Prius and sleeping children

I don't think that it could be the ICE per se. If it was he would wake up every time you went down a hill or coasted. You did not say if he has been in another car and stayed asleep or if he is a Prius only baby.

 

hehe.. since i'm 21.. i can relate to this a little better. it's that drifting feeling along with the engine cutting out. ever remember falling asleep in the car as a kid and waking up when you got home.. but only after the car turned off?

i think it is the ICE. the rumbles make people sleepy. like jet lag. it's the jet engines that make people sleepy.. funny. you don't really hear them that much. jet lag is the low rumble. try driving a car all day.. you get really really tired at the end of the day.. speaking of.. i'm gonna go take a nap.

 

When my 20 month old sleeps in the car, he too is out. Last week, he fell asleep, we got home, I open and shut car doors, and he still stayed asleep. So I went to the gas station, filled up, went to the drive through, got home, and still had to nudge him awake.

I would bet that slightly older kids used to standard cars are trained to wake up when the engine shuts off, but will relearn quickly that it does not mean that they are home yet.

 

When I was a kid, I remember waking up after long trips home when we turned off the highway in town, or when we turned near the the house. Event changing highways didn't wake me usually. Or maybe it did wake at interchanges, grogily realized we were still out of range of home, went back to sleep and forgot I woke up.

 

I always get sleepy in the car as well. That is why I spent extra for the NAV system and cruise control.

 

ok its definately not the car. whenever we stop at a rest stop i wake up. in fact i went on a trip to new york with my entire AP art class and when the bus stopped everyone woke up

 

My 4 month old hates my car, she hates all three of them. There is a 50% chance she will scream bloody murder for the entire ride. The scream is so loud that I was once in another car and she was about 15 feet away, and all the windows were rolled up AND it was raining and I could still hear her with the radio on. It's absolutely deafening; my ears ring afterward. Nothing can be done to comfort her. I would swear that something is poking her, but I've checked the car seat thoroughly, and it seems fine.

The other 50% of the time, she tolerates the car ride, but never enjoys it. Honestly, it's usually the first half she'll put up with, and the return trip where she screams.

I'm at my wit's end. My wife and I have taken to just staying home. The baby has been this way since she was about three weeks old.

By the way, she LOVES the airplane. She's had 8 departures and landings thus far with two more coming in May. Giggles, sleeps, cuddles, just has a good time.

It's gotten to the point of bizarre because sometimes when friends are over and she won't sleep, they suggest that we put her in the car and drive her around. My wife and I only wish we could!

I just can't figure out what could be bothering her. She is otherwise not a complainer, will put up with just about anything, never colic, or tantrums, just likes doing whatever, seems fearless and curious about everything and everyone, except riding in the car.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm looking for something unorthodox; I've tried all the standard remedies like having someone ride in the back with her, hanging toys, more blankets, soft music, feeding while in the seat, a mirror to see forward, and more.

I'll try just about anything at this point.

Nate

 

Mild carbon monoxide poisoning. Young brains are very susceptible.

 

richard, is that a suggestion for a cause or a cure? ;-)

Nate

 

A not-very-serious suggestion for cause. I'd guess motion sickness.

 

This could be neurological. I had two sons I could have driven around the world with--they got in the car and were wonderful.

Then came son number three. He usually began his screaming after two or three blocks. He also hated grocery carts, whereas I had threatened to beg, buy, or steal some because the first two loved them so much. (I'm talking weeks-old here.)

At about three, the third child seemed to be late talking. We took him to a speech clinic at the local university. They said he had a terrific vocabulary, but would not learn to talk without intervention--go figure. Anyway, he had eight semesters of speech therapy, counting summers, before the first grade.

At the end of his second year, they did more extensive tests. The results showed that he had some very definite motor control difficulties. Swimming, tree-climbing, gymnastics etc., were recommended for improving gross motor control, which would then also help the fine motor control problems. He was actually too young for swimming lessons, but we enrolled him anyway. (He was very tall for his age.) When he began to learn the crawl, he looked like a one-arm swimmer--his left arm never showed. I had been afraid to let his older brothers climb our sycamore trees, but I followed directions and let this child. As a result, the older boys were struggling to shinny up poles for scout badges, but this one practically lived in the sycamore trees.

When this child was old enough for a paper route, I really dreaded all the trouble he was going to have chasing papers; but he had compensated well enough to handle it.

Another symptom he had as a baby, besides hating motions--he could not stand to have his back rubbed. When I burped him, I had to be very careful to pat his back in such a way that it didn't rub at all. We never had any experience flying, so I don't know about that.

It does seem odd to be writing this about my son who is over 6'5", has two engineering degrees, is back in law school, and (the best part) has a couple of wonderful pre-school children. And it may be totally different from what's going on with your child, but you my want to check it out as time goes on.

By the way, he very frequently takes his kids for a ride so they will go to sleep!!!

Beth

 

My two year old falls asleep in the car easier than any other place. I think it's like reading a book if you're actually tired, processing all the content (which in this case, is moving imagery) puts them right out.

 

Nate,

I strongly urge you to discuss this with your pediatrician. It probably is nothing to worry about, but if it is a problem, you need to address it ASAP.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ May 1 2005, 10:12 PM) [snapback]86366[/snapback]</div>

I doubt your kid has developmental problems like autism if it's just the car, and she's otherwise an easy baby. My guess is that she doesn't like being confined in the car seat...especially since it's probably still rear-facing.

Some things to think about:
1) Is she ever in the car seat during other times (being carried places, etc)?
Does she hate it even when the car seat's not in the car?
If yes, I'd try a different car seat. You can have her "test ride" a few before buying.

2) If the car seat doesn't bother her, try putting her in the car seat in the car (rear-facing), and just play with her there for awhile with the car parked/off. If she cries at first, then calms down using the usual techniques, after she realizes the car isn't moving, it's possible that she's getting queasy from riding backwards in the car. Not much fun, but eventually she'll get big enough to face forward.

3) Finally (at slow speeds and in a completely deserted parking lot), you could try riding with her unrestrained in the back seat in your lap. Is she still getting upset? In this case, she might just not like the car.

For what it's worth, I'm a pediatrician.