The BUMBO seat.

I honestly cannot decide if I think this is a brilliant or a completely unnecessary baby item. Maybe my reasoning to this is that my son seemed to like it alright (but not for long, or for long stretches at a time), and my daughter hated this chair. She actually managed to squirm herself out of it the third time she sat in it at a very young age. Needless to say we have a nearly unused PINK Bumbo seat gathering dust somewhere. 

The blue Bumbo that my son used two years earlier was returned to a friend. It was one of the few items that I was clever enough to borrow at the time (although it was horribly worn-out and looked like bugs had permanently moved into it when it arrived at our house).

With that said, I know babies that have been very content sitting in a Bumbo, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. It probably depends on the baby's personality. I also had some friends that took showers with their babies while the babes were nicely planted in the sitter, (although this may be dangerous and against the Bumbo usage rules, not sure). It worked great for them.

One of the things moms frequently use this seat for is as baby's first "high chair" when they start solid foods. Babies can sit upright (by 6 months they should be able to sit upright with or without the Bumbo, but oh well), and you can buy a tray that attaches to the chair as a table for appropriate finger foods. I think I did this once or twice with our son but could never figure out a good spot for the seat and him. The table and kitchen counter or anywhere "off the ground" is a very dangerous place for a Bumbo seat + baby (don't ever, ever, ever do it, there have been numerous reports of injuries) and a regular kitchen chair seemed a bit wobbly/unreliable with a Bumbo and a squirmy 6 month old on top of it. The floor just seemed, well, like the floor. 

I can see this seat getting good use in a daycare or share-care setting for example, where there is a lot of action and things to look at. My kids got bored too quickly in it, even with toys in their hands.

So, in my humble opinion:

Pros:

- It's a way to give your arms a break, weather it's a short or a long one. (Think bathroom break, arms free but baby in sight).

- You don't need to worry about your baby falling backwards when he/she first learns to sit.

- A baby may feel delighted at first to be able to sit in this seat, since they really can't do it on their own yet.

- Tray table for finger foods or toys can be helpful in certain situations.

- It's brilliantly designed (but brilliant doesn't always mean 'necessary').

- Lightweight

- Easy to clean.

Cons:

- I'm sure it depends on the baby, but being stationary in a chair low on the ground does not necessarily guarantee a happy baby, at least not for long (unless there are other small, busy people running around the baby).

- The time frame that this chair gets used is very short although the manufacturer claims it is for babies 3-14 months of age.

- I think this seat has become less versatile than it was meant to be because of a recall in 2007 and general liability issues. Buy it used or borrow it from someone, and save those $30.

www.bumbobabyseat.com