newborn car haters do they like the car grown up

[meemee]

curious. i just realised for a baby who HATED, absolutely HATED the car the first year of her life (screamed bloody murder every single time - in fact i refused rides for that reason. her powerful lungs unnerved most drivers) and nothing, nothing would help. 

like a light switch she completely changed after her first 9 months i would say. we took a long road trip at 18 months with her cousin in the car and she was a happy camper for all 12 hours of it. 

so am curious if that is the experience of other parents with car 'haters'. dd loves the car and can perform all kinds of feats in the backseat. gosh she can even read without getting sick which is what she does mostly on long journeys.. 

[Shannie77]

My DD HATED the car until she was about 18-24 months.  It was so horrible.  I would be so anxious when we had to go anywhere. Then at 2 years she didn't mind at all because she would just talk to me non-stop every where we went. :P  

DD2 is totally fine in the car.  At most she cries when I put her in the car seat and then quickly passes out. :)

[4evermom]

Ds hated the car as an infant because he wanted to be held 24/7.  Once he grew out of that, he was fine.    

[melon]

Originally Posted by 4evermom 

Ds hated the car as an infant because he wanted to be held 24/7.  Once he grew out of that, he was fine.    

Yea, that....Probably around 9 months he did better.

Now he is 23 mo, still rear facing (although it's getting to be a tight fit in my Civic), and loves going for car rides. Actually, it's usually the only way I can get him to nap.

[TEAK's Mom]

Originally Posted by 4evermom 

Ds hated the car as an infant because he wanted to be held 24/7.  Once he grew out of that, he was fine.    

This was our experience, too. With both kids. 

[reezley]

Yes, as an infant/baby ds1 needed a lot of maintenance in the car so he wouldn't fuss/cry - I was *constantly* squeaking a little toy at him, singing, etc.  And if he was tired he usually refused to fall asleep - he wanted to be home and just cried and screamed. When we switched from the bucket seat and turned him forward things were much better (more comfortable? just more interesting?)! 

At 6yo now (and since he was 2-3, really), he's a champ - on our 2-hr trips to the grandparents - reads and does puzzle books the whole time. And snacks.   :)

[enjoythesilence]

Yep, my oldest HATED the car as an infant, but got over it around 18 mos or so, and now loves riding in the car.

[meemee]

dd hated HATED being restrained (should have been prewarned to her independent nature, did not make a connection). we have a picture of her at 3 days yelling her head off coz we had buckled her in her car seat at home. i once experimented with her in the car without the car seat at about 6 months and not a squeak (doing 5 mls an hour on a quiet surburban street). 

and so it was the same with us with a stroller. never sat in a stroller because she had to be buckled in. she sat it in when she was older and too big to be buckled in. 

so we had a SCREAMING kid in the car. the only thing that stopped her was nursing while exh drove and i did calesthenics to manage a seat belt and nurse. if she didnt want to nurse she SCREAMED. 

[Katielady]

DD hated the car as an infant, so much so that when she was around a month old I informed everyone that I would only be takign her out for trips of 15 minutes or less and that anyone further away than that would have to come to us if they wanted to see her. Not a popular decision, esp. with my inlaws, but it saved me the severe anxiety of listening to her pitiful screams in the car.

She still hates the car, though it's not quite as intense. I'm pretty sure she gets car sick on long trips, too- she just gets miserable, and even her favorite DVDs won't work to appease her. She's projectile vomited on me twice after the conclusion of a long trip. We're driving 6 hours on Saturday.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by melon 

Yea, that....Probably around 9 months he did better.

I remember ds was 9 months the first time I dared take him out on a short ride on my own (AKA not nursing him uncomfortably while buckled or otherwise constantly distracting/interacting with him). 

[One_Girl]

My dd hated the car until she was forward facing and I let her have snacks in the car seat.  She still isn't fond of long trips but she does okay with the dvd player.  I limit screen time at home but not in the car so it is a treat now.

[meemee]

Originally Posted by Katielady 

She still hates the car, though it's not quite as intense. I'm pretty sure she gets car sick on long trips, too- she just gets miserable, and even her favorite DVDs won't work to appease her. She's projectile vomited on me twice after the conclusion of a long trip. We're driving 6 hours on Saturday.

a few things that worked for me. salt. ginger. lemon. and a 'not empty' stomach.

i havent tried the pressure bracelet for your wrist. but i always keep a bag of chips with me on long journeys because they make me feel better. 

[XanaduMama]

dd was a car screamer in her first weeks...omg, so awful :(  BUT: after one chiro adjustment, she fell asleep in the car on the way home and never screamed in that way again. She had other "episodes," of course, as all babies do, but never again the crazy screaming for no apparent reason. I highly recommend giving chiro a try!

[hempmama]

Yes, all three, screamers every second in the car. Right up until the moment I turned them around, and then they were fine as can be.

None of us like very long car trips, though, even still. I just don't think humans are meant to be strapped down like that for that long.

[gypsymama2008]

Another yes.  First three months were terrible.  After that it was one of the only ways besides nursing she would fall asleep.  At  almost  2.5 she loves the car now.

[NiteNicole]

My daughter hated the car till she outgrew rear facing and we turned her around.  It was a whole new (and much easier) world. 

[AirMiami]

My 2 year old is still rear facing, and she still isn't terribly fond of the car. However, it's gotten A LOT better. If we listen to "her" music, then I don't hear a peep from her. She still cries and thrashes about half the time when I'm trying to buckle her in though. She's been turned forward facing in other people's cars occasionally because I couldn't get her seat in properly rear facing, and it doesn't make a difference. She still whines and complains to me!

[Layney82]

My son hated the car pretty much from birth.  He outgrew his bucket seat (Britax Chaperone) around 7 months so we moved him into a Boulevard and all of a sudden he loved car rides.  He's still rear facing so my guess was that he just needed to be more comfortable.  The infant bucket was pretty narrow and now he's got more room to spread out his arms and legs and he can look around since he's up higher and there is no canopy in the way.

[AislinCarys]

DD hated the car, or more the carseat, when she was little. As she got older it got better and better. She still doesn't like it now at three. She'll say "I like the bus. You don't have to click me in on the bus". Lucky we go by bus most of the time! But while she doesn't like the car, she understands she has to be buckled in in the car, and is usually ok. And I sit in the backseat with her, and we talk and look at stuff through the windows. This said, she's usually happy in the car now. She doesn't complain being buckled in, and she's keen to go, as she likes outings. Sometimes she starts complaining when we're nearly home again, that she wants us to get her out.

She hated to be restrained in any way when she was little, wanted to be held, but loosely. Oh, and she's still rear-facing.
Edited by AislinCarys - 3/19/11 at 2:10pm

[onyxravnos]

ds1 was a car hater. screamed the whole way anywhere once i faced his seat forward it got better and at 4 he is totally peachy in the car now. :)