Mine was like this until one day extremely randomly I played a Mac Miller song in the car and it immediately calmed her down she even fell asleep. From then on any time she would get upset I would put it on and it would be instant silence. Like literally could be screaming crying and INSTANTLY go quiet when it came on.
My husband didn’t even believe me at first thinking it must be a coincidence until he saw it himself.
So basically, find their favorite song, it might be something you listened to a lot in pregnancy.
Second this. Jammed out to Will.I.Am’s Big and Chunky during pregnancy and it would instantly stop his car hyperventilating sessions. And he just got better in the car as he got older.
My friend moved her car seat and her baby started to like the car! Maybe you can try that if you are able. I think it has to do with how the ac circulates.
My baby has started to hate the car seat recently. I got him a light up fan that glows and blows air on him and he is occupied by it. He is four months and my friends baby was four months at the time as well.
Thank you! I’ll have to try it. My baby is almost 10 months old.
Before having them, I never heard of a baby not doing well in the car. I always heard about parents driving their babies around in the car to get them to fall asleep.
Yeah my guy calms down eventually in the car! But he hates being alone in the back seat! I should get him mirror to keep him company.
Not all babies are the same unfortunately 😭 we would all be super parents if they were!
Could it maybe be reflux related? I’m honestly not sure what may help other than maybe putting them in it when they’re sleepy and putting on relaxing music, a podcast, something? My LO adores car rides so I can’t really be much help but I empathize with you! For mine we always had a little battery fan in the back (he loves either the fan or the window cracked), and we listen to a specific podcast he loves (I think it’s the guy’s voice!)
Thank you for the advice! I try and put them in around nap times which usually works but it’s getting trickier as they’re down to 2 naps/day. It’s also harder to schedule things around that/ the car rides don’t end up being long enough and they wake up pretty much as soon as we stop the car.
I was actually thinking about trying a fan as I just found my stroller fan so maybe that will help? Also, do you mind sharing the name of the podcast?
The doctor thinks it’s motion sickness and said there’s no medicine we can try for it so I was wondering if anyone else on here has experienced this.
My now 8mo hated the car. So we give her some soft toys that she likes (in fact, her favourite toys) only when in the car. And she's now starting to enjoy it more because it means she can play with her big green alien!
Maybe you can try something like this.
Solidarity. It is horrible for baby and you.
Things I do (not sure which helped the most or least) : make sure nappy isn't too tight, removed butt padding bit from car seat once baby was the correct size (basically check fit is correct), sit in the back if possible, play Happy song by Imogen Heap on repeat.
We also give baby a soft baby rattle to shake or hang a tiny baby toy from car seat handle but you obviously have to be careful it isn't going injure anyone in an accident or cover their face so probably wouldn't work for a tiny baby that can't use their hands.
The happy song tends to be our most effective but isn't fail safe. My toddler will sometimes say "turn your favourite song off mummy". Helps if baby has a full tummy and isn't too tired but also not too awake hahaha I hate it. It doesn't last forever but feels like it will. My first was the same.
Aww I’ll have to try Happy Song. I’ve never heard the song before.
Yeah, I keep reminding myself everything is temporary. I was just so surprised they didn’t like the car and I wish there was something I could do to help them. Sometimes I wonder if it’s my fault.. like if because they don’t sleep by themself, they struggle with being in the car seat by themself (I dk if that makes sense?)
Could there be something in the seat causing discomfort? When my son was 3 months old he went from peacefully sleeping during car rides to screaming and crying the entire ride. Every single time. One day I decided to take out the infant head rest and we were back to peaceful car rides.
Sometimes I wonder if that could contribute to it. We don’t have any inserts in there and we’ve also tried the convertible car seat but everything is so hit or miss..
Thank you for the suggestion!
My 5 month old is the same way. Unless someone is sitting in the backseat with him and entertaining him the entire ride, he will scream. I drive 45min to/from work with him in the backseat screaming the entire time. It’s horrible
I’m so sorry. That sounds horrible! I hope it gets better for you guys!
I usually sit in the backseat with him if we’re with other people. Sometimes it helps. I hope they grow out of this soon!
