KatieJ Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 My 1 yr old grandson never had a problem in the car until he moved to the bigger carseat and is it inow facing frontward. He has screamed thru every car ride since then. My DD and family are heading off on a 4.5 hour car trip to visit the other grandparents........and she is in tears just thinking about it. Driving at night is not really an option, and he would probably cry for a good while before he fell asleep anyway. They live 30 mins from us and even if he has been sleeping before they left, once in teh car seat, he cries all the way home. He is a really good, extremely healthy little guy. It really seems to be the car seat facing forward. Someone suggested she turn the car seat backwards again, and she did that tonight before she left. Anyone else have any thoughts?? He has only had Tylenol once when he was teething and he slept for hours..so yes, she is considering that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I would just say turn him back rear-facing (if he's happier that way, it's also much safer so everyone wins!) so I hope that works. If not, well, both my kids hated the carseat no matter what so I have no idea what actually helps :lol: ETA: What about white noise? They make white noise CDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I would totally leave the car seat facing backwards...it's much safer that way anyway. The "one year old" for forward facing is just a "suggestion" but it's also "suggested" to leave them facing back as long as possible. I would just do this for as long as possible, until his feet are hitting the backseat, and then maybe it won't be an issue when she finally does face him forward again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I would totally leave the car seat facing backwards...it's much safer that way anyway. The "one year old" for forward facing is just a "suggestion" but it's also "suggested" to leave them facing back as long as possible. I would just do this for as long as possible, until his feet are hitting the backseat, and then maybe it won't be an issue when she finally does face him forward again. My kids' feet hit the back seat in their infant seats. :tongue_smilie: We're going on a long road trip for Christmas and dd will be having a nice, boring, safe rear-facing ride. No watching the DVDs for her, lol. But I hope she'll fall asleep.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) I'm so sorry to hear this. My son did the same thing for the first 2 years of his life--rear or forward facing. I feel for your dd. I would get so depressed whenever we were in the car for a long trip. He only lasted (maybe) 5 minutes (sometimes) before the screaming began. People just didn't understand how dismaying that is. When we bought the mini-van and he could see out of the windows, the screaming stopped the same day. He just needed to be able to see outside of the car. So, other than buying a mini-van, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe a dvd player? But one yo's don't care much about tv. Edited December 21, 2009 by Garga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 If going backwards works, turn him back! It's safer, he'll be happy... Go for it! BTW, is in the same car seat? Or a different one? Is it possible there's something hurting him in the new seat? (I don't necessarily think that's it -- some babies show a marked preference for forward or rear facing -- but thought it might be worth checking on...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 I thought it started when she switched him from the smaller car seat to the bigger one, but apparently it was when they went from the rear postion to the front. I don't know why she hasn't tried switching him back before now, but she did today. I hesitate to ask, but has anyone tried infant Benadryl on a long car ride? Yes, it is very upsetting. I rarely see my daughter this down about anything. They have avoided this road trip to Grandma's house for a couple of months now because he has become so difficutl in the car. But, well, Christmas it is, one way or the othter they are going. But can you imagine driving thru Chicago with a crying baby in teh back seat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 But can you imagine driving thru Chicago with a crying baby in teh back seat? Yes. Sigh. I have great empathy for her. Both of my children *hated* riding in the car as babies, and cried/screamed nearly constantly. We weren't driving through Chicago, but LA, lol, so I'd imagine the stress level was similar. The good news is that they outgrew it? ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Yes. Sigh. I have great empathy for her. Both of my children *hated* riding in the car as babies, and cried/screamed nearly constantly. We weren't driving through Chicago, but LA, lol, so I'd imagine the stress level was similar. The good news is that they outgrew it? ;) It is such a new thing for him that they just don't kwno what to think. Not sure Mommy will survive him long enough to outgrow it! I am so surprised his 3 yr old borther is not more upset about it. He will have DVD player tho, so he will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caitilin Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I too would turn him back to rear-facing. If he's unhappy, and since rear-facing is safer, what's to prevent it? Only thing I have to suggest otherwise is, maybe when he was RFing he could see his big brother and now he can't? I know my ds 19 mo is happy RFing because he can see all the other kids in the car better that way. Maybe your dgs is the same way? :grouphug: to mom--it's miserable to drive with screaming kiddo. Hope she figures out something to make it all better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I hesitate to ask, but has anyone tried infant Benadryl on a long car ride? Yes. Our girls, especially the older one, used to get car sick if we went on trips longer than 30 min. We found out that having milk anytime during the day before we left caused it. Benadryl definitely helped--and not giving them milk, but that's not what his problem is. Unless he's actually feeling carsick when he faces forward? There's no way to know at this age, unless he heaves, but maybe giving him juice or water instead of milk/formula/breastmilk would help? Plus the benadryl to help him sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 There was some homeopathic calming stuff I got from the natural food section of one of our stores once. It works fairly well, though I don't remember the name of it. I'd also try Rescue Remedy...it works pretty well too. I've had the latter used on me by my midwife when I was having an emotional meltdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 There was some homeopathic calming stuff I got from the natural food section of one of our stores once. It works fairly well, though I don't remember the name of it. I'd also try Rescue Remedy...it works pretty well too. I've had the latter used on me by my midwife when I was having an emotional meltdown. Calms Forte? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I thought it started when she switched him from the smaller car seat to the bigger one, but apparently it was when they went from the rear postion to the front. I don't know why she hasn't tried switching him back before now, but she did today. I hesitate to ask, but has anyone tried infant Benadryl on a long car ride? Yes, it is very upsetting. I rarely see my daughter this down about anything. They have avoided this road trip to Grandma's house for a couple of months now because he has become so difficutl in the car. But, well, Christmas it is, one way or the othter they are going. But can you imagine driving thru Chicago with a crying baby in teh back seat? Some kids have a bad reaction to Benadryl, and for some it makes them more hyper. I certainly wouldn't give it to them for the first time in such a circumstance. My daughter screamed in her seat until I took her to the Chiropracter and he folded up a receiving blanket to add more padding to a part of her seat that didn't have as much padding under the cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 How miserable for everyone! Ds hated the car seat too, and it was a trial. One thing that did improve things was to get him an MP3 player with built in speaker. He enjoyed holding it and listening to "his" music. That calmed him a lot, but I would say he was probably a bit older - closer to 2yrs. It is agony to travel with a car-hating child... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Only my oldest cared for car rides. It was dicey there for a time with the others. We spent a lot of time not driving...not easy. My youngest was the worst and all of her sibs have harrowing tales of her crying and our family having to constantly stop. None of their desperate work and entertainment seemed to help. :( Yuck! Bad memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 We also have a portable DVD player that straps to the back of the front seat in front of the child. You can listen to it on headphones or over the car radio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirth Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I would first of all take the new carseat out the car and just stand it up in the house on the floor somewhere the boy can easily get into it himself and feel good about it. Put some little toys in it. Make the seat his friend for a day or two. Then put it back in the car. I would still install it RF if possible, but the key is to make it something that is not so foreign and overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) my 1 year old dd rear faces still as well, she has a mirror in the back window to see her self in, and so I can see her. She also has a dvd player for longer trips and I have a kids songs cd that i put in for shorter rides, I also make sure she has a drink and a snack in her seat with her. There are snack bowls you can buy that allows the baby to stick their hand in to get the snacks but they don't spill all over the place. I have two that was given to me and I also made one using a small butter tub. Edited December 21, 2009 by melissamathews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Only use the seat rear facing if it is a convertable seat that is safe rear facing. Our dd cried at first when we turned her around but I think it was becuase instead of limited vision and a smallish space she suddenly felt like she was just hanging out in the air, almost suspended. She also could suddenly see out the windows and see all that was wizzing by her. We put in a video player she could watch and that helped tremendously. She could focus on the favorite movie and forget she was moving thru space at fantastic