Bumbos came out when my second son was tiny. My friend got one for her baby, who was two weeks older than mine, but my crazy son didn't know he was an infant and sat up at 3 1/2 months :) So I couldn't see buying a $50 Bumbo for a kid who could already sit up. But they seem so nifty! I figured I'd wait until I had another baby, then I could buy one used.
My oldest sat up at 5 months, FYI. So far, my kids reach physical milestones on the early side.
So now I'm expecting #3, and I have been looking for a Bumbo on Craigslist. Then I remembered how much we used our bouncer (bouncy seat) right from the beginning (long before we could use a Bumbo, when the baby is a little blob). I gave our bouncer away a few years ago, so I bought another one on Craigslist for $10. It's not really bouncy so much as a rocker-style seat, but it'll do the job.
So now I am wondering if I'll even want a Bumbo? And what about Bumbo trays? Are they really all that useful (the trays, I mean)? I have used our high chair for playing with toys and sitting up high to be up at eye-level. And we have a new high chair that goes down low, too, so the baby can see/play with big brothers.
So I wonder if a Bumbo will be just another piece of baby gear that gets used a few times and clutters up the house! They're not exactly cheap, either. The cheapest ones I have found are $18, and some with trays are going for $35.
Moms with Bumbo experience, please advise!
Thanks for all the advice. My kids are big (9 pounders) and stay big (my 3 yr old looks the same as some of my 5 yr old's friends!) so they outgrow things quickly. I was very happy when the lady selling the bouncer said that she bought it because her kids are big and heavy and it's rated to something like 50 lbs (it converts into a child's rocker, too).
I think I'll wait until the baby's born, to see if this one is as big as my others. I like the idea of being able to sit outside, but then again, it'll be cold until the baby's 6-7 months old. No poolside or beaches!
I hadn't thought of it before, but if I buy one for a good price, I'm sure I can sell it for nearly the same price if we don't end up using it. That helps me not worry about the ~$20.
Thanks!
My daughter loves her bumbo with the handy tray. She sits and plays with her little toys. She can sit up, this is just cute and handy. She has a bouncy seat as well. I use both for change of scenery. Also, the bumbo can be used for potty training later.
The tray for the bumbo is not worth it. It falls off with the slightest touch. My little girl will only sit in the bumbo for a little while before she pushes her self to the side or arches her back, so I am always worried she is going to fall out. It is nice to have to take to the park or on outtings so she has somewhere to sit instead of lying down but you could probably live without one!
T.
This was neat, I like it, but my son outgrew it too fast. I would pick him up and the Bumbo would come with. He wasn't a particularly fat baby, just big in general. I liked having it, but as he would only sit in it for ten minutes at a time, it wasn't a real saver. Every baby is different though.
I got 2 bumbos as a gift for my twins. They really didn't like sitting in it. Usually they would cry. My son started getting out of it at a very early age. They much preferred the bouncer. I did use it to feed them once they were big enough for solids, mostly because I didn't have 2 boosters for them and we were in a tiny apartment with no room for 2 highchairs. I really would pass on the bumbo if I were you.
I've had friends that swear by their Bumbos and got a ton of use out of them. You say your children hit milestones early - mine did as well. I found that it was useful up until my kids wanted to start crawling - then they just wanted to get out of it. It was still useful after they sat up, but once they wanted to move - forget it.
I used one with my son and my now again with my almost 4 month old - she still gets tired holding her head up, so she can't sit in it long yet. I remember my son would always drop his toys and get frustrated because he couldn't pick them back up, so a tray might help with that. Overall, it is okay if you can get one cheap, but it has a very short life of usefulness. I'd take the infant seat over it any day.
LOVED my bumbo and used it daily with my 1st. It was also great to travel with. I have found that those who have not liked it were my friends with larger babies. My son is small for his age so we were able to use it until he was about a year old and then he could get out of it himself. My friends with bigger babies or at least with larger legs wouldn't fit in it early on or would get stuck. If your 1st was larger I would skip it but if your 1st was small like my son I couldn't imagine living without it.
We loved having a bumbo chair for our daughter. We used it long past the point that she could sit up by herself... up till she was almost a year old if I remember right. It gave her the feel of being included much more while we worked in the kitchen and during meal times for daddy & me. It stimulated a lot of social interaction between all of us. I would totally recommend them. Super easy to clean & to toss in the car for afternoon visits. If you are finding them for less than $25 that is a good deal. Ours was $45 or $49 news two years ago. We never had a tray with it, but I wish we had. It would have been really handy for snacks at grandma's house without the hassle of a full high chairs.
My daughter sat up early, but we still found the Bumbo seat to be awesome for the fours months she used it. I consider it a must have item for babies. If you can find one on Craigslist, I think you should definitely buy one...
I got one as a baby shower gift and my son did not like it he would kick him self back and almost fall out, so we gave it away to some one else, they said their son loved it.
I would wait and see how early he sat before I invested since your other children sat so early on their own and you do have the high chair you can have them sit in while the older children entertain him or her.
