carsick toddler - suggestions please!

[mmommy]

My 2 yo DD gets carsick. She always has, and thankfully we don't travel in the car often (we're city folk) but sometimes we do need to. I'd like some ideas of things I can do to make the ride more pleasant for her. Any thoughts? She is rear faced in a Marathon in our Honda Civic if that makes a difference with suggestions. She's a big girl, so we will need to turn her sometime, but I'm trying to hold off as long as possible :)

Oh, and I'm thinking about getting a second cover for the Marathon so that if she gets sick again we can switch it out more rapidly... Ideas about the best place to purchase?

[MamaMolly]

Lula gets car sick too. And air-sick. We have her FF in the center position (but she's much older, bigger) but being in the center means she can see out better. I find when she is behind a seat and can't see out except through the side windows she vomits more often. I know it is a no-no but I put a towel across the seat under her car seat to catch the overflow. Otherwise clean up is such a nightmare.

I bought a generic replacement cover at Walmart. Since I only use it when her regular cover is in the washer I don't care if the fit isn't perfect.

I also keep a gallon of water, towels, baby wipes and at least one change of clothes in the trunk at all times. Clean up on the side of the road is bad enough. Doing it dry with Kleenex is awful. Oh, and 2 grocery sacks, one for dirty clothes and one for garbage.

In general I strictly avoid chemical air fresheners, but I do keep a small travel size pump of Febreez in the car. Hot car+ carsick kid= febreez is a necessity.

[Pear]

I suffer from motion sickness even as an adult. Aside from drugs (scopolamine is a blessing but you can't give it to toddlers) my best trick is lots of cool air. In the winter open the windows. In the summer absolutely blast the a/c.
Small salty snacks help. Something like goldfish or nuts if old enough. I avoid dairy in these scenarios.
Personally I would try turning her and see if it helps. Even if you don't vomit, motion sickness is an absolutely horrid feeling. I don't think people
Who don't suffer from it really understand just how awful it feels.

[lhafer]

I suffer from motion sickness even as an adult. Aside from drugs (scopolamine is a blessing but you can't give it to toddlers) my best trick is lots of cool air. In the winter open the windows. In the summer absolutely blast the a/c.
Small salty snacks help. Something like goldfish or nuts if old enough. I avoid dairy in these scenarios.
Personally I would try turning her and see if it helps. Even if you don't vomit, motion sickness is an absolutely horrid feeling. I don't think people
Who don't suffer from it really understand just how awful it feels.

:yeahthat: I have to drive all the time because more than 20 minutes as a passenger in a car and I am sick - like STOP THE CAR I'M GONNA PUKE sick.

If she's to the point of throwing up - I would turn her. Especially if you aren't in the car all that often. Being car sick is one of the worst feelings in the world. :barf:

[geochick]

My 7 year old USED to get car sick at that age. He grew out of it at about age 5. When he got car sick, it was ALWAYS in my husband's sedan. He couldn't see where we were going because the seats were kind of sunk down. He got taller, and we learned that he needed to be looking out the FRONT window at all times. We got him a little steering wheel toy, and asked him to pretend he was driving our car. We'd ask him questions like, which way should we go, turn on your blinker, look at those kids crossing the road, etc. We didn't ever give him books or other toys for the car because he needed to see out. He NEVER got sick in my car. Why? My seats were higher, and he could always see out the front window.

You might consider switching to forward facing in the center position (if that works in your car). Teach the kid to look out the front windows.

[AshleyAnn]

I get car sick sometimes too. I found its not as bad if I can crack the window when I start to feel yucky. I can't read (or play with my phone) in the car or I get sick very fast.

[mmommy]

Thanks so much for all of the input!
I'll have DH try installing the seat differently for our next trip and we'll see if it works. And I appreciate all of the tips for clean up, etc. You're all so helpful :thumbsup:

[DrSally]

Definitely fresh air, no reading, keep your eye on the horizon, etc.
I think it also may get better for her once she reaches the point where you want to turn her around, as facing the same direction as the vehicle is moving helps.
You could also try the sea band wrist bands and some candied ginger (trader Joes).

[AnnieW625]

I would move her FFing and see if that corrects the issue, if you really really don't want to turn her forward I would take all toys, books, etc. away from her as she needs to be able to look out the window and see where she is going. Maybe even remove the RFing mirror if you have one. Some children are just more prone to car sickness. I was one of those children until I was about 12 and even now if I spend too much time reading a book on a long car trip I will get a tad quesy.

I know this is not a really great example, but my 81 yr. old Grandma has never been able to sit backwards on the train and has been like that since she was a small child.

[BabbyO]

FWIW, I got sea-bands to help with nausea during pregnancy, but I have friends that use them for motion/car sickness. I suspect you'd need to get child sized ones, but I know our local walgreens carries them. They look like a sweat band with 3/4 of a plastic "ball" attached to it. They use acupressure to alleviate the nausea.

They might be worth a shot...but I'm not sure if your DD would keep them on.

Here's a link to them:http://www.amazon.com/Sea-Band-Original-Wristband-Children-Colors/dp/B000GCOIK0

Instructions on placement come with them.

[urquie]

i keep peppermint essential oil in the car for nausea. for myself, i just put a drop on my nose... and then escalate by rubbing it all around my hairline, especially above the back of my neck. i wouldn't recommend applying it directly to the skin for other people, especially not kids.

for my 2 yr old dd, i apply a couple drops directly on her car seat fabric, in the head area (as a preventative or especially if she has already gotten sick). i think she is getting old enough that i can hand her a ziplock baggie, with a tissue inside, that has a few drops of the oil on it. it can really help a lot, to breathe in the scent... if they are aware ahead of time, that they are starting to feel sick.

[cuca_]

My DD2 is like this. I turned her ff much earlier than her siblings (but well after the recommended age/weight) and that seemed to help a lot. Not ideal, but she has always been a big kid, so I did not feel too bad. Fresh air helps her a lot. After a while she began to recognize the feeling and would alert us. We would open the window and that would make her feel better. I find that she is getting better with age, and now motion sickness is only a concern during long car trips and air travel. She is also able to throw up into a bag now, if our techniques do not work, so there is not a huge mess to deal with. I feel for you!