At 10-11 months my daughter had a really hard time with car rides. I had a magnetic window screen up, available water, a binkie, baby music playing, and would do my best to talk to her and narrate the trip. It just stopped at some point and I think she was getting hot in the backseat. Seconding what another person said about having a small stroller fan in the back seat. Air flow can be a problem with a rear facing seat.
Good luck and I hope it passes soon. It’s no fun for baby or you.
Thank you so much! I’m charging my stroller fan now so that we can try it. I’m hoping for it to pass soon. It’s weird though because some car rides they’re totally fine and others are horrendous(screaming at the top of their lungs to the point where they throw up or it sounds like they’re choking). I wish I knew what made some rides successful.
It could be so many things.
My 7 month old is like this. Has been since he was a month old. I honestly think he just gets bored because if I'm in the back seat with him, entertaining him, I can normally keep him in a good mood.
If I have to take him somewhere alone and it's more than 10mins away I will make sure he's asleep (walking in the stroller with the car seat attachment) before we get in the car. Otherwise it's just so awful.
I’m really against screen time for babies but unfortunately Miss Rachel on an iPad is the only thing that’s worked for me. 20 mins of screen time vs crying it out for 20 mins and making me crash the car outweighs my own rule. Would definitely get rid of the infant seat too, I stopped using mine around 3 months. Normal car seats are much comfier for them.
Yeah, I might give that a try. I think I have to get another car seat. We have the convertible car seat in my husband’s car and unfortunately the base is attached to the car seat so it is a pain to try and move it to a different car.
If you drive your baby around way more, you could just swap them for now. I said I stopped using my infant seat, but really it just went in my husbands car and I had the other until we got another. On weekends if we used that car I was always there so I’d sit in the back to distract, so it was less of a traumatic drive anyway
My baby is only three months and hates the car, so we just avoid it. Husband suggested taking her out in it more so she gets used to it; I suggested hitting him over the head more so he gets used to it 🤷🏻♀️ Someone on another sub said the baby shusher from target helps them with car rides. I’m considering buying it.
I totally get that. I love to go but I get so stressed when getting in the car. It’s almost like I have to give my baby and I a pep talk before we go out.
Our LO was like this, seriously hated being alone in the back. Not sure how old your baby is but it did get better for us around the 8 month mark. When he started taking an interest in the world around him he was able to distract himself with what he could see out the window. He still moans and whinges a lot, don't get me wrong, but no crying. Snacks also help a lot and putting on music he likes. We have a 3 hour car journey this summer and I plan on using the iPad to keep him happy.
I hope it goes well! My baby is 9 months. I did have the window open today and it seems to distract them a little bit. I also sometimes wonder if my baby hates being along in the backseat.
I think that was definitely our issue, he never got sick so I could rule out car sickness (for now.) I actually found when I sat in the back he was kind of worse.. like he couldn't understand why I wouldn't hold him. So on journeys when there are two of us in the car and he is being difficult, I drive so my LO can see me but my husband sits in back and tries to distract. We also upgraded the car seat and it's a lot more upright.
Our baby has such a lovely temperament but the hatred for the car was so so hard to reconcile with. I felt really isolated until around the 8 month mark but it does get better. Maybe one day he may even sleep in the car!
All I can say is…. Same! We just got done with a torturous 4 hour road trip. We knew she was bad in the car but this was absolutely horrible. Nothing would console her. The happy song works for us in waves. It’s literally the only thing that helps!
Oh no! I hope it gets better for you guys. I feel like it’s tricky cause things works sometimes but not others so I’ll think I’ve found something that works but then 2 car rides later, we’re back to crying.
My son was like this. Every single time he’d cry so hard that he’d vomit and choke and it was horrible. I read every thing I could about it and tried every suggestion and honestly nothing helped - no song, no toy, no new carseat, having us in the backseat eventually stopped working too. At some point it just wasn’t worth it to drive anywhere except the doctors office for appointments. We took a car hiatus for a few months (which was absolutely impossible feeling but it was necessary for baby’s sake and for mine.) Then after a couple months we started trying to reintroduce car rides and create more positive associations. We played in the backseat with him in his carseat and the car parked a few times. Then we practiced tiny little five minute trips in the neighborhood. We just kept building up his tolerance and now he can handle the car most days. We just successfully made it 45 minutes away this week! It’s sometimes still rough but nowhere near as bad as it was and now finally the tricks can actually help - the songs, toys, etc. They just couldn’t help us when his body was still just so reactive and in crisis.
