Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Bumbo Seat

Many of you reading this have probably heard of the bumbo seat, have seen one, or possibly own one. I first saw them on the message boards at ivillage, where I post and communicate with a group of moms who have kids born around the same time as Chandler. I was curious, but they sold for $40 so I decided to do some research before I bought one. After a week of looking around, I decided to order one.


Pros: Your baby can sit in this seat from the time they can support their head, so it varies depending on your babies' development. The manufacturer's recommended age is 8 weeks to 12 moths. The bottom of the inside of the seat (where your child actually sits) is lower than the part where your child's legs come out. Because of this design, is is easy for your child to sit up in this seat. It has great back support too and allows your child to use muscles that will help them to sit up later. I used to bowl on a bowling league and would bring the bumbo seat for Chandler to sit in. He was 3-5 months at the time. He was so happy to sit in it and see what was going on. It is made of a durable foam material which makes it extremely light and easy to move around from room to room. It also seems like it would be very comfortable and is easy to clean - just wipe it down. We also have used this for feeding purposes. It is great when you start feeding your child solids but they aren't quite big enough to sit up in a high chair. I know there is a tray also available for $9.95 fits onto the bumbo. It measured 10" in tall and 15" wide and can be used until a child's hips are too big to fit in it. This chair is extremely durable too. We used it with Chandler who is now almost 3 years old and have used it with Rowan, (8 months) Chandler is well over 30 lbs now and when we first got the bumbo out to use with Rowan he wanted to sit it in again. He has done so many times and the bumbo still has held up great. It comes in 5 great colors too! This is also a great seat for children with special needs.

Cons: Depending on the nature of your child you may or may not get a lot of use out of this seat. Chandler started sitting in it at 2 1/2 months. He loved being independent and able to look around. However, by 5 months he was arching his back and trying to get out of the seat. If he arched his back and threw his weight backward he was able to get out of the seat. Rowan started sitting in it at 3 months and did well until about a month ago. So we really only got about 4 months use out of it both times. It was definitely worth it to me though as we will put it in storage and use it again. I also remember about a year ago reading about a parent who was pursuing lawsuit. The parent put their child on an elevated surface in the bumbo and the baby fell out and sustained a head injury. Bumbo now puts a warning on their seat not to use on an elevated surface, and that children may be able to get out of it as they get older. Come on, really - did you need a warning to know that your child could eventually get out of a seat that they aren't strapped in to?

Price: $39.95


Rating: Great

3 comments:

Cassandra said...

Mady was exactly the same way, arching her back to get out. At first it was amazing though, it was worth getting.

Jayme Q said...

Our Bumbo was only $20! I don't know if it would have been worth twice that. Tristan always tried to throw himself out of it when he was littler; now that he can sit up, he loves it. Strange kids! My nephew is 7 and he also really likes it, and it hasn't fallen apart yet, so I think this is a good purchase.

Holly Mayer said...

We loved our Bumbo but Arora has chubby legs and out grew it really fast.