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

BEABA Babycook's Babyfood Maker.

I was so excited when my first baby was finally old enough to eat solid foods and I could start preparing endless varieties of mashed things for him. I’m not entirely sure how we came across this smart little invention but it just seemed too good to be true, at least for a new mom and solid food enthusiast. It could handle veggies, meats, fruits, berries - you name it. Just by adding water into the small tank on the side, it would actually steam everything you put into the food container (in a small basket), even frozen food, and with one small move, you could take the contents out and pour them into the blender. Smart, indeed. 

So, enthusiastic as I was I stayed up way into the night making baby food with BEABA Babycook, which truly ended up taking much longer than I had anticipated. This was naturally due to the steaming phase, which always takes a while so it wasn’t a problem with the BEABA per se, except for the fact that the food container is small and you can’t make a lot of food at once. However, at 2 a.m. I was finally done. I had made a few trays of different blends to freeze. Yes, I even tried some of the recipes in the BEABA Babycook book, which seemed so tasty, at least if you are a baby.

Well, my baby did not agree. He did not agree the next day, or the next week or the next month. The only things he wanted to eat came in Earth’s Best jars. Earth’s Best, and things he could pick up with his little fingers and put in his mouth.

Needless to say, our BEABA stayed in the cupboard collecting dust. I gave it another try later on, but I was still out of luck. I ended up using the good old stove top and blender for our second child’s solid food needs, and have never looked back at the BEABA Babycook. In fact, I don't even know where all the parts are anymore or else I'd sell it to someone else wanting to add some French flair to their baby's daily digest.

So, in my humble opinion...

Pros:

- It's French. It has got to make tasty food, right?

- It's compact.

- It has a steamer, blender, defroster, warmer... all in one.

- It steams fruits, veggies, meats and fish in 15 minutes (give or take) while preserving vitamins (due to the steaming process).

Cons:

- You don't really need a $150 BEABA Babycook to make mashed foods for your little ones. They will be just as happy (or unhappy) with food boiled or steamed in a pot and mashed with a blender. 

- The food container is small so you can't make a lot of food at once to freeze for a later time.

- For a new mom, time is an enemy, not a friend. Although the idea of serving "fresh" food out of the cooker by tossing in a couple of potatoes, carrots and a piece of chicken right before lunch and then leave it to do its thing for 30 minutes is great, I don't know many moms who have the bandwidth or time to plan this much. When baby is hungry, baby is very hungry.

http://www.beabausa.com/product-babycook.cfm