My baby hates the pram and car seat

[Kelseymay12]

Hi,
My baby is almost 5 month old and hates going out in the pram or car seat. When I take her in the pram she’s fine for 5-10mins if we are lucky then starts screaming and crying and but as soon as we get home and I pick her up she stops. She is also the same in the car seat and baby carrier. I thought it was because she was in the bassinet part of the pram as she is very observant of everything but I have tried the seat attachment which she was happy with for a couple of time and has now started again we’ve tried facing it front and backwards and have also tried a different pram she just isn’t happy. I’m struggling to leave the house at all because of this.
Has anyone had this problem or have any advice on what to try?

That sounds really difficult to cope with. Hopefully someone will be along soon who can help.

Sometimes you just have to let babies cry. However my daughter got travel sick in the car from about 5 months old. Enjoyed her pushchair facing forward though, providing I didn't stop!

I know the car seat is unavoidable, but can you carry her in a sling the rest of the time?

Sometimes they need to cry....what would you do if you were on your own and had to get shopping or do a school run? Go for short trips and build it up

Similar, my dd would only settle in the baby carrier. Would only nap on me up until the age of about 1. Would settle in pram until she was sat up.

DS1 was like this. It was impossible to leave the house without him screaming. 4-6 months was particularly horrendous. He was okay-ish in the sling up until this point (always hated the pram) but he started despising parent facing in the sling at this point as well.

From 6 months, he loved world facing in the carrier (Tula Explore). He started tolerating the buggy more and more from 6 or 7 months as well (but never slept in it). By 8 or 9 months he was pretty happy in it for up to half an hour if he had interesting things to look at.

Afraid he was a pickle in the car seat until close to 1 when we started letting him watch CBeebies on our phones. Dont tell mumsnet.

I have tried letting her cry it out as horrible as it was I try take her out everyday to every other day to see if she would get used to the pram but she just won’t stop screaming or crying. I have tried walking her for 40mins just to see if she would settle but she won’t, she’s always been on and off with it in the car seat she will sometimes stop and go to sleep but the pram she just hates for some reason. Hopefully she will grow out of it eventually. It’s just horrible struggling to get out of the house.

I’m also not able to use the sling all the time unless it’s small walks as I struggle with my back on the best of days.

Could it be reflux?

Does it make a difference if you try the sitting up part of the pram at different angles? I know at 5 months she probably isn't sitting up much yet but you could try a more upright position and see if it helps.

Do you think the straps might be uncomfortable for her?

Mine DD was like this as she only was ok when faced forward. So I turned the carseat when she was 12 to face forward (I know, I know it's not safe but driving while your child is screaming also isn't safe).
I also stopped using a basinet around 5 months- is it facing towards you? Maybe that can be a problem.

My little one was the same. She hated the pram - is better now she is sat up and facing forwards though. Same with car seat. But recently she has been much better.
I found that short journeys helped. Just 5 - 10 minutes and build it up. When she was first born we lived over an hour from family so she had to endure long journeys. We have now moved and she knows journeys aren’t so long now and seems to settle better.
Same with pram - just short spurts and building it up. I couldn’t just let her sit in and cry either, and you’re not being manipulated for picking her up and telling her it’s ok. Just try and go at a slower pace if you can and hopefully you’ll get there!
Good luck!

I don’t think it’s reflux as she doesn’t have any of the symptoms it could be the straps as they have extra padding on the pram we have I have had to transfer her to the seat part of the pram rather then the bassinet as she hated that she couldn’t see anything. I have faced her both towards me and outwards and she isn’t happy I have to have it laid down slightly because she can’t sit up unassisted yet.

Yes I know most babies can't sit up at 5 months. But you can have the pram set to positions which are more or less reclined. I would try a more upright position. If she likes this it might be worth looking at changing to the next type of car seat. Still rear facing but pick one which is a bit more upright where she can see out of the window.

Would she take a dummy?

I’ll try that with the car seat and sitting her up and no she doesn’t take dummy when she’s crying she sucks on her thumb more but with the weather she’s been having mittens on.

How long has it been going on? Could it be another factor, eg too hot in lots of layers, too restricted by straps and a coat when she wants to wave her arms and legs , too cold on her face if it's a little windy?

My son had a (thankfully short) phase of hating his car seat while he was learning to sit up at 6 months. He hated being inclined a bit backwards and being strapped in and wanted to be properly upright (not possible in the car seat). It's horrible when they cry with frustration so I feel for you.

Since she’s been born really it could be the straps tho as she doesn’t sit still even in the house I’ll try loosen them a little bit and sit her up abit more. I just want to make sure she’s still safe. I only put her coat on if it’s really cold if not I’ll just put blankets, cardigan gloves and hat.

What kind of sling have you got? If you can find a sling library, it would be worth going along and trying a bunch (with fitting advice from the person there) to try to find one that is better for your back. Something like a semi-structured carrier than transfers more of the weight to your hips might help, and even if you've already got one of those, a different one might give a better fit.

Will she sit in a bouncer or anything like that at home at all?

I’ll try that with sling thankyou and no she will sit for 5-10mins max while I do house work if she can see me but then she’ll start moaning she likes her jumperoo or play mat mainly so she can kick and grab things. We’ve got a supportive seat with toys and things attached but even with that she just try’s to climb out of it. She just wants to be on her feet all the time now she can stand with our support.

Hi @Kelseymay12 how did your little one get on, I have an 11 month old who has hated the pram from about 3/4 months too!!