See, Hank hates the car. Hates it. H to the A to the T to the E to the S. HATES it. I've tried using car seat toys to occupy him. I've tried covering the whole seat with a blanket to avoid overstimulation. I've tried putting him in after being fed. I've tried putting him in after he's taken a nap. I've tried putting him in when he's sleepy. I've tried lots of things. After all of these experiments, there are three things I've discovered:
1. Opening the window will keep him from crying for at least 5 minutes.
2. Turning on 90s rock helps him settle (a kid after my own heart... he likes Live!)
3. Hank hates the car.
Now, the funny thing about 1 and 2: whenever I open the windows, Johnny DEMANDS that they be closed (he's always hated having the windows open) and if I'm playing anything other than Johnny's CD, he DEMANDS that I turn his "songs" on... but Hank hates Johnny's songs.
Basically, I can't win in the car. If Johnny's songs are on/the windows are closed, Hank is upset and Johnny can't sleep. If Johnny's songs aren't on/the windows are open, Hank is quiet and Johnny is upset. Catch-22.
Until last Saturday, when this happened:
on my commute yesterday, i was having PTSD flashbacks to january-march, when i enjoyed 45-minute screamfests 2x/day, and i was thinking how much harder it would be with 2 kids. man.
ReplyDeletewhich brings me selfishly to this question. do you have any advice for night driving? i H to the A o the T to the E once the time changes because we are in the dark on the way home. i vowed to investigate this on the internets today, but if you have any insights... :)
Insights... hmmm... I know that Johnny got significantly better in the car when I found a CD of songs that he liked. Oh, and when he was finally able to eat snacks in the car. Is there any way you can give Violet breakfast in the car? She will be so busy chowing down that she won't be crying for at least a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI know other moms use the DVD players in the car for long commutes like yours. I know there's a stigma about putting your kid in front of a movie but I would listen to the dialogue of "Cars" 400 times rather than listen to my child scream for 1.5 hours a day.
Sounds like hank is a lot like jack when it comes to cars. Which hopefully should mean that Hank will get better soon?....hope so!
ReplyDeletewe're definitely all about snacks and the cds she'll tolerate (ugh). it's just rough when it's dark out. she does have that fisher price phone with the digital screen that i've seen featured in some of johnny's photos, and that's good for 5-10 mins.
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