Baby hates pram

[EmW1987]

Hi all,

I'm new to mumsnet and hoping I'm posting in the right place.
My daughter is now 8 weeks old and has silent reflux which touchwood seems to be under control but hates being in her pram. We have a sling which she loves and is great but there are times when I would love her to be able to go in the pram I.e if I need to pop to shops, it's hard to carry any shopping back with the weight of my daughter (she's quite a chunk). She seems to sleep in her Moses basket at night okay so I don't think it's a case of her hating being on her back. I've tried taking her out when she's really tired thinking she may just drop off but she seems to last about 10minutes before screaming. I've also raised the bassinet bit with a reflux wedge which means she can also see me when we are moving, I've tried using a blanket and tucking her in tightly like we do at night, I've put a muslin in that smells of me but nothing seems to be helping. I know I have the sling but it would just be great to be able to use the pram on the odd occasion - otherwise it's becoming an expensive shopping trolley for us!
Any help would be gratefully received!
Thanks

My DD hated her pram too. She used to scream blue murder if she was awake in there (if tired, she would sleep in it though). Usually resulted in one of us carrying her which was a total pain. In the end, it improved when she moved up to the pushchair attachment of her travel system. She is just nosey and likes to see everything. We put her in the pushchair bit asap, about 3.5 months I think when her head control was a little better and sort of wedged her in with blankets. She loves being out in the pushchair now. Sorry I don't have any better advice in the meantime - it will get better though!

Very common with reflux babies, unfortunately. We found things improved when we ditched the bassinet and used the car seat clipped on to the pram, until she was old enough to go in the sit-up bit. If you do that it is recommended not to keep them in the car seat for too long, and you need to check they have not slumped into a position that is affecting their breathing. Having said that, we had no problems with our Maxi-Cosi Pebble.

Ah thanks. Maybe I'll try her in the car seat more then. We have the cybex cloud which can fold flat to be more like a bassinet, have to admit we've not really used it when out and about but if it means I can pop to the shops without her screaming then it's definitely worth it.
Ah it's good to know that you put your daughter in the seat from about 3.5months, I'll definitely try the same - theres no way I could wait until 6 months!
Glad to know I'm not the only one that suffers with this, I'm so envious of all the other mums taking their little ones for peaceful walks in the pram and fed up of all the funny looks when my little one just screams!

DD2 is 6 months with reflux/silent reflux/CMPA and we've experienced the same problems. A sling saved us and we do use the pram as an expensive shopping trolley! She hated the baby car seat too. Can I just ask which sling you're using as we find ours very comfy even at 8kg? Perhaps visit a sling library if you haven't?

DD loved her pram, DS hated it from day one. Careful use of the car seat was the answer for us.

Yes, DS hated pram, he's 3 months this week and we've put him in his pushchair instead and he's so happy! Laughing his head off in it on his walks now and shrieking happily as he can see what's happening. He has excellent head control.

Hi, my baby went crazy in the bassinet section, I used the car seat until she was big enough for the other attachment (our has like a wide hammock as 'stage 2' before they move into the main seat)

WHat sling do you have? Even a chunky baby shouldn't be too heavy in a decent soft structured sling at 8weeks as most are designed to last to at least 3 years.

A good sling would be something that supports you back and has a bit at hips to support baby weight so no weight hanging off you. Usually called soft structured slings. Like boba 4g, manduca, ergo for example.

EmW - sorry to derail the main topic of the thread but can I ask a question about your carseat?

Does it also lay flat for use in the car or is it only outside the car that you can recline it?

I need a car seat that goes flat or nearly flat as I do a lot of long journeys but I am finding researching carseats a bit mind-boggling! Its unclear on the Cybex specs whether the seat lies flat in the car as well as outside.

Both my boys hated the buggy and the car seat. Even the sitting up part of the buggy. They gradually got better after six months but we mostly used a sling. (Close caboo and Connecta). I think they just preferred to be near me at first.

Oh and get a granny shopping trolley for your shopping, much easier with a baby in the sling!

