Generally happy DS crying in stroller!

[duvie]

My 6 month old DS is not usually fussy and is content looking around and observing things. He sat in his stroller (P3) in the driveway the other day watching me plant flowers and throw the ball for the dog.

However, about a minute after we set out on a walk, he begins to cry. I talk to him the whole time so he knows that I am there, he can see the dog and he has toys. He never cried when he was in the Snap n Go, so I wonder if the problem is that he can't see me. BUT...he doesn't cry in his carseat and he can't see me then either.I have tried walking along side the stroller (difficult!) but that doesn't seem to help. I have him sitting up- he cries even more if I recline him. I also wondered if the motion was bothering him, but he is happy in his swing and the car (and I am not that erratic a stroller driver!)I end up carrying him while pushing the stroller-ugh!

I have seen a few other posts on this, but mainly people were thinking of getting new strollers. I don't think that it is a stroller issue since he is happy when sitting in it.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Sorry so long...
Duvie

[MamaKath]

Well not knowing your ds and just guessing here ;-) I would think 2 things may be going on. First I would think that ds is used to seeing mama from where he sits. Not just hearing you, not looking to the side to see you but looking straight at you. The second thought I have is that 6 months is an age where LOTS changes developmentally. Ds is probably working (or already is) on becoming mobile. He wants to exert some independance with new found skills. He is hoping that instead of just looking at the flowers he will be able to crawl over to them, sniff them, maybe taste them, lol. He has no understanding of why you would choose to leave him strapped in under such circumstances and is fussing as a result.

No easy fix. Either try a stroller with a reversible handle/seat so he can see you (you can buy one used on Ebay, StrollerSwap or locally in the paper) or just stick it out. Best of luck! :-)

[strollerqueen]

I agree; reversible handle or seat stroller. This problem seems to crop up often amongst 6 months old. My theory is that they have now developed the self-awareness to realize that they are facing the world head-on, without the direct, eye-to-eye presence of their care-giver. Try riding in a stroller sometime. It's kind of scary, whizzing along head-first into everything, and not knowing what is coming next.

[EagerlyAwaitingBaby]

I just bought a Venezia to supplement my P3 for this reason. I got a good deal (I think) on ebay for a NIB 2004 in Chesapeake for $237 shipped.

[lenad]

We have been using the same stroller sans car seat since my DD was born (now 7 mo), a Zooper Waltz, and she didn't used to fuss over being in it. About a month or so ago she has started to complain about being in there. I am a babywearing mom, so I simply put her in a carrier and put everything else in the stroller. She stops complaining the moment I pick her up. It may have to do w/ learning that I am more likely to carry her than her dad, she complains more when she is with me than when she is with him.

Given that you have ruled everything else out, would you be able to borrow a stroller in which you can face your baby to see whether this would fix things? It doesn't make sense to me to spend a lot of money on a stroller w/ reversible handles just to find out that this is not the problem.

LD

[duvie]

Thank you all for your helpful input! Now that I think about it, whizzing along in a stroller must be scary.

We are going to try: going for shorter strolls with lots of stops (to see mom and clap :)), walks with DH so he can see one of us, getting a backpack so I can carry him (carrying him on my front hurts my back during a long walk)and maybe even attaching a mirror to the tray so he can see me. I also am going to keep my eye out for a used stroller with reversible handles/seat.

THANKS!

Duvie