Friday, September 21, 2012

Is my Baby Carsick?

As someone who has always suffered from motion sickness, one of my first thoughts of when I had babies in carseats that were facing backwards was," wow that would make me really motion sick, I wonder if the baby could be feeling the same way?"
  This week my family will be embarking on a very long car ride followed by a  2 hour boat ride so again I visited this question of whether my babies could be feeling motion sickness and is there anything I can do about it. The fact is that motion sickness is the result of confusion between the eyes and the ears and this of course can occur in a person of any age and may very well be hereditary.
 After researching quite a bit about the issue I have come to the conclusion that my children are not currently showing any signs of having motion sickness and since the symptoms tend to get better with age, there is a good chance that they will never feel the effects of a choppy surf.
 If you have noticed that your kids are excessively sweaty, fussy, having an increased amount of saliva, or are continuously yawning while in the car, they may actually be feeling ill rather than sleepy. These are some of the main symptoms to look out for, and if they seem to resolve when the vehicle stops you may just have your answer.
 Prevention for young babies can be difficult as they are facing backwards and that can immediately cause eye/ear confusion. However, there are steps you can take to help; you can give your little one a clear view of the outside, try to remove shades that may block their view, and give them some fresh air, with a gentle breeze blowing on their face.
Some things can even be done before you leave the house. Avoid feeding baby while you are on the road or in the air. Also for long trips plan baby's naps around your travel. Sleeping through any travel will help baby feel less of the bumps and jostling that comes with any movement.
 I know how difficult it can be to travel with motion sickness, so I want to stress, if you feel that your baby or toddler may have some belly trouble when in motion just keep an eye out for some of the big clues. If it is to the point where you are seeing complete belly eruptions day in and day out it may be time to visit the Dr. and ask about some over the counter meds that make life a little easier on everyone and cut down on the travel time anxieties.

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