I used to put DS in the sling and put the shopping in the pram! Keep trying with it though, she will hopefully grow out of it soon-ish.

Get yourself a proper sling - Google your local sling library and they will help you - and ditch the prince.

Pram, not prince!

Going on to when my little boy was of the age to go for a walk in a 'regular' pushchair both he and his bff of the same age absolutely LOVED going in their pushchairs but only if they were upright - and I mean 100% vertical. They just wanted to sit up completely, totally funny - even 1 degree of 'lying back' and they hated it, put them up 100% vertical, sheer happiness.

What's the mantra we're meant to repeat to ourselves "This too will pass"! It will pass although I can only imagine how stressful it is to see your little one crying and unhappy - but it will pass. Then it'll be something else to content with!!

If you've spent a huge amount on a proper travel system, you probably don't want to hear this but it may be worth having a play around with different travel systems. Our reflux baby was DC2 so, as well as the travel system with bassinet (hated) and car seat (absolutely fine) we had both a baby jogger city mini single and the britax b-dual double and they had lie flat seats suitable from newborn which DC2 was fine with provided he wasn't flat but was tilted (which it was possible to do without actually sitting them up). At that time, I think the only travel system where you could tilt the bassinet was the bugaboo.

Ineed - the cybex cloud q isn't lie flat in car. But the kiddy evo lunafix does lie flat whilst in the car also. It isn't cheap but I think the only one currnetly on the market that can lie flat whilst travelling and rated very safe. Depends if you already have baby or due still, I think a few other brands might release other lie flat options this year

7 month old DS was like this - he screamed every time we took him out in the bassinet part of the pram. I used to feel tense every time I left the house. Most days I just ended up carrying him while I pushed the pram (exhausting!). It changed as soon as he moved into the seat rather than the bassinet (at about 5.5 months) - he now looks around and actually sleeps in the pram! (Like you, I used to look at other mums pushing sleeping babies and feel so envious). Sorry to say that I just had to wait it out - though it did help slightly if I made sure the hood was never up so he could have maximum visibility. Even now he doesn't like it when the hood is up - he loves looking around.

Ah thanks - we have a Caboo, it's really comfy but she was 12lb at 6 weeks so just conscious that it's only a matter of time before she's too heavy. What sling do you use? I'll definitely try and go to a sling library in January though.
Backtoworkblues - CMPA that's cows milk protein allergy right? Can I ask how you found out about that? Only my health visitor suspects dd has that but other medical professionals don't seem convinced, I've cut it out my diet but want to be sure before I start weaning (a long way off I know!)

Ineed - I think the Jane transporter 2 is a lie flat car seat, it attaches straight to the pram too. A friend has it and her little boy seems to love it!

Thanks Em - do you happen to know which Jane pushchair your friend has?

Don't worry if not. I think its about time I started my own thread asking for recommendations on the Jane pushchairs. The Jane lie-flat carseat looks like my best bet but because Jane pushchairs are only available for online ordering (none of the shops seem to have them on the shop floor) I have reservations about buying a pushchair I haven't even seen so I could do with some recommendations.

I hope you find a solution so that your daughter will travel/sleep in the pram happily!

Ineed - the problem with Jane car seat is it takes two seats up when lie flat, and they only last until around 9months due to size as it's a fully flat rather than recline like the kiddy and cyber with last 18 ish months if that's an issue

Thanks Art - the taking up two seats isn't an issue for me (I'm single so it will only ever be me and baby in the car for long journeys).

Jane do another lie-flat called the Matrix 2 which converts from the carrycot style carseat into a more standard rear-facing car seat which lasts up to 18 months so is better value for money than the transporter. It also doubles as a carrycot for the pram and can be used for sleeping over night. So it means you can go away for the weekend with the baby in traveling in the carrycot and the only pushchair-related thing to go in the boot is the chassis (rather than a whole separate pushchair with its own carrycot/seat).

It looks like a really efficient system. I'm just nervous about buying something I haven't seen in the flesh!

ineednewshoes have a look at britax lie flat car seat, we never bought it as we only did short journeys but a friend had one and it was good. She also used it as a travel cot for a while too.