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I'm sorry. That can be so stressful. Have you determined that it's the car and/or car seat? It took me a long time to figure out LO hated the car seat because I was her pacifier and I obviously wasn't doing that job while driving.

I had a long and difficult labor/birth. DS was posterior and turned about 30 hours in when he was already in the birth canal. He HATED the car seat. We tried everything as well including buying a new convertible car seat. Finally I took him to a chiropractor and within two visits he was 90% better in the car seat!!! It was like night and day. She attributed it to the long labor.

I am so sorry--that is beyond stressful! It makes every minute an absolute eternity. I have had some luck with playing music loudly and singing along while reaching back trying to hold his hand. I have held a pacifier in once or twice (he won't take one anymore). The only thing that works reliably is keeping the car moving (so yeah, no real help there). I just try to keep talking/singing and hope he calms down. (And I sing everything to him-from Fancy to Frozen to Hotel California!)

My LO hated hated the car seat. I tried to put her in it every day even if we stayed home all day, to try and get her use to it. It did help taking out the head support. But really it just took time. If she fell asleep and the car stopped, she would wake up and cry. It was really stressful so I feel for you.

DD disliked the car seat too; I think it did help to switch her to a convertible "early" at 9 months. I think she mostly hated being so reclined and couldn't see anything.

@snowjewelz: same for us about the recline.

We switched to the convertible pretty early, like around 6m and it didn't make a huge difference. What finally helped was when he could watch something on the iPad. Not ideal but I always felt like someday I was gonna crash from the stress of his screaming and so some extra screen time was worth it! At one point in the infant seat I was able to get him to sleep and then transfer to car seat and he'd stay asleep... but that didn't always work and it never worked in the convertible seat.

Hang in there! I feel your pain. To this day I feel resentful in a weird way when I see moms toting their sleeping angel babies about in the car seat.

DS hated the car seat when he was little. My coworker suggested dipping his binky into gripe water and it seriously was a miracle. I kept a bottle in the car and would dunk it every time we put him in. Sometimes I would have to redunk, but usually he fell asleep! I also would roll down the windows and the breeze seemed to help. And constant singing. But it could only be me singing, not the radio or DH. He was a big fan of "in the jungle". Good luck. The screaming in the car is enough to make you crazy.

We are going through this now - every car trip is hell. Tried the head rest trick and she hates it just the same. Gahhhhh.

@jaguar: AJ too not too bad but definitely not a, fan