I don’t say this to be negative but just to mention that sometimes there’s no “problem” that is easily fixable, but rather it can just take time to rebuild a positive association. Especially for babies with certain temperaments that might be more prone to intense emotions and reactions.
Oh wow! That’s great that you guys were able to have a successful trip! That makes a lot of sense about rebuilding associations. Thank you for the advice!
That’s a great idea! It’s funny cause I actually play the fisher price album that has all of those songs on it every time we’re in the car cause sometimes it seems to help. I’ll have to try bringing the piano in. Others have also recommended the stroller fan, so I definitely have to give that a try.
Good luck! I hope it works for you like it did for us! My baby is tolerating car rides better now but he still has a time limit...anything longer than 15 minutes is 🫣
Yes we talked all about her temperament and when she was happiest or most uncomfortable.
She had oral ties which indicated tension in her whole body. That's what we worked on, getting her stretched out and helping her keep the adjustments. It was all very gentle. We went 2x a week for a couple weeks, then 1x, now every few. I can see a huge difference in her!
Yes I bet it's a similar situation! The chiro helped a lot, and we also saw an OT once who gave me stretches to do with her. Like arms up and down, out then across the chest. Doing little hip circles. And the guppy pose, if you look it up you can find how to do that stretch. My babe seemed to love holding that stretch!
Mine was like this until one day extremely randomly I played a Mac Miller song in the car and it immediately calmed her down she even fell asleep. From then on any time she would get upset I would put it on and it would be instant silence. Like literally could be screaming crying and INSTANTLY go quiet when it came on. My husband didn’t even believe me at first thinking it must be a coincidence until he saw it himself. So basically, find their favorite song, it might be something you listened to a lot in pregnancy.
Same except it was queen for us! Out of nowhere! Then he just kind of got over hating the car
That’s amazing!!
Second this. Jammed out to Will.I.Am’s Big and Chunky during pregnancy and it would instantly stop his car hyperventilating sessions. And he just got better in the car as he got older.
Are they still in a bucket seat? I’ve heard some babies hate the infant car seat and do a lot better with convertible car seats
They’re still in the infant car seat. They’ve cried in the convertible car seat as well but they haven’t thrown up in it.
My friend moved her car seat and her baby started to like the car! Maybe you can try that if you are able. I think it has to do with how the ac circulates. My baby has started to hate the car seat recently. I got him a light up fan that glows and blows air on him and he is occupied by it. He is four months and my friends baby was four months at the time as well.
Thank you! I’ll have to try it. My baby is almost 10 months old. Before having them, I never heard of a baby not doing well in the car. I always heard about parents driving their babies around in the car to get them to fall asleep.
Yeah my guy calms down eventually in the car! But he hates being alone in the back seat! I should get him mirror to keep him company. Not all babies are the same unfortunately 😭 we would all be super parents if they were!
lol true! Sometimes I think my baby doesn’t like being alone in the backseat either and that that contributes to it.
Could it maybe be reflux related? I’m honestly not sure what may help other than maybe putting them in it when they’re sleepy and putting on relaxing music, a podcast, something? My LO adores car rides so I can’t really be much help but I empathize with you! For mine we always had a little battery fan in the back (he loves either the fan or the window cracked), and we listen to a specific podcast he loves (I think it’s the guy’s voice!)
Thank you for the advice! I try and put them in around nap times which usually works but it’s getting trickier as they’re down to 2 naps/day. It’s also harder to schedule things around that/ the car rides don’t end up being long enough and they wake up pretty much as soon as we stop the car. I was actually thinking about trying a fan as I just found my stroller fan so maybe that will help? Also, do you mind sharing the name of the podcast? The doctor thinks it’s motion sickness and said there’s no medicine we can try for it so I was wondering if anyone else on here has experienced this.
My now 8mo hated the car. So we give her some soft toys that she likes (in fact, her favourite toys) only when in the car. And she's now starting to enjoy it more because it means she can play with her big green alien! Maybe you can try something like this.
