Bumbo Sitter

Before I had Atlas, there were two things that I was very concerned that we have in order to be Ready for baby. One was a cloth diaper stash (I had over 60 before I hit the third trimester!) and the other was a bumbo sitter.

If you're not familiar with bumbos, they are a soft foam seat designed to help your infant sit up before he/she is truly able to sit on their own. They provide excellent support for baby's torso, allowing him to interact and play without being held by an adult. Bumbos have a detachable tray, so baby can snack or have toys easily available. Its a pretty neat item, and it was one that I thought my baby MUST have.

I was lucky enough to have a friend purchase one for me in snazzy orange. I eagerly awaited the right time frame to try it out on Atlas (manufacturer states its for 1 month and up). At about three months, we put him in it for the first time - lo and behold, my baby can sit! Alas, he listed to one side, not quite ready. Two weeks later we tried again, this time using it in the bathtub to change up our nightly routine. Success! Atlas loved being surrounded by water while sitting securely and played happily. It is very important to note that using the bumbo in the bath required me to keep my hands on it at all times, as it was fairly buoyant. Babies should never be left unattended in the seat, and certainly not in the bath. In fact, the seats were briefly recalled a few years ago when babies were falling from high surfaces while in the bumbo. That sounds like user error to me, and not the products fault. So, requires supervision but still, very fun.

All in all, we liked the bumbo. However, it is a niche item, useful only for a few months while baby is too tiny to sit by himself. It comes with a hefty price tag ($49.99 at target.com for a bumbo with tray) for such a small window of use. They are usually available on Craigslist for $20 or so used, but even that seems like a steep price to me for what is essentially a hunk of foam. LOVED the bumbo as a gift, but I'm not sure that I would purchase it on my own after trying it.