Opinions Regarding Using Bumbo Type Seats

Hi! I bought one (not Bumbo brand) for my 5 month old son (he's 9 mos now) and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!! I put him in it for mealtimes and playtimes. He likes it and it is convenient and easy to keep clean. I almost never leave him in it unattended (and only in the floor when I do). Hope that helps you make a decision - if you use it right, I think you'll really like it.

I love the Bumbo! I had never heard of it when I had my first child and at about 5 months I got concerned that he was not sitting up yet. At that time I went back to work and he stayed with a babysitter who had a little girl with cerebral palsy that she sat in the Bumbo often so she could sit up. Once she started putting my son in it, he started sitting up on his own within a couple of weeks. It's designed so that it helps them learn to sit up on their own and won't tip over because the bottom is wider than the top. (You'd have to have a pretty strong baby to tip it over!) My son loved being able to sit up and play with toys where as before he would fall over and have to lay on his side to play. I recommend getting one, their great!

Hi K.,
I used the Bumbo seat with my son who is now 8 months old. It is really great for getting them to strengthen up their trunk muscles and since their body wieght actually supports them, they are free to use their arms more too. I always had him on the floor with it and I was nearby to watch him. All of they hype a few months ago about babies tipping out of them was a bit over the top. I think those cases were caused by neglectful/inattentive parents who put their child in a dangerous situation to begin with. HTH.

I LOVED our Bumbo seat. I kept it in the car and brought it into resturants as soon as my daughter was holding herself up and put it right on top of the table while we ate. She could see, everyone thought she was cute. To me it was invaluable. I have had no problems with her falling out, of course I never left her in it unattended either. We used it until she was about 16 months old. I wish they'd had the little tray when I got mine.

They are fantastic!!! I know it has age requirements but the back of the bumbo rises up high enough that I think we started using it at 6 months. We used it on the kitchen counter to feed her or so that she could be high enough beside me while I cleaned the kitchen. We sat her in it in the living room on our coffee table while we did things there. I also have a stand up shower that I put a chair in and put her in the bumbo on the chair so that I could get a shower with her. We have a sprayer in the shower so that the water didn't come down on her.
It was worth the money!!!
I can't say whether it had anything to do with muscle development or coordination but it never got in her way or ours. She was more stable in the bumbo than anything we tried to sit her up into. To me it felt like it hugged her body...so to speak.

I have one of those seats just languishing in my closet as we speak. I wanted my son to use it (he's now 7 months), but he didn't like it at all. My sister-in-law had one for my niece who is 1 now, never told me that her child hated it too!! If you can get one at a garage sale or something for cheap, try it. Otherwise, I'd just save that money for something else!!

We used the Bumbo seat with our son and he loved it. I think it helped him to sit up on his own better. I definitely think that it is a good product when used properly. Good luck!

i absolutly loved my bumbo!!! i know they have gotten some bad press lately with children coming out of them, and yes eventually mine did also, but if you use common sense and don't put your child high up or leave them unattendend it should be fine. have you considered purchasing the tray? I did, so i was able to attach toys and put out snacks for my son and he enjoyed it. the bumbo was also a convienent alternative to a high chair when we went to a resturant, especially in a booth.also, i do believe that it helped develope his muscles, he was holding his head and sitting up before the other children his age (just a little).

I loved our Bumbo! We would take it with us when we traveled so our son always had a comfortable seat even at relative's homes or restaurants. Best baby gift ever!

We used it and loved it. It was great to use when we 1st introduced food, to set up on the table. We took it to restaurants and set her up on the table so she could actually see everybody. We started to use it before she could set up on her own, this gave her and us more opportunities to interact. Of course you never leave her unattended up on a high surface. I would set her in it on the floor and be able to pick up the house. It served many purposes for us and will most definitely be used with our future children!

We had one of those type of seats...I think ours was called a Bebe pod or something. We loved it. Of course, we always kept it on the floor. Our daughter thought she was so big sitting up in it. It was perfect for when she was just learning to sit up. She's very stubborn and wanted to sit up, but just didn't have the muscle strength yet....plus it would free me to do things and her still be able to sit up without someone sitting behind her. :) By the way, my daughter was about 4 months old when we started using it. It was great for feeding her too!

My husband and I used a Bumbo seat for my son when he was little. It was fabulous. We frequently used it to feed him before he was big enough for the highchair. I highly recommend the Bumbo. I bought one for my sister's baby (who is now about to turn 1) and they used it all of the time as well. I think my son enjoyed it because he felt some independence.

