21 out of 21 people found this review helpful.
Bumbo Seat the perfect piece of adaptive equipment for special needs babies!
Date of Review: Mar 2, 2009
The Bottom Line: The Bumbo Seat was integral to my daughters early life heling her see the world and learn how to sit up. It was well worth the money I spent.
When my daughter was born she had a birth defect known most commonly as Spina Bifida. After 35 days in the hospital and one major surgery we finally brought our beautiful daughter from the hospital and embarked on the journey of parenthood once again. Due to some of the physical consequences of Spina Bifida it took a bit longer for Natalie to be able to sit independently. While she gained head strength at the same rate as any other kid she had to work on gaining trunk strength. We wanted her to be able to see the world around her and soon an answer came into our life called a Bumbo Seat.
What exactly is a bumbo seat? Well its a little seat that comes in a variety of colors and made of polyurethane foam. It's light weight and therefore perfect for taking everywhere like we did. It went to Grandma's, the park and pretty much anywhere we were going to be for awhile. The website says it weights three pounds. The covering is smooth and incredibly easy to clean. I can't tell you how many times I fed her in the bumbo seat and her spaghetti hands rubbed all over the seat only to have it clean minutes later.
The bumbo seat was very helpful in regard to helping my daughter gain physical abilities. She gained trunk strength and control though still supported in a cushy seat and also got plenty of chances to practice kicking her legs and look at her toes. She enjoyed looking at the world around you which wouldn't have been possible for many months without the seat. The seat helped make sure she had normal intellectual development despite her physical limitations.
How long you are able to use the seat depends on a variety of factors. My daughter used the seat about eight months and we were very happy with the length of time we used ours. She used it far more than any other equipment like swings, bouncers and the like. She has smaller legs than the average child so she could fit in their for quite awhile longer. Fortunately, she was ready to start army crawling around and no longer wanted to be confined. So we retired the bumbo seat and donated it to our physical therapist so other kids could benefit from the soft squishy, yet sturdy seat.
A few things to keep in mind about the bumbo seat though. You should never leave a child unattended in the seat. My daughter was never able to turn it over but I imagine many children could. It's not made for bath time. (if you have a special needs child who needs a little extra support try a small laundry basket closely supervised.) The nice thing is its latex free so you don't have to worry about allergic reactions.
Overall I was very happy with my bumbo seat and feel it was very worth the 39.95 I paid. I ordered it directly from the website before she was born and it was a purchase I wouldn't think twice about if I could do it again. If you have a special needs child with physical issues this is a must have. The website states its utilized in early intervention programs around the country and in my experience that is true. Most of my friends who live in different counties have been recommended this seat by their children's physical therapists.
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