Do you pull over when your baby is crying?

[bluejeanswhiteshirt]

When you're driving alone with your baby and he or she cries, do you pull over?

I was driving home from the supermarket earlier with my 8 month old and when we were about 10 minutes away from home she started crying. Her dummy was on the floor and I didn't have a spare so I just drove home as quick as I could but did end up getting stuck in traffic which made things worse. When we finally got home I realised she'd filled her nappy which was obviously uncomfortable for her and she was so upset with herself. I sang to her which helped a little and passed her something to play with but I thought pulling over would make things worse ans prolong the upset!

Just wondering what other people do in this situation?

No, I very rarely pull over. If it seemed like urgent crying on a longish journey then yes. If I could smell something (or a passenger could) and not close home I would stop to change the nappy.

For some reason mine rarely poo in the car at the nappy stage!

If need for milk in a small baby seemed urgent on a long journey then yes. Encourage them to learn to hold the bottle / cup as soon as they are old enough!

I'm afraid I'm in the boat as snowmancarrot. My 8 month old has simply grown to detest the car seat. I can barely wait until she's heavy enough to go in a front facing seat. I had it with DS too, it doesn't half jangle my nerves when they start.

We have a mirror so I can check her, and if she's really distressed I will pull over, but it only prolongs it really, I always feel it's better to get her to our destination and then we can free her!

I wouldn't pull over for 10 minute journey unless I knew there was something I could do which would settle them.

For a longer journey I probably would look for a place to pull over when safe to do so and check there wasn't anything other than "get me out of here" problem. But actually for all of mine they probably would have stopped as soon as I got them out and started again as soon as I put them back in again, so not totally helpful.

But one thing I would say is that please don't try to rush to stop so you can sort them. I witnessed a prang in a car park at Easter which I suspect was partially due to the couple hurrying to park because their baby was crying.
It wasn't entirely their fault-they were going well too fast, and the other car pulled out when they shouldn't. However it resulted in 2 written off cars, and an ambulance call for their baby, who was very distressed, and an awful lot of hassle-and could have been much worse. If it had been a child running out they could have been killed.

Wristy Don't they have to stay rear facing until a particular age now?

I wouldn't pull over if we're near to home (10-15mins away). It's usually more hassle to try to feed/change a nappy in the car than it is to plough on and sort it at home. I often turned the stereo off, so as not to be too distracted by lots of noise while driving.

We had a 10hr hellish journey home from Suffolk to South Wales when the M25 was shut due to a massive accident. We had to drive through central London and it therefore wasn't always possible to stop when DD woke for a feed. She'd just have to cry until we could find somewhere safe to stop. She's a really happy 5yo now, loves being in the car and no ill effects from being ignored while crying the car. She perked up once she was big enough for forward facing and when she was old enough to take more comfort from toys etc.

Try not to feel guilty, you'll soon have the chorus of 'are we nearly there yet?' to contend with or the gauntlet of potty training toddlers and distances between service stations

DisappointedOne - No, iSize has started to come in but it's running alongside current car seat legislation. So older car seats that are only rear facing for a shorter time (lower weight limit) are still fine to use. Otherwise everyone would have to fork out for a brand new iSize compatible car seat system.