A big bums down from me! (Bumbo Baby Seat)

Member Name: Claribella

Product:	Bumbo Baby Seat
Date:	14/05/09 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for feeding

Disadvantages: Squeezes the childs legs and restrictive

The bumbo is a chair that looks like a potty but is a seat that aids babies in sitting up when they aren't able to. It's suitable from around four months old and will cost around £30 if you purchase it new. They come in various different colours including red, blue and pink, so there is one to suit your little prince or princess.

I am not one of these parents that likes to be manipulated by society into thinking that I am bad parent if I don't buy every new baby product going. When I started seeing these appear I was not about to run out and buy one and I still stand by that now. Well why are you reviewing then? I hear you ask. Well my friend leant me hers so I could try it on Elijah, my second child.

I am still in two minds about this seat; sometimes I like the idea but other times I am not so keen.

I am a great believer in letting a child develop at there own pace without pushing them to get a move on. I believe that this seat goes against all of my rules because you are pushing them to develop the muscles needed to beable to sit especially if you sit them in it at four months old. In my opinion a four month old baby shouldn't be sitting upright, they should be enjoying the world from a vertical position under a play mat.

With both of my boys there have been a inbetween stage where they have been too big for their bouncy chair but haven't had the abilty to sit up. With Noah I used to prop him up with some pillows which did the job and was a lot cheaper than the bumbo.

The thing I really don't like is that when you sit the child in the chair, the material that fits around the legs is very snug. Elijah isn't a big baby but it squashes his legs and I was always a little worried about leaving him in it for too long for fear of cutting off his blood supply. I would imagine if you had a bigger baby then it might be a problem getting them in the chair.

I found that Elijah wasnt too keen in sitting in the chair for a long time . Maybe he got a little tired of having to support himself. He is very laid back and was much happier rolling around on the floor. He also prefered the bouncy chair because atleast he could bounce himself whereas the bumbo has hardly any give so he could barely move his body. It's just very restrictive.

On the other hand I found it good for sitting him in it to feed him as I would pop him on the table and do it but this did cacuse a few problems as my two year old then wanted to sit on the table and eat. After I while I decided to prop him up in the high chair which worked better.

Over all I do think this chair is a bit of a waste of money and I'm really glad that we didn't actually purchase it ourselves.

Summary: At the end of this review I have come to the conclusion that I don't like this product.