Bumbo Baby Sitter

Bumbo:
Helping young babies see the world for many successful years!

After we had baby-girl for several months, we had a friend with a baby one month older then baby-girl who was sitting up in a Bumbo, happy as can be! Well, we had to buy one, as baby-girl was getting restless in her swing, and couldn't sit up on her own yet, but since she had a strong neck, she was always craning to watch the world around her.

Bumbo Baby Sitters are a great chair for babies who have a strong neck and can support their own head, but can't yet sit on their own. At four months old, we finally bought one from Babies-R-US for about $30.00(although, probably a month earlier would have been nicer) and we were able to use it for a couple of months before she got too big.

Description:
The Bumbo Baby Sitter is a roundish, soft foam chair that is very sturdy. The baby sits in the hollow in the middle, with two leg-slots. The surrounding foam and the between-the-legs piece help to keep baby upright and stationary. They come in several colors, and our was a pleasant purple color. The surface is really easy to wipe and keep clean, even when baby has an...err...major accident! Bumbos can be used from about 2 months to 22 pounds, although our experience differed.

Our Experience:
The Bumbo worked great for several months, doing everything it should. It supported a happy baby-girl, let her see the world around her, and cleaned up easily. She was able to strengthen her neck muscles through sitting up, and she didn't fuss, as there are no straps, buckles, belts, or harnesses like all of her other seats. Then came the problems:

Problem #1: Baby-girl's legs are very chubby and they quickly became a little hard to get in and out of the smaller leg-slots. It could still be done, but it wasn't as comfy as could be.

Problem #2: Baby-girl is rather restless, and eventually found out that she could tip herself over if she really tried. Not good. We got rid of it that day.

All-in-all, the Bumbo was a great investment for early baby-hood, but I would never leave a baby unwatched in it, nor use it when they get bigger.

Important Safety Information
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Recalls: There was a recall on Bumbo seats that was to provide better instructions. The most important snippet follows (from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission):

"Hazard: If the seat is placed on a table, counter top, chair, or other elevated surface, young children can arch their backs, flip out of the Bumbo seat, and fall onto the floor, posing a risk of serious head injuries."
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08046.html