S.
mother to Kai
www.HomeWithKai.com
I got a Bumbo as a gift for my daughter and we use it alot. It is great for in the shower even after my daughter learned to sit up. It keep her contained and out of the way, but close enough to be safe.
I had both a Bumbo and a Bouncer when my daughter was little. We used the Bouncer a lot for the first 3 months, and less as she started to have good head control. At that point, we started using the Bumbo more. I really enjoyed having it, in addition to the high chair, because my daughter did not sit up well on her own until she was almost 8 months. So in the high chair, I had to tilt her back a bit. That made it harder to feed her. In the Bumbo, she was more upright, which made feeding easier. I also used it a lot when we ate out. I would just get an extra large table, and plop her and the Bumbo right on top while we ate. Made things quite easy. They are also great for the beach, the yard, grandma's house, the poolside ... basically anywhere you want to set down your child. They are portable, soft, easy to clean, and really do allow a child to sit upright before they can do so on their own (due to balance). So I liked it. And they are super durable, so you shouldn't have issues reselling it when they outgrow it, although it does make a great doll chair too.
Congrats on #3 and have fun shopping.
i don't have a bumbo, but one benefit to having one that i can see would be the portability, giving you an easy to clean place to spoon-feed a baby when you don't have a high chair, like grandma's house for instance. i use a booster seat i got at walmart for $15. it folds up and attaches to a dining chair, but food does get stuck in the cracks. so when i take the kids to my mom's for a few hours, either i have to clean the booster thoroughly first to take it with me, or improvise at my mom's with several towels to keep myself and everything else clean while feeding a wiggly baby. on picnics i have put the baby in the stroller to feed, but strollers can be hard to clean. a bumbo would be so much easier. do you have a Kid to Kid nearby? maybe you could find one cheaper there.
Hi S.,
Well my sister got a bumbo & her little man is tiny. But a day older than my daughter. He fit in it just fine...but we tried to get Josie in it & she looked like a giant in it & couldn't even sit properly. I wasn't interested in it for helping her sit up (our babies, sit, crawl, walk very early also) I just wanted someplace she could sit semi upright & enjoy herself. But she hated it! it was to confining.
I bought her a bouncer before she was born & it folded in half & we took it everywhere. She loved it for as long as she was small emough to use it. She was over 9 lbs., at birth so she outgrew many things. Hope this helps. G
Hi S.,
We were fortunate to have a bumbo given to us at the time of our daughters birth and I love it. We used it from a very early age (she had head control but little else) and still use it today - 12 months later. We have the tray and primarily use it to feed her but in the early days we would put toys on it and she could sit outside with us or we would (and still do) take it out to friends places. I love that it is portable so we can have it anywhere in the house and I think we will still be using it for another few months. As far as the bouncy seat, we have one and liked it and yes, we used it from day 1 but they are limiting when they get a bit bigger and want to see everything around them. Good luck in your search, if you get one, I know you will be happy you did!
K.
hello ok I use to work at babies r us and I had moms comeing in wanting them all the time, but we equaly had them returned. My advice to you is stick with the bouncer chair the bumbo is exstreamly pricey for what it is.
I would continue to use your high chair for play toy time no cence spending the money for another product that dose the same.
Also the material of the chair has a strange smell that bothered me so im shore it would iritate a baby. we also had a mager safety recal on them.... its fixed now so if you did get one from craigs list or ebay or another place like that make shore it is one that isent a past recal.
I hope this is helpful im not trying to stear you away,if its something you would realy like to try we did have a lot of moms who liked it but i just thought id let you no of some of the problems i seen persanaly.
congratulations on the new baby.
I tried a Bumbo with my third baby, and we haven't gotten much use out of it. A friend gave me hers to use and I bought a tray for $10, so I haven't spent too much money on it, luckily.
My son sat at an early age also (he's now 7 1/2 months old). Whenever I sat him in the Bumbo, he would bend all the way over to the floor or arch his back and has actually flipped out of it! He stays in there a little better with the tray though. He'll still sit in it for a short amount of time, but he's crawling too, so he doesn't like to be stationary for very long.
My advice is to skip it. It's a great concept, but if you have a Boppy pillow (or any other kind of pillows), you can help them practice sitting up safely. If you already have a bouncy seat, stick with that - they can be used earlier on and for a longer time. My kids have always enjoyed the swing and the exersaucers too!!!
BTW: I'm a mom of three boys! I was desperately hoping for a girl this last time, but I wouldn't change it for the world!! Good luck with your little blessing - whatever the sex may be! :)
I didn't even really use the bumbo til my son was starting to sit up,but I LOVE IT!! He uses it everywhere I need somewhere to set him for a minute... the kitchen, my bedroom, my bathroom while I get ready. I think he likes it better than a bouncer (he is 8 months old now), because he is actually sitting up instead of kinda just laying there. I even sit him in it in the bathtub while I take a shower (NOT when the tub is filled with water :-) ) and he just sits there with the water spraying on him. He loves it!! They are kind of for different things!! Also- I got mine at second hand kids for 25 bucks with the tray!! Good Luck!
