Baby hates pram/ car/ carrier

[Ellebel]

I have an 8 month old that from early days has hated being in the pram. From the moment he’s in it until I take him out he moans. Same goes for the car- he will cry from the second we set off until he either falls asleep about half hour in or we get to our destination. I can get maybe 15mins out of him in the carrier max until he starts to cry in that. I’m lucky enough to have family that have passed down their their used prams and carriers so have tried him in a range of different makes and styles. The outcome is always the same. I am so jealous of the women I see pushing their happy babies around parks catching up with friends etc. I am really starting to struggle with the fact going anywhere with my boy leads to endless crying. I want to go for walks, catch up with friends etc but it always ends up feeling stressful. I just wondered if anyone had any advice? Will this ever get better or do I just need to learn to live with it. My boyfriend just puts on noise cancelling headphones to go about getting places but the mum in me feels awful just drowning him out when he endlessly seems so upset! Thanks x

Hi, he's not still in the bassinet/carry cot attachment of the pram is he? He's in the upright seat facing forwards or backwards?

@Batbatbatty yep we’ve tried sitting up facing forwards, backwards, semi reclined etc. nothing works!

Check with HV

I have a nearly 2 year old who has never managed more than 15-20mins in pram, and that’s on a good day. Most days I can’t even get him in it. Now he is a bit older, if he is tired out from running and I have an array of snack we can push it to 30mins but I have to make it very fun (songs, looking for busses, counting birds etc.)

He hated car seat until 10 months when we moved from infant carrier to a more upright, rear-facing seat. Still doesn’t like getting in it but once in he’s generally okay.

He does like the carrier though, and we do still use that sometimes. We have an integra.

I used to sometimes get jealous too when I would see mums with babies sleeping or just sitting in prams, we’ve never experienced this!

Have you had his ears well checked out?
Hemight be getting blocked and painful ears.

What does he like OP? Being carried in your arms, on your hip, crawling about, shoulder rides, bouncers, activities?

Describe a day that would mean the least amount of crying?

@Feckadoodledoo what is HV? @user1492757084 hadn't thought to get his ears checked as it’s only when in transit his a misery. Doesn’t seem unhappy all the time.
@InTheFutilityRoomEatingBiscuits he’s happiest when able to roam free. He’s never been the happiest of babies, always seemed quite distracted but as a younger baby he was only happy when being carried- not necessarily in carrier just being carried around in arms. At 6months he learned to crawl and there was def a change in him, he became happier, and again at 7 months when he started standing. I think he might just be fiercely independent. But with every movement milestone reached he becomes more and more furious at being tied in pram etc. So a day with the least amount of crying involves him crawling around anywhere, but to get anywhere other than home, involves a full blown endless meltdown!

Have you tried carriers that don’t involve strapping him in or restricting his movement as much as a pram would? As he is happiest in the carrier as you can get 15 minutes? And with a carrier you can do one position then another then another and another to keep it fresh and interesting?

So using a carrier that doesn’t strap him in. Or using a carrier that brings him up high with less restrictive safety straps because they don’t have to be tight like a car. And having regular crawl breaks to keep the day calm

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will definitely try more snacks and look into a different style of carrier!

How much do you put him down at home? If he's always attached to you he's going to be hard to put down when out.