Why does my baby cry in the car all of a sudden?

[ewiex]

Up until around 4 weeks ago my 7 month old had always been fine in the car. She didn't whine/cry at all (only at the very end of a journey if it took around an hour) but now she will get really irritable and end up crying after about 10 mins. If she's tired she will fall asleep in the car but then once she wakes up she will begin whining and eventually crying.
If I am with my other half I will climb into the back with her to soothe her, however I don't really want to have to keep doing this every car ride.
What really worries me is when I'm driving with her by myself. I have a couple of 30/40 minute car rides to do this week and I'm anxious thinking about if she starts crying while I'm driving as I know it will stress me out.
She isn't much of a crier, she can whine from time to time but she doesn't cry much at all so for her to be like this in the car suddenly is really confusing for us and I do wonder what could be causing her to be like this. She isn't irritable at home and she is a very happy laid back baby. She also sleeps really well at night.

Has anyone else experienced the same? Is there anything I can do to help her or is it something that will just go away on its own?

Have you tried playing nursery rhymes, or music she likes?

Whenever my 8 month old starts getting like this in the car I check whether I need to move the straps because he's grown - it's solved it twice! So they may just be uncomfortable?
We also have done baby sensory since about 6 weeks and Say Hello to the Sun calms him 9 times out of 10! I have that queued up for emergencies! Or if not queued up he suffers my own rendition.....
I hate driving on my own when he's inconsolable - literally breaks my heart!

I had this. Turned out DD had grown and the car seat was very uncomfortable for her neck and head. We had to go up a car seat size much earlier than google recommends but it solved the problem for us. If your baby is screaming in the car then something is wrong. Check: car seat size? Are straps too tight? Is a buckle pressing uncomfortably against her somewhere eg are her private parts squashed? Is the sunlight stabbing her in the eyes (if so get a sunscreen)? Is she travelling backwards and getting car sick? You don’t have to keep her rear facing as long as the internet tells you too, if it is making her sick.

Good luck figuring it out!

Thanks for all of your replies!
There aren't really any songs that soothe her, they might do for a few minutes but that will be it.
Car seat straps are something I didn't think about, so I will check those and see if we can move them up a slot to give her more room. I also did wonder if rear facing was making her feel poorly, so I may try and spin her round the other way if altering the straps doesn't make a difference.
All seems ok with the belt, they don't feel too tight and doesn't feel as if anything is digging into her.
She doesn't cry when we put her into the car, so I don't think it's the car upsetting her. It must be something making her uncomfortable as she starts after about 10 mins.

Is she rear facing? Could be some sort of separation anxiety if she can't see you.
At that age she is getting a bit more independent and may just be fed up that she can't move around.
Has she got any toys accessible that she can play with.
Rhymes, songs , stories etc may help.
I used to chat to mine all the time which helped.

So I've been out with her today, adjusted the seat belt, tried her forward facing instead of rear facing and she was still just as inconsolable as she was before. I try talking to her, making sounds she likes, singing to her and nothing works. I have no idea what it could be that is upsetting her so much I just hope it goes away soon. I wish we could just go back to how she was a month or so ago because its making day trips ever so stressful ☹️