Hi,
I'm a pediatric physical therapist and we will sometimes use bumbos during therapy, however I wouldn't say they help muscle development and coordination much. What they do well is to help a baby who can't sit up well sit safely without falling over. It gives you a chance for some face to face time, much like a swing or bouncy swing would, but without the motion. It is especialy good if your baby is having some flattening of the head from lying on her back too much. It keeps pressure off of the head much better than a swing or bouncy seat.
They are definitely great if not over-used. At 3 months the most important position for muscle development and coordination is lots and lots of tummy time.

I got one for my daughter after my pediatrician recommended it to me. I used it during play time but I also got alot of use for it when we went out to eat. My husband and I would request a booth and then we'd each sit on one side and place the bumbo on the table. We also bought the tray that goes with it...so she was able to sit up at our level and she was also able to see what was going on around her. It was great. I'm expecting my second and plan on doing the same. Also, just like everyone else said, the recall was really just to say don't put your child in a bumbo on a countertop and walk off.
Hope this helped!

My best friend had a Bumbo seat that she got from her friend. It helped my little girl learn to sit up straight, instead of slouching over. It only lasted a few months, and then her legs got too big for it.

i didn't use for my daughter, but wish i had. i use it now for my son. my daughter was in an early start therapeutic playgroup and the physical therapist used the bumbo seat for the younger kids (my daughter was too old for it and didn't need at that point, but I think she could have benefitted from it when she was younger). My son is 4 months old now and I just started using it. I think it helps them develop trunk strength much better than a reclining in a bouncy seat, etc. of course, i only use it on the floor. i sit on the floor by him and talk to him and show him toys, etc. i know there were some problems and recalls because some people were using it up on surfaces so the child could be at their level. you need to keep it on the floor and get down at their level to interact with them while they are in it. even if you are nearby, they fall so quickly you can't grab them on time. i think it is important to use it on the floor, like the directions say. i have a 4 year old daughter and over the years she has fallen a few times in different situations (off a play structure once and I was on the structure with her a few steps behind her and she fell off a drop off) and each time I was close by and I am also struck by how quickly they fall!

I LOVED LOVED LOVED mine. (Of course my son did too.). I used it to feed him for a while before he "graduated" to a high chair, and he enjoyed sitting in it more than being propped up in his boppy of with pillows.

M.

We bought a Bumbo seat for my daughter (now 5 months) for Christmas. She loves it! It gives her a way to sit up all on her own and she smiles so much when she is sitting in it.

I think that you should use them as long as you are not putting them up on tables or counters or something. That is the only reason they came out with the stuff about the seats is because someone put their baby up on a counter. They didn't have warnings about that in their literature. Just be logical and you and your baby will be fine.

I love my Bumbo seat!! My daughter has used Bumbo since she was 2 months old. She started to sit up by herself at 4 1/2 months old. I think it is from using those muscles while sitting in Bumbo. As long as you always monitor your child and never sit them on a raised surface, the Bumbo seat is perfectly safe.

I just recently bought one for my 5 month old daughter. It says it can be used in as young as 3 months, but I wanted to make sure she was able to hold her head up good. She gets tired of laying on her tummy and back to play. This was just something a little different when we are all on the floor playing. She used it for the first time last week and absolutely loved it. My brother used one for his nephew and they even put it in the bathtub. My nephew didn't like the reclining style baby baths and this was perfect. They just had to dry if off. No big deal.
J.

I loved my seat. My daughter sat in it and enjoyed the ability to sit up. I never left her unattended in it. I also enabled her to play with some toys that she would not be able to enjoy while laying down. There is a tray now that you can put toys etc. on, however it is not intended to "lock the baby in". As your baby gets older..about 9 months or so she may begin to attempt to crawl out of the seat. That is when I stopped using mine for fear it would flip. The seat is very safe. The recall was due to just what you stated...someone actually put her baby on top of a table with it! I think they should recall some of these idiot parents instead of the toys. Enjoy your seat.

I've been using a Bumbo with my 6 month old son for about a month now. He really works and wiggles in it. He sits up staighter and stronger now when he is out of it. I think I like it more than he does though. But he likes it better than any tummy time, so we use it as our compromise for that muscle work.

I LOVE the Bumbo seat! It is my favorite compared to other brands that claim to be the same. The bumbo is softer than other brands. I started using it at about 3 months and he loved it. He loved being able to sit up and see what wa going on. Now they make the trays that fit on them which are really helpful too! That's a favorite gift I like to give for baby showers! I don't know that it helps much with coordination since they are just sitting there, but I would say it helped to build muscle strength.