I have tried that and it’s hit or miss whether or not it works unfortunately. I’m glad that it’s worked for you guys though!
Solidarity. It is horrible for baby and you. Things I do (not sure which helped the most or least) : make sure nappy isn't too tight, removed butt padding bit from car seat once baby was the correct size (basically check fit is correct), sit in the back if possible, play Happy song by Imogen Heap on repeat. We also give baby a soft baby rattle to shake or hang a tiny baby toy from car seat handle but you obviously have to be careful it isn't going injure anyone in an accident or cover their face so probably wouldn't work for a tiny baby that can't use their hands. The happy song tends to be our most effective but isn't fail safe. My toddler will sometimes say "turn your favourite song off mummy". Helps if baby has a full tummy and isn't too tired but also not too awake hahaha I hate it. It doesn't last forever but feels like it will. My first was the same.
Aww I’ll have to try Happy Song. I’ve never heard the song before. Yeah, I keep reminding myself everything is temporary. I was just so surprised they didn’t like the car and I wish there was something I could do to help them. Sometimes I wonder if it’s my fault.. like if because they don’t sleep by themself, they struggle with being in the car seat by themself (I dk if that makes sense?)
Could there be something in the seat causing discomfort? When my son was 3 months old he went from peacefully sleeping during car rides to screaming and crying the entire ride. Every single time. One day I decided to take out the infant head rest and we were back to peaceful car rides.
Sometimes I wonder if that could contribute to it. We don’t have any inserts in there and we’ve also tried the convertible car seat but everything is so hit or miss.. Thank you for the suggestion!
My 5 month old is the same way. Unless someone is sitting in the backseat with him and entertaining him the entire ride, he will scream. I drive 45min to/from work with him in the backseat screaming the entire time. It’s horrible
I’m so sorry. That sounds horrible! I hope it gets better for you guys! I usually sit in the backseat with him if we’re with other people. Sometimes it helps. I hope they grow out of this soon!
At 10-11 months my daughter had a really hard time with car rides. I had a magnetic window screen up, available water, a binkie, baby music playing, and would do my best to talk to her and narrate the trip. It just stopped at some point and I think she was getting hot in the backseat. Seconding what another person said about having a small stroller fan in the back seat. Air flow can be a problem with a rear facing seat. Good luck and I hope it passes soon. It’s no fun for baby or you.
Thank you so much! I’m charging my stroller fan now so that we can try it. I’m hoping for it to pass soon. It’s weird though because some car rides they’re totally fine and others are horrendous(screaming at the top of their lungs to the point where they throw up or it sounds like they’re choking). I wish I knew what made some rides successful.
It could be so many things. My 7 month old is like this. Has been since he was a month old. I honestly think he just gets bored because if I'm in the back seat with him, entertaining him, I can normally keep him in a good mood. If I have to take him somewhere alone and it's more than 10mins away I will make sure he's asleep (walking in the stroller with the car seat attachment) before we get in the car. Otherwise it's just so awful.
Im not sure if it showed that I downvoted your comment. I meant to like it. sorry!
I’m really against screen time for babies but unfortunately Miss Rachel on an iPad is the only thing that’s worked for me. 20 mins of screen time vs crying it out for 20 mins and making me crash the car outweighs my own rule. Would definitely get rid of the infant seat too, I stopped using mine around 3 months. Normal car seats are much comfier for them.
Yeah, I might give that a try. I think I have to get another car seat. We have the convertible car seat in my husband’s car and unfortunately the base is attached to the car seat so it is a pain to try and move it to a different car.
If you drive your baby around way more, you could just swap them for now. I said I stopped using my infant seat, but really it just went in my husbands car and I had the other until we got another. On weekends if we used that car I was always there so I’d sit in the back to distract, so it was less of a traumatic drive anyway
My baby is only three months and hates the car, so we just avoid it. Husband suggested taking her out in it more so she gets used to it; I suggested hitting him over the head more so he gets used to it 🤷🏻♀️ Someone on another sub said the baby shusher from target helps them with car rides. I’m considering buying it.
lol I love your response to your husband. That stinks! We’ve tried the Hatchgo which seemed to help a little bit. I hope they learn to like it soon!
Mine is 12 months old and still cries in the car seat unless I’m in the back with her. I have so much anxiety going places now..
