7 week old hates Snugride

Kaitlyn'sMom · Mar 8, 2011

Our 7 week old screams every time he is in the Snugride. He also spits up constantly while in it. We don't leave him in the carseat unless we are in the car or for preschool drop-off and pick-up, but it's nerve-wracking trying to drive with a screaming baby.

Generally when we arrive at our destination he is covered in spit-up and extremely sweaty - his whole back will be damp and you can see sweat along his hairline. He may or may not have reflux - he is on meds for it. But is it possible there is a better fitting seat for him? Should we wait it out? We have a Britax Boulevard that we are about to move my daughter out of (into a Nautilus); should we try him in that? He is a large newborn, born over 9 lbs. and now weighs over 12 lbs.

Thanks!

Judi · Mar 8, 2011

What clothes do you have him in? Do you have any extra blanket over or uner him? Are you making sure his behind is all the way back in the seat?

SusanMae · Mar 8, 2011

It's unlikely that he'll fit in the BLVD well. The bottom head rest position isn't low enough for the vast majority of newborns. You could try him it in, but the straps need to be at or below his shoulders.

The reflux could be the issue and making him a bit more upright could help. I'd worry about putting him too upright since he is SO young.

Trying other seats is always an option if you can afford it. If you want to skip another infant seat, try the Graco MyRide65. It generally fits newborns very well.

Susan

jess71903 · Mar 8, 2011

Unfortunately, except for the spit-up, that sounds about right to me. Newborns like to be held and cuddled, not strapped in. Both of mine have screamed for months on end, only to suddenly stop one day for no apparent reason. They are both excellent passengers now at 3.5 and 1. I hope you guys get the spit-up thing worked out, but other than that, I'm afraid you may just have to deal with it until he gets over it.

Kaitlyn'sMom · Mar 8, 2011

Judi said:
What clothes do you have him in? Do you have any extra blanket over or uner him? Are you making sure his behind is all the way back in the seat?

We dress him in either a cotton sleeper or a onesie and pants, so lightweight clothes. Rarely a blanket over him, not under... And his behind is all the way back.

Kaitlyn'sMom · Mar 8, 2011

SusanMae said:
It's unlikely that he'll fit in the BLVD well. The bottom head rest position isn't low enough for the vast majority of newborns. You could try him it in, but the straps need to be at or below his shoulders.

The reflux could be the issue and making him a bit more upright could help. I'd worry about putting him too upright since he is SO young.

Trying other seats is always an option if you can afford it. If you want to skip another infant seat, try the Graco MyRide65. It generally fits newborns very well.

Susan

Yes, we want to make sure he isn't too upright, and the straps... when we take the Britax out to install the Nautilus maybe we will give it a try. I just want him protected and safe, but if there is something else that will help I would be willing to try it. Thanks for the recommendation.

jess71903 said:
Unfortunately, except for the spit-up, that sounds about right to me. Newborns like to be held and cuddled, not strapped in. Both of mine have screamed for months on end, only to suddenly stop one day for no apparent reason. They are both excellent passengers now at 3.5 and 1. I hope you guys get the spit-up thing worked out, but other than that, I'm afraid you may just have to deal with it until he gets over it.

Well, that's good and bad news

... the screaming is so hard because I just want to hold him. If he is out of the car he's in a wrap and putting him back in the carseat when it's time to go home is torture. I just remember my daughter as a newborn loved the seat - she would fuss for a second while we strapped her in and then fall asleep immediately after. Same seat, different baby.

Judi · Mar 8, 2011

What is the angle?

Kaitlyn'sMom · Mar 8, 2011

Judi said:
What is the angle?

I would guess somewhere around 45 - it's within the blue area of the recline guide.

jourdysmom · Mar 8, 2011

The blue in the angle indicator is actually quite large, accommodating from 45* newborn angle to a more upright install for older babies. Try to get it a little more upright (but still no orange showing) while baby still has enough recline to not have head slump.

An Aurora · Mar 8, 2011

Babies tend to start fitting into the Blvd around 12-ish pounds, so you might give it a go. Of course it depends on his torso length, but there's a chance he'll fit.

Maggie · Mar 8, 2011

I'm sorry.

It's so hard to drive with a screaming baby. My 3rd daughter hated the carseat until she was about 3 months old. I only drove when it was totally necessary. She hated the SafeSeat, the Snugride, the Marathon and Scenera. She just hated being in the car. She'd calm down if I blasted static on the radio. Not fun, but better than a screaming baby.

jennynj · Mar 8, 2011

My son screamed and sweat in his snugride too. I finally dressed him in shorts and a tee to counteract his mad heat. I believe the crying lead to the sweating, plus the fact that babies can't regulate their heat made it that much worse. My son eventually stopped sweating so much as he got a bit older. As for the crying, that stopped once we put him in a forward facing seat. To do it again, I would try another seat. Maybe like the new Evenflo seat that goes from infancy into the booster years (not booster seat)? The fact that they make these car seats in nonbreathable synthetic fabrics does not help either. Good luck. And some entertainment to his seat, with lights and music too (if you haven't already).

vtbecca · Mar 8, 2011

Mine all hated the snugride. They screamed until we put them in a convertible seat (rear facing of course). They all sweat a lot and the fabric on the 3 snugrides we tried over the years was very upholstery like. I'm guessing so spit up wipes off easily but I found that it was just very un breathable. One thing I did (not sure if this is OK to do though) is put a very thin burp cloth behind the baby (not impeding with the straps at all) to just provide a thin layer of non upholstery fabric. We also frequently dressed them in just onesies in the car.

