New Born Hates Car Seat

I hear you, my kids hated it too. I sat in the back seat with them and did my best to keep them calm but I would never drive with them out of the car seat. I hope you pulled over when you took him out.

You might see if he is getting too hot. My dd hated the car seat too, but when I took all of her blankets off, she did better. Many babies hate being confined like that.

Did you try covering the car seat with a blanket? Mine would often go to sleep if the car seat was covered with a blanket.

Oh my lord. You did not take him out and hold him in your car did you?
As most people on here know, my son, husband, and I were in a horrible car accident when he was 3 weeks old. We were about 10 minutes from our house. Thank GOD he was in a car seat. Even sitting in one he died...two times. The ambulance drivers brought him back and the ER tech's brought him back. He was airlifted to our local trauma hospital where a nurse asked the doctor if they should take him off the machines. The doctor said, "no babies are dying on my watch." Thank God again for that doctor. We spent 2 months(!) at the hospital.
I have an amazing 11 year old, with no residual effects, because he was in a car seat.
Your baby will get used to it. Don't EVER drive ANYWHERE without him in it. Data for car accidents says something along the lines of most accidents happen within a 15 mile radius of where you live.
No babies have died from crying in their carseats but PLENTY have died from not being in one.
L.

Please tell me that this does NOT mean that you drove with him OUT of his carseat: "we had to take him out of the car seat. Luckily the drive was under 2 hours. Still, it is not safe for us to travel with him and its unlivable to let him get hysterical."

It sounds like it to me and as being an ex-insurance agent, I will have to bluntly ask you, would you rather have a crying baby or a dead one?

Sometimes, kids just hate it, until they don't. There is nothing really you can do about it. You can try to sit back there with the baby and see if that helps.

PLEASE tell me, that you didn't actually drive with the baby out of the car seat. You'd need a big "what the hell were you thinking, mom" for that one. Even in a fender bender, that baby could be seriously injured. That's just...not...smart...

No matter how hysterical, better then dead or brain damaged.

First, make sure he is never out of it when in a moving car. Ever.
Second, have him well fed and he'll likely sleep.
I didn't go places with mine at that age unless I had to, like to the store or something quick. That's the easy part.
When they are toddlers they HATE their seat and it's very difficult (and physically painful on the back) trying to force them into it. But they must always be in it, nice and tight, every single ride. No matter what.

I hope the car was parked when you had to take him out of the car seat!

My kids only didn't like the car seat for the first week or so. They had to get used to it pretty quickly, especially the third. He practically lived in the car driving to and from school and activities and still does!

Try taking him out on very short trips in the car until he gets used to it. If you can have someone else drive, sit with him in the back to make sure his neck is supported. Offer him a pacifier when he starts crying.

IMO, sometimes you just go. Kid might not like it, but you travel how best you can. I used to commute with my infant daughter and you can't stop on a major highway at 65MPH and do anything about it. Try to travel when he might otherwise nap. You can try sitting with him (and having the other parent drive) but other than toys and making sure he has no needs (diaper, food), sometimes you just need to tough it out. Stop every hour or so but he'll get used to it.

I have a theory, too, that all babies (most) start to hate the car seat again around 6-8 months. Guess what they are doing then? Starting to move. Guess what a car seat does? Restrict their moving. It's not a sign to hurry up and turn them around. It's a sign to entertain them. DD liked crinkle books.

ETA: I am assuming you pulled over, not that you drove with the kid out of the seat. That is unsafe. Period.

My baby hated car rides. She cried every time we were in the car until we moved her seat to forward facing. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. You can't just NOT go places, and we weren't just not going to go visit my family even though they were 4 hours away. That usually meant crying for 3 hours and sleeping one. As far as I know, no baby ever died from hating car rides.

Mine always hated the rear facing car seat. You don't have much choice at this point, but you can learn to tune out the screaming. Just remind yourself that he's fine and safe, and adjust the radio speakers to the front and rock out. Like my pediatrician said when I was in the throes of colic- no child has ever died from crying. It will pass soon enough- just hang in there.

My daughter screamed every time she was in her infant seat. It was horrible traveling anywhere. She looked like she was going to die from crying so hard. Anyway, at 3 months we decided to get a convertible car seat for her ( still rear facing of course). And the crying stopped immediately. It was a britax boulevard and they do sit higher in those, she also had reflux so I think it had something to do with it.

i'm sorry, i have no help for you, but when i read your question i LAUGHED like a hysterical billy goat!
i hope he inherits your sense of humor!
:D khairete
S.

