Three things about my son prompted my purchase of the Bumbo Seat. First, he had very strong neck muscles at just 2-3 weeks old. Second, he was a very independent baby and loved to just sit and observe the world around him, but he hated his swing and tired of his bouncer by about 4 months. Third, he began to roll to his tummy early on and would get frustrated that he was on his tummy and couldn't see the world around him. So I set about to find some way for him to sit independently and still be able to view everything going on around him. This is how I found the Bumbo Seat on BumboSeat.com.
What the heck is a Bumbo Seat?
Weird name, huh? I have no idea why it is called a Bumbo Seat, but I do know that it's a unique and memorable name. It's basically a different kind of infant chair. It's made of soft, low density foam that is as sturdy as plastic. It measures 10" in height and 15" in width. The back of the chair is rounded. The seat is slightly lower than the leg holes in order to allow for your baby's weight to help keep the seat in place. There is a center section separating the two leg holes and meant to help hold your baby securely in place by preventing them from sliding forward out of the chair.
The Bumbo Seat is available for $39.95 on BumboSeat.com, and more recently, has become available at Target and Babies R' Us for $39.99. You can find it in a variety of colors, including blue, aqua, yellow, lilac purple, or lime green.
Why would I get a Bumbo Seat when I have a booster seat or a highchair?
There are several reasons you might want a bumbo seat for your child.
First, it can often be used earlier than a lot of booster chairs or highchairs. The Bumbo Seat can be used as soon as your child has the capability to hold his head up fairly steady on his own. The recommended ages are 8 weeks to 12 months or 22 pounds.
Second, it's more portable than other chair types, because it is small in size and only weighs about 3 pounds. I actually saw a new bag carrier that onestepahead.com makes especially for the Bumbo Seat as well, but it's not necessary.
Third, it makes your child feel more independent than other chairs while not sacrificing their comfort level. There are no straps or trays on the Bumbo Seat, so it is more like your child's own little chair than it is another "trap" in which they can be contained. It can be set on any solid surface, but it should be kept at ground level due to the possibility of babies falling out (see my experience below). It's soft enough to make your baby feel cozy and comfortable while sitting in it.
Fourth, other chair types don't help your baby to strengthen his neck and trunk muscles while he is sitting in it. It's a good device for helping your baby to develop the muscles he will need to sit up on his own.
Fifth, it's just as easy to care for. The foam, make of polyurethane, is easily wiped free of any messes it encounters. Just use soap and hot water to clean up the Bumbo Seat. Do NOT use it in the bathtub, however: this is per manufacturer recommendation. It's not meant to be saturated!
Our experience with the Bumbo Seat Regrets
I wish we had purchased the Bumbo Seat much earlier than we did. I didn't order mine from bumboseat.com until my son was 4 months old. In retrospect, I wish I had purchased one when he was 2 months old and holding his head up well. Anyway, as it were, we purchased and began using it when he was 4 months old. Unfortunately, for us, we just barely got 2 months of use out of it.
Initially, it met my son's and my approval
My son loved his Bumbo Seat when we first put him in it. Of course, he seems to love anything at all that is new in his world. I set him in the Bumbo Seat as soon as the UPS man, who my son also loves, dropped it off at our doorstep. At 4 months and approximately 15 pounds, he fit perfectly in the chair with plenty of room for growth. He immediately placed his hands on the foam leg separation as if he were sitting on a saddle. Of course, I then proceeded to take 100 pictures of him smiling while sitting in the Bumbo Seat with high hopes that he would become the next spokesmodel for the product!
Daily & versatile use
My son used this seat at least once a day for the first month that we had it. He would sit in it on the floor of the bathroom while I showered. He'd sit in it when we made trips to the park to have a picnic lunch. He sat in it at Grandma's house, and we even purchased an extra one to keep at daycare. Our daycare provider loved it so much that she bought it from us for use with other future children!
Mommy, I'm too tired to support all this brain weight!
While in the Bumbo Seat during his 5th month, my son was very happy. He would sit and look around, watch our two cats run back and forth just close enough to tease him but far enough away that he couldn’t grasp their tails. He would chatter away at us from the kitchen chair while we made dinner. He never had a problem sitting up in the chair unless he was very tired. When tired, he would lose his great head control and become a little floppy so that it just seemed mean to make him try to sit in the Bumbo Seat when he could lie back in the bouncer chair and rest.
A few problems surfaced after the first month
Once he hit 5 or 5 ½ months, I began to have some concerns. My son was now rolling constantly from tummy to back and vice-versa and always trying to do sit-ups in his carseat and bouncer. So it seems that the Bumbo Seat would be perfect, because he liked to be more upright. But he no longer liked to be so confined. He would sit in the Bumbo Seat for about 10 minutes and then start to get fussy and throw his head and neck back in a large stretch position as if trying to lean far enough back to fall out of the seat. He would continue to fuss and do this over and over until we took him out of the seat and then was all smiles again. He would also lean forward to try to grab his feet and anything else in front of him. In doing so, one of his legs would sink further back into the seat and the other would be so far out that his foot was touching the floor. Not a comfortable-looking position.
One big scare is enough for me!
I knew the honeymoon was over with this product when one day, he was sitting in his Bumbo Seat on the floor next to me while I folded some laundry. I held up a pair of pants to fold and in just an instant, while trying to reach for the pants, he toppled himself out of the seat. Luckily, he didn't have far to fall and had a soft landing, so he wasn't hurt. But he was startled and angry and I was terrified. Since that day, he has been in his Bumbo Seat maybe 2 or 3 times with lots of very close supervision. This is not the use I hoped to get out of a product that has a suggested life-span of up to a year of age.
Final Thoughts
If you have a very independent or squirmy baby like mine, the Bumbo Seat may not be worth the money. I would suggest it if you purchase it closer to 2 months so that you can get more use out of it, but not much later, because you may find yourself putting it away for good at 5 or 6 months. However, I do recommend it for those who have babies that will more contentedly sit in one position for awhile and not try to move around so much.
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