Some parents find that they can use a back pack style baby carrier to soothe the kind of baby who doesn't settle in a baby seat. Carrying the baby on the back allows for hands free functioning that permits housework and other tasks. If you want to try this route, make sure you get a carrier that is easy for you to manage on your own and that provides good support. Use it only a few minutes a day for the first few days, gradually building up your strength (remember, these are muscles that aren't used to carrying a weight on them!). After the first week you might manage 15 minutes at a time (depending on how heavy your baby is). As you use the carrier more and more, you'll eventually be able to leave the baby on your back for hours if you want to! Now, some people don't want to try carriers or can't because of back problems. If that is your situation, you will find yourself holding your baby with one hand while you try to do things (unless you want to hear unrelenting screaming while you leave the baby in her seat). In order to help your body with that strain, you can utilize a side carrier or sling of some kind to at least help distribute the baby's weight more evenly across your body. This can save you back problems later. If you don't want to carry the baby at all, then leave her in her seat. If you are lucky, she'll learn to enjoy the chair and stop crying after a couple of weeks. If you're not, it will be noisy in your house for now butthe baby will eventually stop crying even if this takes months to accomplish. During this period, see if you can get hired help to take over some of the household tasks while you relieve the baby from her chair more frequently. It's really important to keep your own standards quite low in the first year after a baby is born - it is really hard for any mother to accomplish much during this period and almost impossible for a mother with a baby who won't sit or lie quietly. So be gentle on yourself and the baby and wait - the year will pass more quickly than you can imagine.
Sarah Chana