this when looking for things for my other children and immediately ordered it. The first time we used it, she didn't cry at all. She fell asleep within minutes. That was 2 months ago and she has not cried ONCE since we got it! She loves being swaddled at night (all my kids did) and this is the same thing... with her arms secure and not waving around in front of her she can calm down.

try finding static on your car radio and turn it up pretty loud. That really worked well with our little guy. Eventually we got a paci for the car. also try to feed the baby before you go out.

hi, i sent this same request in about a month ago for my newborn, look up my responses as well. I tried the pattern blanket over the carseat...worked sometimes. And now I do have my now 3 month old in the covertible car seat and he cries for less than half of the time now. I also TRY and time the outings so that he has just fallen asleep. I do not bundle him up too much, just put a heavy blanket over him in the car. Also still helps to have a blanket or burp cloth over half of his face, so he can 'check-out'.
Look up my request too for more good ideas to try! I was just going to leave flowers for people and saw your request!
Good Luck! C.

Check her car seat and make sure there is nothing poking her. My friend's little boy used to scream like that in his car seat in the car and one day I took him with me and put him in a seat that I had and he was fine, later that day I went to put him in his seat and stabbed my hand on something. She had to get a new seat, I think she sent that one back anyways that is all that was wrong with him. It's worth looking at. Good Luck, I hope something works.