You've already been chided for taking the baby out of the seat while drviing - if that's what you did.

For a two hour trip, I would have fed and changed my baby prior to getting in the car. I would have made sure we were good to go, and planned a stop if necessary (time wise).

My daughter HATED the car for about 3 months. She would cry every time she was in her seat...and the only thing that would satisfy her was sucking on my pinky finger. Talk about not safe. So I kept drives to a minimum when possible, and just planned for her to be unhappy if necessary.

This stage doesn't last forever. Some kids love cars from day 1, and others not for a long time. My kids are 6, 8, and 10 and have been excellent travelers for years now. This, like any other undesirable baby stage, will pass.

But always leave the kiddo buckled in...the consequences are so not worth it.

Ugh! For my nephew, he was about 6 months old before he stopped crying hysterically from the time he was buckled in to the time he was unbuckled -- no matter how long or short the car ride was. Sorry to hear about your horrible car ride. Hopefully, your wee one will settle down soon.

Sorry, this too shall pass. Until then you just have to endure the screaming. Wish it there was a better option, but there is none.

Good luck and hope he settles into it soon!

It might change at any time - give it a few weeks and try again.
Our son LOVED car rides as an infant.
He slept in the car better than anywhere else.
I remember having a rough few days when he was a few weeks old so Daddy took us on a drive around the airport at 2am - it was heaven to have 30 minutes of a quiet sleeping baby!
Soon as we pulled into the driveway and stopped the car he started right back up with the crying again.
Between 6 and 8 weeks he settled down, I started getting more sleep and I felt more like myself again.
He went through a phase when he was 2 1/2 where a long car ride would make him car sick - it took him a few years to outgrow that - but short car rides never bothered him.
He's almost 15 now and he still sleeps well as a passenger in a moving vehicle.

Both my kids (not twins) did this as babies...one cried when the car moved and the other cried when the car stopped. My oldest stopped crying the day she could see me standing by the trunk. I realized as soon as she could see out the windows at things, everything was fine. This was about ~2 months. The younger one was just mad that she was stuck in a seat and loved movement so was mad when the car stopped. This was/is her personality. She stopped crying at every stop between 4-6 weeks. Hang in there!

It kind of depends on the kid. My daughter hated her car seat too, probably for the first few months. I can't remember exactly when she stopped screaming all the time, but I would guess it was somewhere around 4-5 months. She was ok in the seat when it was in the stroller, but not in the car. Some people think they might feel car sick, others think it could be the position they're in, and some think they just don't like being confined. My daughter had moderate reflux and I think the position of the seat caused her some pain, but who knows for sure when they are so tiny.

Check the seat and make sure there isn't anything in it that is poking him or seems uncomfortable.. Some infant seats are more upright and can make the child sit in a more curled forward position. This puts pressure on their stomachs and can cause pain. Also be sure to use the belly pad the make sure the crotch clip is not pushing into the stomach. This sometimes happens when the straps are too tight. Also make sure the seat is properly installed. The angle could be off making it either too reclined or too upright. Any chance someone can sit in the back with him? It might help, even just to hold his hand. Like others have said you might just have to wait until you switch him to a rear facing convertible. Some children just like those better.

There are many reasons why the little ones seem to not like the car seat.

My daughter had acid reflux and it would hurt her with the positioning of the seat. We got a differen car seat and all was better, espeacially after the doc gave us the meds for her.

Now, anytime we put her in the car after dinner, it was horrible.

Good luck.

Call your pedi and ask for some ideas to try. Sit in the backseat with the baby with a paci, bottle, whatever.

And it takes some maneuvering, but you can breastfeed a baby while it's sitting in the car seat. You have to be flexible, but it's possible.

So sorry. I know it's annoying but you do need to be able to drive and he needs to get used to it. I'm sure you made sure the sun wasn't in his eyes. Definitely check the seat to see if he is comfortable. Have you tried a binky? I know some people don't like them but they kept my son quiet on many occassions! Also maybe he'll like some music? Hope his passes soon.

I used the car seats as infant seats in the house (small house no room for any extra baby equipment) so my kids were use to being in the seats a lot. If your little guy is being held and cuddled at home all the time he might just be reacting to being somewhere where he's not being held in cuddled instead of having a reaction to the seat.