Not Suitable For A Wanna Be Houdini! (Bumbo Baby Seat)

Member Name: chrisandmark

Product:	Bumbo Baby Seat
Date:	09/03/08 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfortable for Hollie to sit in, a nice design, provides support for babys back

Disadvantages: Despite the manufacturers claims, baby CAN escape so do keep an eye out!

When Hollie was around three months old I realised I wasn't an octopus and couldn't actually use one arm to hold her 24 hours a day AND do all the cooking and cleaning I needed to do around the house. She's definitely one of *those* babies who want picking up all the time and she has always hated lying down unless she was tired.

A friend of mine suggested I buy a Bumbo so Hollie could get used to being on her own and have a small amount of independence in that she would be sitting by herself. With the added bonus, of course, of freeing up my hands to get on with the housework.

A Bumbo is a clever design, one of those 'in yer face' products that should have been invented years ago as it's such a simple concept. It looks like a bulky potty with a high (in baby standards!) back and a central post which will go between babys legs when you sit him/her into it. It is designed to give support to the babys back and neck, although if your baby isn't supporting her own head properly I definitely wouldn't recommend using a Bumbo just yet as she would probably be more comfortable in a bouncy chair.

Hollie loved her Bumbo from the very first time I sat her in it. It's made of a soft, flexible plastic so she can sit in comfort; when she is first put in the Bumbo she'll shuffle her little bum around to get comfortable which is sweet to watch, but also shows me that there is enough flexability for her to move a little in order to get into the best position for her body. She doesn't appear restrained despite the fact that the central post kind of clamps her legs into the Bumbo to stop her escaping.

Well, the theory behind the Bumbo is that it is supposed to stop baby getting out of the seat and causing havoc around the house. I say Bumbo are underestimating the average baby. Hollie is nine months old now and long ago discovered that if she twists herself towards the back of the Bumbo she can usually manage to cartwheel herself out of it and onto the floor. Sometimes this means the Bumbo comes with her and she ends up lying on her tummy wearing the seat like a kind of turtle shell, and other times she'll just force her way out and leave the Bumbo where it was. Hey, ho... where can I buy a baby strait jacket from???

Having said that, I personally find the Bumbo to be very stable (that is when Hollie isn't using her surprising strength to escape) and she can twist and turn to pick up her toys without overbalancing it. It's made of a smooth non-slip material which means that when she's using it in the kitchen where we have tiles she can't use her feet to kick/slide herself across the floor.

The Bumbo is an attractive piece of baby furniture, as can be seen in the photograph above. You have a choice of several staple colours in the range, the one above is aqua, and occasionally Bumbo will bring out a special colour edition which are only available for a certain amount of time. All the colours are bright and obviously picked with baby thought processes in mind. You can also buy Bumbo accessories such as the 'Play Tray' which clips onto the front of the seat and gives baby a flat surface where she can play with her toys or feed herself some finger foods. In retrospect I should have probably bought one of these trays as it would have cut off Hollies escape route!

I bought my Bumbo in Babies 'R' Us as part of a multi-buy deal so paid significantly less than the usual price of £28. They are available online and in most stores which stock a large selection of baby products. Alternatively look on eBay where they are selling from as little as £9 at the moment - at nine months old, Hollie is now crawling around so doesn't like being restricted in her Bumbo so if you buy a second hand one you can be fairly confident that it hasn't had too much use and often the ones on eBay look to be brand new. One thing to look out for if you're buying second hand is that there is no hairline crack at the base of the post (facing inside the seat) as some babies force their legs out so sharply that the post will bend backwards and could possibly break off rendering the seat unusable.

To sign off, when I said earlier that it looks like a potty... My aunt visited a week or two ago and I noticed she was blatently ignoring Hollie while she was sitting in front of the TV in her Bumbo. When I asked her why she said she thought Hollie was 'doing her business' and didn't want to disturb her! I know I like to potty train my kids' early but give the baby a chance!

Summary: Give your baby some independence and free up your arms!