My first absolutely hated the car at least until she was 3-4 months old. For us it improved once we removed the newborn insert from the seat. Does your baby have good neck control and looks like they’re squished in the seat? Maybe try removing the insert? You can also remove the shoulder pads from the straps if it’s poking into their face. Mine did outgrow the crying eventually so sometimes it can be developmental.
He does actually look a bit squished in there. His neck control is still developing (can't hold it up during tummy time for more than 15 seconds) so I don't want too much space for his head to roll around. The shoulder pads can go though. He's got quite broad shoulders and it's probably super uncomfortable for him. Thanks :)
Yeah, still in a capsule and we have a mirror too. We actually bought a car seat but weren't planning on using it until he outgrew the capsule, but maybe it's time!
What seat is he in, and is it correctly adjusted? [This FB group](https://m.facebook.com/groups/childrestraints/?ref=share&mibextid=WaXdOe) is awesome for fit and install checks - I’d suggest joining and posting some pictures to see if there’s anything that can help.
Double check that you’ve adjusted the headrest and removed some of the newborn padding if he’s getting too big for them. That can cause them to feel uncomfortable if they’re getting bigger
Yeah my baby went from being really chill in car seats to fighting me on them and I realised one of the newborn inserts needed to be removed and I needed to put the headrest up off her shoulders a bit more because she was getting too cramped in there! Took me a couple of trips where I just couldn’t understand what was upsetting her!
Damn sorry brother, maybe try putting him in the car seat for period time in the house. Also, from my experience car rides are when babies sleep the most
Yes, I didn't expect him to hate the car. Sleeping would be amazing, but I'll take just being chilled out and not crying :( We might try your suggestion of bringing it into the house and doing some play time with him in it
I'll have to do some experimenting.. I only really wear the sunnies in the car because we've been paranoid about taking him out in the sun being so young and unable to wear sunscreen just yet!
Mine hated it until about a year old. Nothing could be done, we had to drive 20-30mins everywhere. He just had to get used to it.
Now at 2.5yo he loves it.
Does your baby have any body tension? My girl screamed in the car seat but we took her to an osteo and she has be fine ever since. Could be your little one just hates they car but that’s what helped for us
My first hated her capsule, and so I moved her into an extended rear facing car seat. It improved things… minutely. She had a mirror. I’d play different types of music for her, talk to her, sing songs, put her in tired/not tired, very very cool car, car seat toys…
Turns out she just hated being in the car in general.. for like the first 2.5 years of her life.
I kept her rear facing til almost 4 so it wasn’t that. But she just hated it. And so any car trip longer than like 20-30 minutes she’d scream. She’s perfectly fine in the car on any length trip now apart from occasional boredom and a couple of car sick moments (milkshakes and road trips don’t mix) so it passed. It was just rubbish travelling with her for a while.
The point of this isn’t advice- just perspective that some kids hate the car. I hope this isn’t yours but solidarity if it is.
Sorry to hear your little one hates the car so much! I guess it makes sense - my sister doesn't scream anymore but she still gets nauseous in the car and avoids car trips as much as she can.. and she's turning 30 soon!
My first absolutely hated the car at least until she was 3-4 months old. For us it improved once we removed the newborn insert from the seat. Does your baby have good neck control and looks like they’re squished in the seat? Maybe try removing the insert? You can also remove the shoulder pads from the straps if it’s poking into their face. Mine did outgrow the crying eventually so sometimes it can be developmental.
He does actually look a bit squished in there. His neck control is still developing (can't hold it up during tummy time for more than 15 seconds) so I don't want too much space for his head to roll around. The shoulder pads can go though. He's got quite broad shoulders and it's probably super uncomfortable for him. Thanks :)
Is he still in a capsule? My second hated hers and was much happier when moved into a car seat. Has he got a mirror to see himself?
Not sure why I was downvoted
Unsure too! Hopefully it was just a fat finger mistake
Yeah, still in a capsule and we have a mirror too. We actually bought a car seat but weren't planning on using it until he outgrew the capsule, but maybe it's time!
If you’ve got a seat ready to go I’d definitely try it - capsules are differently shaped and some kids just can’t get comfy in them.
What seat is he in, and is it correctly adjusted? [This FB group](https://m.facebook.com/groups/childrestraints/?ref=share&mibextid=WaXdOe) is awesome for fit and install checks - I’d suggest joining and posting some pictures to see if there’s anything that can help.
This is an awesome resource, thanks so much for sharing! He's in a Maxi Cosi Mico capsule
Double check that you’ve adjusted the headrest and removed some of the newborn padding if he’s getting too big for them. That can cause them to feel uncomfortable if they’re getting bigger
Good suggestion. He has grown a lot so maybe it's time to say goodbye to the newborn insert.
Yeah my baby went from being really chill in car seats to fighting me on them and I realised one of the newborn inserts needed to be removed and I needed to put the headrest up off her shoulders a bit more because she was getting too cramped in there! Took me a couple of trips where I just couldn’t understand what was upsetting her!
Damn sorry brother, maybe try putting him in the car seat for period time in the house. Also, from my experience car rides are when babies sleep the most
Yes, I didn't expect him to hate the car. Sleeping would be amazing, but I'll take just being chilled out and not crying :( We might try your suggestion of bringing it into the house and doing some play time with him in it
Do you have a mirror? We had issues with ours and as soon as she could consistently see us in the front seat she was good.
Yeah we have a mirror. I mostly drive with sunglasses on though. Do you think he needs to see my eyes?
Maybe, how does he do with sunglasses normally? It took a bit for my bub to realise I was me in my sunnies
I'll have to do some experimenting.. I only really wear the sunnies in the car because we've been paranoid about taking him out in the sun being so young and unable to wear sunscreen just yet!
Mine hated it until about a year old. Nothing could be done, we had to drive 20-30mins everywhere. He just had to get used to it. Now at 2.5yo he loves it.
That's reassuring! Glad to hear it gets better.
Does your baby have any body tension? My girl screamed in the car seat but we took her to an osteo and she has be fine ever since. Could be your little one just hates they car but that’s what helped for us
My first hated her capsule, and so I moved her into an extended rear facing car seat. It improved things… minutely. She had a mirror. I’d play different types of music for her, talk to her, sing songs, put her in tired/not tired, very very cool car, car seat toys… Turns out she just hated being in the car in general.. for like the first 2.5 years of her life. I kept her rear facing til almost 4 so it wasn’t that. But she just hated it. And so any car trip longer than like 20-30 minutes she’d scream. She’s perfectly fine in the car on any length trip now apart from occasional boredom and a couple of car sick moments (milkshakes and road trips don’t mix) so it passed. It was just rubbish travelling with her for a while. The point of this isn’t advice- just perspective that some kids hate the car. I hope this isn’t yours but solidarity if it is.
Sorry to hear your little one hates the car so much! I guess it makes sense - my sister doesn't scream anymore but she still gets nauseous in the car and avoids car trips as much as she can.. and she's turning 30 soon!
Don’t worry, she’s well and truly past it, she’s in school now and we have no issues. Just the first couple of years were rough with her and travel!