8 week old hates car seat.....any suggestions please!

[marymalone]

my 8 week old screams blue murder the instant i put her in the car seat. its been like this since she was 2 weeks old, before this she was absolutely fine and slept well in it. its slightly better when we're going fast, eg a motorway, but only for a few minutes before she starts up again.....HELP!! its also slightly better in the mornings than the afternoons and if i leave the house the instant she's finished a feed. its the same carseat my son used (britax isofix) and also leant it to a friend of ours so wondering if its a bit worn out?! also wonder if its wind and she's uncomfortable/in pain......or just doesn't like being away from human contact as she is a bit clingy as the day goes on as it is. its making life pretty miserable as we live far from anywhere and i need the car every day!!
does anyone have any suggestions/similar experiences please please help!!

Sorry no. DD1 hated the car seat, DD2 loves it. Same car seat. I remember many a journey with the nursery rhyme tape on and me and dh singing along manically ...

Sorry, meant to say that DD1 is now 5 and she learnt to tolerate it. Still have lots of "I've got a headache" and whining about it though. DD2 (2yo) gets in, has a snack and a play then falls asleep. Perfect.

think maybe she's going to have to just get on with it.......here am i contemplating throwing a load of money away on car seat accessories or even a new car seat but am sure it'll be useless...she just hates it!!

I don't think there is much you can do. She will get better the older she gets and the more she can see but unfortunately, some babies just do not travel well. Hope it gets easier for you.

DS hated it too. Still have horrendous flashbacks of nightmare trips. He wouldn't be so bad when we kept moving so did a lot of fairly dodgy creeping up to traffic lights etc. There is really not much you can do about it apart from perhaps putting in a mirror so she can see you and a few toys to distract her? For us it did get better but was only totally solved when DS went into a forward facing seat and the change was unbelievable. Just stopped crying. Just like that.

DD hated it too. Forward facing was the answer so definitely a mirror or some toys may help.

how soon can she have a forward facing!!!!!!!!!!! (only kidding i know its months and months away!)

My son screamed whenever he was put in car seat or push chair, however with the car seat side of things I tried putting him in it a little more at home without actually going out in the car and I would sing and make a fuss of him and in time he has become alot better he still moans as soon as I try and strap him in as with the pushchair but then he quietens, I do have a mobile toy stuck on the window of the car and brought an arch that fits over the pushchair for him to look at. One other thing in my car set I had fitted a head support with him being so young and he seemed a little more at ease when i took it out. I have to say I dreaded going out in the car or pushchair but it seems with age it gets better my son is 21 weeks and things started to improve around 12 weeks.

Hi

My little one hated his car seat too - every car trip was a nightmare, all the way util he was nearly 6 months. Then someone suggested buying a mirror which can be attached to the back seat in such a way that he can see me in the driving seat - magic! He is perfectly angelic now - as long as he can see me he is totally peaceful.

I got mine at Blooming Marvellous.

Good luck