So as I mentioned in my last post, Graham absolutely detests his car seat. He can be acting perfectly happy and then I'll snap him into it and he goes berserk. Even when I get him completely asleep before putting him in it (thinking I am so clever) he immediately wakes up, surveys the situation for a minute or two and, after realizing he is in the car seat, screams incessantly until the second I take him out (then he acts like nothing happened, the little bum).
On Tuesday, I took him to the mall (which is about 15 minutes away) to get his 2 month pictures taken and he screamed all the way there and all the way back. That 15 minute drive turned into what seemed like 6 hours. On the way back he was screaming so hard and loud, I seriously considered pulling over thinking something was wrong, but decided against it because I didn't want the drive to have to be any longer then necessary. He kept coughing mid-cry because he was choking from crying so hard. As soon as we got home, I took him out and what do you know, complete silence. What a strange little boy.
For the most part, the car seat hatred has not been much more then a slight annoyance when having to drive the short distance to church or to run quick errands, but next week we have decided to put to the test exactly how much he really does dislike that car seat. We are making the 9 hour trek up to Indiana to see my family for Thanksgiving. Oh boy. I have no idea how this is going to go and honestly, I'm a little terrified of what 9 hours of screaming is going to be like. Surely he couldn't actually cry the ENTIRE 9 hours.....right? I've never had the opportunity to see just how long Graham will cry for in the car, but I figure even an adult could only carry on for so long, so a baby must get tired after 1/2 hour? 45 minutes? an hour of screaming? He'll have to get tired eventually. Oh please tell me I am right.
We are going to leave on Monday night as soon as we get him to sleep. A nice hot bath, a bottle of warm formula, and I am hoping we can get him deep enough asleep that it will take a few hours before he realizes we have tricked him into the car seat. The last week, he has been sleeping between 7-9 hours a night (knock on wood that this keeps up) so if I can get him into the car seat after he is asleep and we leave right away, I think we might be able to make it at least 3/4's of the way to my parents house while he is asleep. Let's just pray that this is really the case. My fear is that this is going to turn into a 15 hour car ride from hell and Elliot and I will both be too traumatized to ever take Graham anywhere again.
Does anyone have any advice that could make this experience any easier? Or perhaps some baby narcotics? I would accept either with open arms.
Graham has his 2 month shots tomorrow morning. I am already sad for him. Poor little guy has no idea what is coming his way.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Car seat trauma
Posted by Tracy at 6:03 PM
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8 comments:
Jayden used to be the same way. We once took a 4 hour trip that turned into 7 hours because of the screaming. We discovered there was one ringtone on our phone that he loved and it kept him quiet for a while. Sounds like you have a good plan of driving at night. That will probably help. Good luck!
I agree, your plan of driving during the night should work. We have done a lot of long trips like that. You dont really want to give such a small baby medicine exept formaybe a little baby tylenol. For Ada i recently took out that head support thing, maybe it was just a coincidence, but she has been so so so much better in the car ever since. ??
get him some little carseat toys that hang or strap on the seat it may catch his eye
oh, i forgot to add, he is so cute in that picture!!!
Ok, so this is a pretty dumb question but thought I'd ask anyway. Are his straps too tight in his carseat? Maybe it's pinching him or something? There's some cute toys you can get that strap on the handle of the carrier and play music and have lights and stuff that might keep him interested for a little bit. ALSO, he might be too young (call your dr) but you can give him benedryl! It's our "special travelling medicine." It knocks 'em right out! :) Anyway, keep us updated on what happens! :)
I hate to be a downer, but don't hold your breath! My little one hated the car until about 18 months. She's also VERY stubborn. We drove 5 hours to Yakima and she cried THE ENTIRE DRIVE. No joke. We hated car rides. She finally outgrew it about 18 months. She's ok now, but still isn't the best. Yes, turning her around (at 18 months because she could not get up to 20 lbs for the life of her) helped, but I still think it's because we can talk with her now. (Not to her; it's a different beast) I'll pray it goes well and yours isn't as much of a stinker as mine was!
good luck girl, that is pretty brave! paisley has also been alot happier since i took out the infant head support, if you think he is big enough you might try that. the chiropractor really changed paisley in the car seat-she rarely cries in it now, when before she would scream and scream. good luck!
Talk to your doctor when you take him in for shots about the situation. We did that the first time we took Kelly on a plane to Oregon. He was actually the one to suggest Benadryl. I don't know if Graham is still too young for it, so just ask your doc. But definitely try it out on him BEFORE the big trip. Sometimes it can have the opposite effect and make them hyper (we found out the hard way)
Good luck and seriously, if he's freaking out and you guys just can't drive any more, stop at our apartment. Crying babies don't scare us. Even if it's in the middle of the night. Shane always has his cell phone on beside him. Just give us a call!
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