I hope you can find something that works better for your baby. I know how hard it is to listen to the screaming. See if you can find some music that he responds to. My middle loved the Dixie Chicks and would quiet when I'd put the CD in

cookie123 · Mar 9, 2011

I'm sorry you're going through this. It's so hard. I don't recall my dd crying, but she was always vomiting in the car. I always tried to put a strategically placed cloth diaper, and it rarely worked!

I just want to remind you that you can't immerse the harness in water, or wash with harsh chemicals. Check your manual for proper washing.

Kaitlyn'sMom · Mar 9, 2011

cookie123 said:
I'm sorry you're going through this. It's so hard. I don't recall my dd crying, but she was always vomiting in the car. I always tried to put a strategically placed cloth diaper, and it rarely worked!

I just want to remind you that you can't immerse the harness in water, or wash with harsh chemicals. Check your manual for proper washing.

Thank you for the reminder! I was actually thinking the straps needed to be wiped down so I will check the manual to see what is safe.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions/commiseration.

kater-tot82 · Mar 9, 2011

I feel your pain

My baby is 6-1/2 months now and can still fuss a lot in the car, but it is loads better than when she was 0-3 months old. We have a Chicco Keyfit30 and the scenario is all to familiar--the sweating, spitting up, and hysterical screaming.

We are moving her to a convertible soon--we tried one for a longer trip last weekend and there was no crying!! But she travels a lot better (generally speaking) even in the Keyfit now--she can hold toys and that has helped her a lot. But when she was tiny, nothing helped. Everyone kept telling me things like "Babies usually love the car.". Uhhh yeah, not mine!

I hope it passes quickly or that you find something he likes better.

thepote · Mar 9, 2011

Another mom that feels your pain. My baby is 4 months and it's not as bad now, but it's not that great. I have a feeling it's something with the way she fits in the seat, and it's getting better as she gets older and bigger.

She's very spitty and she weighs 16lbs and has a very tubby tummy. I really don't think she likes being folded so much, and it was worse when she was smaller. I've tried other seats, but some just folded her more. The ones with an infant insert worked best, but her Safeseat was comparable so I've just kept her in that since it's convenient for us.

Also, she's CD'd and I've had to be careful about the velcro rubbing on her tummy, and try to put her in a CD with snaps to put less pressure on her tummy than a big velcro strip.

Good luck :thumbsup:

Unregistered · Mar 9, 2011

Just wanted to chime in as a reflux mom with 2 with severe cases and 2 with lots of "happy spitting". Carseats put reflux babies in horrible positions. So it may not help to change seats. Sometimes there is nothing you can do but wait and hope it gets better. Listening to a screaming baby when you have to drive is incredibly distracting and for me, hurts my heart. So I always try to sing to soothe, because then I am at least doing something to comfort my baby, even though I can't stop and take him out. I hope for you it gets better sooner rather than later.

Mom-of-Two · Mar 9, 2011

Not to dampen your mood even more

but I agree, my newborn screamed 24/7 for 11 weeks, and SEVEN weeks was actually the peak. Ugh, I do not forget those drives, let me tell you. And I absolutely remember the sweating, screaming baby when we got out, that child would have his hands clenched up, soaking wet, and would then only calm from nursing and falling asleep due to the crying!

I never wanted to leave the house, I remember when he was 8 weeks old and we had to drive to Easter dinner at my SIL's house, about 30 minutes, it was so bad I could not eat my dinner, I was just so frazzled, I stayed in the bedroom with the baby using the excuse that he was nursing and fussy. That was the turning point for me and I spent the next few weeks doing different eliminations from my diet (they did not work by the way).

He was also riding in a Snugride BUT it was a tummy issue for us, we believe, since when we finally changed his feeding at 11 weeks, it was an INSTANT change- AND, he stayed in his Snugride till approx 7-8 mos when we got the Marathon. That said, he did LOVE the Marathon when we moved. But, he was happy as a clam in the Snugride after that 11 week mark. My 6 yo also loved her Snugride as a baby, also stayed in hers till 8 months or so.

Digestive issues aside, in my experience, and many that I have talked to, that 3 month mark often brings changes.

Some people DO have luck switching to a convertible, but I don't have experience with that.

Hang in there!

Gypsyphoenix · Mar 9, 2011

Ah, this is why the first three months are often called the "4th trimester". Due to the fact that humans are so much more complex than other species we really need an extra few months in the womb, but unfortunately that would make the baby too big to birth without killing mom. So the result? A newborn that really is more like a still developing fetus, whose body isn't quite ready to really function outside the womb (hence, digestion issues, etc). My son went through the same thing but like the above poster said, around 3 months things seemed to settle down, his body kicked into gear and he was a much happier kid (except now he's 15 months and hates the car seat again but this time because he is far too busy to be contained). Not much consolation now, I know, but as my playgroup leader frequently reminds us - this too shall pass.

7 week old hates Snugride

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