Urgent! Pls Help - Carseat shrieker

[robinsmommy]

Our 3 month old shrieks in her carseat. We are at wits end. She can have a full tummy and a dry sposie when we leave, and she just can't stand her car seat. Maybe it'd help if I was back there? We live in a small town, so long car rides are inevitable at some point. Yes, we try to schedule drives with naps, but that doesn't always work. She won't take a binky.

She's in a Britax Boulevard, rear facing. Older daughter, 4.5, is in a Radian. Has anyone had any success getting these seats in an '05 Prius with enough room to fit a small adult in back? I had a hard time getting the radian tight enough w/o latch. DH has even suggested putting older DD in front - and yes, we have airbags. I even considered that for a moment before dismissing it - it's that bad. (though if someone could post it for him to see HOW bad that idea was wouldn't hurt...)

A different carseat? Two radians? Something, anything...please help!

We had a two hour ride last night - she shrieked for half of it, even after we stopped to feed and diaper. I have an ENT appt this afternoon - it's an hour away. :(

[Joolsplus2]

(((HUGS))) My dd was a car shrieker for about the first 5 months...it is *awful* for everyone. My cousin's baby did it too, and if it makes you feel any better, it didn't help to sit in the back next to her, she shrieked just as much.
Cheapest soluion now would to be to try her RF in the Radian, elder dd in the BV and see if that helps.... it might...
Make sure there's no sun in her eyes. I'd be tempted to get permission from my Dr. to give her a wee drop of tylenol or ibuprofen to help her sleep, but that's just me ;)

The only ray of hope I can offer you is that it WILL end...she'll eventually realize the car is not the worst place on earth, her big sister is fun to look at, and cheerios are delicious driving food. (I hope someone else has a better idea, however, lol)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[bubbaray]

BTDT and have, surprisingly, come out the otherside intact and sane. Both DD's hated their infant buckets (SnugRide). DD#2 hated and I mean H-A-T-E-D her Britax Marathon until a couple of weeks ago. Nothing has changed, so I don't know what it was other than maybe early separation anxiety??

Does it help with your older DD in the back? We had DD#1 sing to DD#2 and otherwise try to distract her. She would also wave stuffed animals in her direction. It did seem to help.

But, man, I feel your pain. It SUCKS.

FWIW, I haven't found stopping helps much. If anything, turning up the music (anything with a thumping bass seems best) and concentrating on my driving is the best approach. Stopping just prolongs the agony for everyone.

Maybe double check your install angle, 45 degrees is what you want.

Good luck!

Melissa

DD#1: 04/2004

DD#2: 01/2007

[Tondi G]

MY DS's were both not happy car riders! My oldest was the Worst! He'd freak out 5 minutes into the car ride... sometimes he'd start the minute he went into the seat! I was going to suggest moving to a convertible seat but you've done that!

How about one of those entertaining things that straps to the seat back??? we had a kick n play piano when DS#1 was little but now they have true designated car toys!

http://www.tinylove.com/developmental_toys.aspx?toyTypeId=4&elementId=0&ageId=0

You can try switching the seats.... but I think the BV would be more padded and comfy than the radian.

She will get better as she gets older. I didn't want to turn them at just over a year but both of my boys were so much happier once they went forward facing. It was really distracting to me trying to keep them happy rear facing so once I rear ended someone when #2 was just over a year cause he was freaking out I decided to try turning him. It made a world of difference for all of us!

I am not saying you should turn her now.... please don't take what I said as encouraging you to turn her early. Just saying that if she is still really unhappy RF at one year AND 20 lbs you can try switching her. I did on the premise that if my boys were just as unhappy FF I would switch them right back around! I think the DVD player in the new car made a huge difference for my kiddos too!

Good luck... you are not alone!

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/01 and Aidan 5/05

[robinsmommy]

Update:

We did manage to drive to the ENT during her nap, but the return trip was another story. I ended up shifting to the back seat and squeezing myself in between the seats. I did manage to get my seatbelt fastened, and she calmed down and eventually slept when I sang to her. Soooo, I will be rearranging the seats and trying to make more room in the back - I'll put the baby in the Radian, though I don't look foward to a rear-facing install. I was also thinking of outlining the Radian as installed now, for 4.5 yr old, in painter's tape on the seat - then I might have a better idea if two Radians would be a better fit. Yet another carseat is still cheap if it saves months of screaming! Thanks for all the advice, and moral support - sometimes just hearing from others helps. I'll also look into Tylenol and toys, both seem worth a try. We have tried having big sister soothe her, but it didn't work at this point.

[nfowife]

My 4 month old (just 4 months tomorrow) is similar. He hates the car for some reason. I switched him about 6 weeks ago to the Marathon, and while that is much better than the infant seat, he still cries for a considerable amount of time. I know he's okay, so honestly I just ignore it. Usually he will calm down after a while, he might start back up again, but I can't sit home all day and he's going to have to learn to deal. I've learned to kind of tune it out so I can focus on driving most of the time. Sad, but true. Hopefully he will outgrow it soon.

[rbsmom]

My newborn (now 3 months old) was TERRIBLE until I realized she HATED the Snuzzler padding I put in the carseat. I put back the standard Graco around-the-head padding & it's much better now. She still freaks out if she's been in there too long (i.e., a few hours), but what can you do?