K.,
I have had a bumbo seat for awhile now (my son is 9 months) I just got him a tray to go on it this weekend and it's GREAT! He will sit in that and play with toys or watch cartoons and it's a life saver. I would def. say get one! Obviously, don't put it on any surface where she could fall. ;) Get it, it will be a total life saver!

Hey K.,

My son is only 5 1/2 months old. I received a Bumbo seat as a shower gift from my MIL. When she heard of the recall, she told me I could take it back if I wouldn't. I didn't because after reading the recall I thought I would not leave them sitting on an elevated surface unattended. I've used it a couple of times and he seems to like it. I use it alot when I do laundry so he can be in the same room as me and we can talk or something like that. I think it's great and I sure it helps development the muscle for sitting up.

We had a Bumbo seat for my daughter. I thought it was great. It helped her sit up and play while I played with her and while I did a few other things too - like getting ready in the morning. I think it helped teach my daughter how to sit up faster too. No way to really tell, that's just personal opinion, but I do feel it helped my daughter with her muscle development. Plus it gave her a different perspective too - she enjoyed it. I will say the one thing that I found was in the summer when she wore dresses in the seat, her legs would sometimes stick, so I do recommend putting pants on your child when they're going to be in the seat. Best of luck to you. And enjoy your little one.

my grandson was born a preemie and he has a bebe pod and my daughter really loved it . He used his an awful lot and he will turn 1 next saturday . They are really wonderful for helping kids.

Oh my goodness, yes, get a bumbo seat! They are wonderful! Our son was about 4 months old when we aquired one (from a friend) and he loved it! This way he was siting up and could see, and it definitely gave us a break from having to hold him all the time. (hes a chunk!) We could sit him on the pew at church in between me and my husband and he just loved it! Even now, hes 13 months old, he walks over to and sits in it and watches tv... go for it! its great!

I have a 17 mth old and I thank God that someone came up with the Bumbo. We loved it and so did he. He was able to sit up by himself faster and he loved sitting in it to be fed. I recommend it.

K.,
My son is now 2 1/2 but when he was 4-7 months I used a Bumbo. Loved it! It really only works sitting on the floor - I tried it on the couch once, so that our big boy could veg with the rest of us and he wiggled it right over on it's side.
As soon as your daughter is able to pull herself out of it, it's time to pass it on.

We loved the bumbo! We would use it to feed Nicholas. We even set it up on the table (we never left him unattended when on the table) so that he could see what was going on. We used it like this until he was around 6 months old and doing well in the high chair.

I also used it when cooking dinner. I'd set it up on the countertop so that he could watch me...again, never leaving him unattended or in harms way of anything.

I don't know how much it helped him, but he loved being able to watch what we were doing and I'm sure he picked up a thing or two from that. He kinda grew out of liking it around 6 or 7 months...about when he could sit up and get around on his own.

I have 3 children and I wish they were around when mine were infants. Now I work with infants once a week during Sunday morning services. I think the bumbo seats are great as long as you do not leave the babies unattended. I think it helps develop the muscle coordination. In my observation the babies are reaching for toys and learning to control their hand-eye coordination. It also assist in developing the muscles in their back and neck. You have the freedom of having boths hands free to feed and play with them in an upright position.

This is my person opion and observation.

The Bumbo seat is wonderful. I used it for play time with my boys & feeding time, too. I would purchase the lap tray for it. I didn't see them until after my boys were through using them.
I fully believe that they helped when it came time to sit alone because they were used to sitting in the Bumbo. I would start with just a minute & then gradually work up to 10 - 15 minutes because they tire easily at first.
Best wishes!

I LOVE my Bumbo. I bought it when my son was a baby and I used it to let him play and I fed him in it. Now with my daughter I use it so much more. She sits in it while I cook dinner, so she can see me, she plays in it with her brother, and I even give her baths while she is sitting in it. It was, by far, the best piece of baby equipement I have ever bought.

I used the Bumbo with my third child and wondered how I got along without it with the other two children. I cannot prove it, but I do think that her neck muscles developed sooner and she was able to sit sooner than my other two. As she got older, she arched her back and it seemed that she would come out of the Bumbo, but she was never able to get out. I placed her on the dinner table for family dinners and she loved being able to look and interact with everyone. I did place her on elevated surfaces (there was not a recall at the time), but we were always right there when she was up high. If you use it sensibly, everything should be fine. Good luck!

I too loved our Bumbos...I had one for each twin...and hated that I didn't know about it with my 1st daughter. We used them at about 5 months......very easy to clean, makes snacking easier than in the high chair!
And the resell on them are almost as good as what you paid for it! :)
Best Wishes!!!
T.