Almost-8-month-old Still Cries in the Car at Night

When my daughter was about that age and doing the same thing, we switched to a bigger car seat and found that eased most of it. She is big for her age, so I think she was uncomfortable. Another thing that helped is that I tried many soothing types of music and found one that she loves(took a while), but it's John Mayer-Continuum. I have no idea why, but she could be screaming her head off and when she hears his voice she immediately stops crying and calms down. I hope you find some suggestion that works. Good Luck!

My kids always hated their car seats. It is usually hot and they want to be close to you. You can only try to give her ways to entertain herself. Play some soothing music or something to. I don't believe it is the car or the dark that is upsetting her judst that shje knows she wont be with you. Someone can sit in the back with her.

Hi R.,

I am a mommy to 15-month old triplets and we went through the same thing with Micah, he hated the darkness and I think the noises scared him alittle. We bought a glow-worm for him to play with in the car. He would hold it and squeeze it and the soft glow helped!! The light was dim enough that it never affected our driving. Also, we would play soothing music (like waves, beach music or soft reggae) that helped too. Our suburban also has reading lights and sometimes I would drive with one one (the back one closest to him)....Finally at about 12 months he just stopped getting upset in the car at night!!! Just know that it should pass as long as you make him feel as comfortable as possible =} Good Luck!! J.

If you can stand it, try driving with the map light on in the front seat. I know you tried the booklight on HER seat, but with that she can see the car around her, but probably can't see YOU! you might also try having who's ever in the passenger seat reach back and hold her hand. Sounds like she needs some reassurance that you're still there.

HTH
T.

Hi R.,

My son was the same way. He would ONLY scream at night time and usually the whole way home. We tried his favorite toy, snacks, turning on the light, music, etc... We were dreading it when we were going to drive for 2 hours at night one time. He can't see in the front seat because his car seat was still reversed. The only thing we saw that helped was when we played a dvd for him (I know you have to limit TV). We had a portable DVD player that had 2 screens and we put one for him and one for my daughter. He didn't cry at all and watched it for about 10 to 15 minutes and then fell asleep. We only used that for long drives which was a total of about 2 times. Now, he is 1 and his car seat is turned around so that he can see everyone. He doesn't cry at night anymore. So either he grew out of it or he is much happier turned around.

My daughter cried when her seat was turned facing back. When she turned 1 and we were able to turn her seat around she was a lot better. You have to remember that they don't understand that you are in the front seat. At that age they think if they can't see you, you are gone. For example have you ever played hide in seek with a 1 year old. They think if they cover their face you can't see them. So maybe until the seat is turned around someone can sit in the back with her. Just remember that this to shall pass.

Hi R.,

What about a favorite tape/cd? Try playing one that she loves during the day in the car and then play it at night as well. Sometimes they just need something really familiar or distracting. Good luck!

Molly

My daughter acted very similarly and was just a few months older than yours at the time. I was driving a student 40 minutes each way 5 nights per week. It was horrible. Have you tried a glo worm toy? I found the crying stopped when I bought a wonderful CD from a Discovery Toys consultant. It was called, Sounds like fun. She never cried again. She loved that CD, and it was very calming. Another thing to try is to find a toy that makes womb sounds to comfort her. Good luck!

T.
Founder
www.theparentpack.org

My son used to cry in the car all the time, unless I sang songs. He didn't want kids songs, either, they had to be songs from church. :) If I stopped and tried to think of the next song to sing, he would cry. If I opened the window to hear a siren and stopped singing, he would cry. Any time we were in the car, I was singing! Eventually, he grew out of it, now, he's nine and laughs if I ever mention this story.

Our 7 1/2 month old son is the same way. But it's not just at night when he screams in the car, it can be the daytime too. (But sometimes he's ok in the car.) If there is someone to drive like my husband or someone else, I can sit in the back w/ him and give him his bottle. This usually quiets him down. If I'm the one driving w/ no backseat adult, my 6 year old feeds the baby his bottle or he can hold it himself. He can either drink it or just play w/ the nipple. This usually soothes him. I just make sure he gets a good burp when we're out of the car. But if all else fails - not the bottle, not toys, or sitting in the back to calm him down - we just have to bear it and make it through the ride. We've never resorted to pulling the car over to calm him down. If it's just a matter of him being unhappy (and nothing is hurting him like pinched buckles or tight car seat straps, etc.), we can zone out the screaming and just make it home safely!

My nine-month old is the same way. He's never liked the car seat and now that he's a lot stronger, it's often a battle to get him in the car seat. What we usually do is I will sit in the back seat, lean over and nurse him in the car seat. We've done this several times for long car rides where we really couldn't pull over and had to keep driving, especially at night. Good luck!

How about if one of you sits next to her in the backseat?

my 5 month old was the same way until we changed car seats from the infant carrier to the next larger one. Now he is fine. I think he was uncomfortable in the other one. He always cried forever in there. Sometimes for an hour straight, while i drove somewhere!!! maybe she doesn't feel comfortable in the car seat that you have??? just a thought. good luck!

She'll eventually grow out of it. Try giving her toys. Both my sons did not like the carseat at all. One stopped crying at about 10 months and the other at 13 months. Are you able to sit with her in the back and play with her while you DH drives?

hi- i have two children, one brand new baby girl. she has hated the car ever since she was born. the things that have helped us the most is creating a consistent routine every time for the car- the same blanket, the same music/heartbeat bear everytime she gets in her seat. i think children don't like it at night because they can't see- have you tried sitting next to her? or playing children's music/lullabies in the car? i constantly sit in the back seat, reassure my little girl that she is okay and not alone...some people have even put a mirror up on the seat so the child can see better/more- but that won't help at night. my hypothesis is that the car seat itself is uncomfortable, the child is too scrunched and it may hurt a little. it will get better once she is can face front! good luck...E.

She'll grow out of it.

I really feel for you. I do not miss those days. My oldest daughter would cry the entire trip. She had acid reflux and was sensitive to the dairy in my breastmilk. Singing and Cheerios helped my oldest daughter. Singing didn't work with my second daughter. She wanted toys, music, and Cheerios. With both kids, one of us ended up in the back seat at all time...going from giving them snacks/toys to singing. As they grew older, they started to color in coloring books, etc... Some parents put movies on portable DVDs, but we chose that route on special occasions. I found that it was better for them if I taught them about the environment outside the car window (e.g. green tree, bridge, blue truck, river, ocean, etc...) and if I kept their habit of family communication time in the car (vs. a habit of zoning out in the car in their IPods or DVDs).