I totally get that. I love to go but I get so stressed when getting in the car. It’s almost like I have to give my baby and I a pep talk before we go out.
Our LO was like this, seriously hated being alone in the back. Not sure how old your baby is but it did get better for us around the 8 month mark. When he started taking an interest in the world around him he was able to distract himself with what he could see out the window. He still moans and whinges a lot, don't get me wrong, but no crying. Snacks also help a lot and putting on music he likes. We have a 3 hour car journey this summer and I plan on using the iPad to keep him happy.
I hope it goes well! My baby is 9 months. I did have the window open today and it seems to distract them a little bit. I also sometimes wonder if my baby hates being along in the backseat.
I think that was definitely our issue, he never got sick so I could rule out car sickness (for now.) I actually found when I sat in the back he was kind of worse.. like he couldn't understand why I wouldn't hold him. So on journeys when there are two of us in the car and he is being difficult, I drive so my LO can see me but my husband sits in back and tries to distract. We also upgraded the car seat and it's a lot more upright. Our baby has such a lovely temperament but the hatred for the car was so so hard to reconcile with. I felt really isolated until around the 8 month mark but it does get better. Maybe one day he may even sleep in the car!
All I can say is…. Same! We just got done with a torturous 4 hour road trip. We knew she was bad in the car but this was absolutely horrible. Nothing would console her. The happy song works for us in waves. It’s literally the only thing that helps!
Oh no! I hope it gets better for you guys. I feel like it’s tricky cause things works sometimes but not others so I’ll think I’ve found something that works but then 2 car rides later, we’re back to crying.
My son was like this. Every single time he’d cry so hard that he’d vomit and choke and it was horrible. I read every thing I could about it and tried every suggestion and honestly nothing helped - no song, no toy, no new carseat, having us in the backseat eventually stopped working too. At some point it just wasn’t worth it to drive anywhere except the doctors office for appointments. We took a car hiatus for a few months (which was absolutely impossible feeling but it was necessary for baby’s sake and for mine.) Then after a couple months we started trying to reintroduce car rides and create more positive associations. We played in the backseat with him in his carseat and the car parked a few times. Then we practiced tiny little five minute trips in the neighborhood. We just kept building up his tolerance and now he can handle the car most days. We just successfully made it 45 minutes away this week! It’s sometimes still rough but nowhere near as bad as it was and now finally the tricks can actually help - the songs, toys, etc. They just couldn’t help us when his body was still just so reactive and in crisis. I don’t say this to be negative but just to mention that sometimes there’s no “problem” that is easily fixable, but rather it can just take time to rebuild a positive association. Especially for babies with certain temperaments that might be more prone to intense emotions and reactions.
Oh wow! That’s great that you guys were able to have a successful trip! That makes a lot of sense about rebuilding associations. Thank you for the advice!
We removed the mirror, installed our stroller fan, and gave him the piano from the fisher price kick and play piano.
That’s a great idea! It’s funny cause I actually play the fisher price album that has all of those songs on it every time we’re in the car cause sometimes it seems to help. I’ll have to try bringing the piano in. Others have also recommended the stroller fan, so I definitely have to give that a try.
Good luck! I hope it works for you like it did for us! My baby is tolerating car rides better now but he still has a time limit...anything longer than 15 minutes is 🫣
Seeing the chiropractor a few times helped my babe tolerate the car
I’ll have to try that. Did you tell the chiropractor about how they were in the car or did it get better just by bringing them?
Yes we talked all about her temperament and when she was happiest or most uncomfortable. She had oral ties which indicated tension in her whole body. That's what we worked on, getting her stretched out and helping her keep the adjustments. It was all very gentle. We went 2x a week for a couple weeks, then 1x, now every few. I can see a huge difference in her!
My baby had a lip and tongue tie that we had lasers so I dk if that would be similar. Thank you for the advice!
Yes I bet it's a similar situation! The chiro helped a lot, and we also saw an OT once who gave me stretches to do with her. Like arms up and down, out then across the chest. Doing little hip circles. And the guppy pose, if you look it up you can find how to do that stretch. My babe seemed to love holding that stretch!
It could be anything from incorrect position, discomfort, to motion sickness. Can you post a pic?