speeds. Now she rides happily even without a movie playing. My son, who loved travel, became upset when we changed carseats once. Come to find out the seat was terribly uncomfortable. There were spaces in the seat edges (made that way) that could cause him to be pinched if he tried to shift his weight over the thin fabric covering the base. We moved up to a more expensive seat with a more solid (smooth, or whatever) plastic seat and a thicker cover and he stopped fussing. It was more than worth the expense to have him stop crying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 I would first of all take the new carseat out the car and just stand it up in the house on the floor somewhere the boy can easily get into it himself and feel good about it. Put some little toys in it. Make the seat his friend for a day or two. Then put it back in the car. I would still install it RF if possible, but the key is to make it something that is not so foreign and overwhelming. If going backwards works, turn him back! It's safer, he'll be happy... Go for it! BTW, is in the same car seat? Or a different one? Is it possible there's something hurting him in the new seat? (I don't necessarily think that's it -- some babies show a marked preference for forward or rear facing -- but thought it might be worth checking on...) Some kids have a bad reaction to Benadryl, and for some it makes them more hyper. I certainly wouldn't give it to them for the first time in such a circumstance. My daughter screamed in her seat until I took her to the Chiropracter and he folded up a receiving blanket to add more padding to a part of her seat that didn't have as much padding under the cover. It is not the car seat. She switched out her carseat for the one in my car and he is still crying. She is going to borrow a DVD player for the road trip, but he is not too entranced with the TV or DVD's in general. It will be a distraction for the his big brother tho. Her FIL is very knowlegeable in homeopathy, and I will mention to her to talk to him about it. Maybe he can come up with something. We all agree that Benadryl is certainly not an optimal choice. There is no telling how he would react given he has almost never been on any kind of medications. She thinks he has only had Tylenol once. Well, thanks for the support everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Is it possible to tilt the car seat back some more? Front facing car seats do not recline as much and it makes it less comfortable and harder to fall asleep (and even hard to breath at times). A rolled towel under the front of it might help. You can also try www.tapping.com. It is pretty effective for car sickness or a feeling of insecurity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Not Calmes Forte. It was a liquid that we added a couple drops of to my 2 year old's water when we needed him to be calm. It worked like a charm. I've been thinking about trying to find it again to help Maddie calm down in the evenings. There are times I just can't take her to bed at 8:30pm like she wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetobeme Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 our oldest STILL gets carsick at 16 if she is not in the front seat or driving. and driving at night was the worst when she was an infant. . .maybe she felt closed in? just know that i am sympathetic 16 years and 4 MORE children later. . .it did get better! but curvy roads still get to her. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Is it possible he could be feeling carsick? We had a chronic car-screamer and that turned out to be the problem. I never figured out a good solution except being careful about what he ate or drank before we got in the car. He eventually outgrew it for the most part. Hope you get some suggestions that help!! I also recently read that it is even safer for kids to stay rearfacing beyond a year. She should check into that!! I don't think you HAVE to turn forward just bc they turn one, in fact, there are some good reasons safety-wise to stay backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtb1999 Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Not Calmes Forte. It was a liquid that we added a couple drops of to my 2 year old's water when we needed him to be calm. It worked like a charm. I've been thinking about trying to find it again to help Maddie calm down in the evenings. There are times I just can't take her to bed at 8:30pm like she wants. Rescue Remedy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 She bought Calms Forte..and they are driving today. If you read this in the next few hours, just send up a prayer for a safe trip and no crying babies in the back seat. Thanks for all your help and suggestions Hive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieJ Posted December 22, 2009 Author Share Posted December 22, 2009 They are several hours in to their trip and the baby is doing great! PS I heard Mommy was goign to take the Calm Ease too. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 They are several hours in to their trip and the baby is doing great!PS I heard Mommy was goign to take the Calm Ease too. ;) YAY! I was hoping for an update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 YAY! I was hoping for an update. Me too, thanks for posting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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