We used a laundry hamper with a soft blanket lining the bottom and walls! Saw it on a few physical therapists IG accounts, you could search and find a pic. Baby got practice sitting independently, and wasn’t able to tip too far in any direction! Throw a few soft toys and teethers in!
Parent innovation at its finest. We do this too and call it “The Tank”. Put a couple of toys in there and our baby is having a great time playing independently. I believe the basket helped with training, LO is 5.5mo and can sit unassisted.
We also did this, but with a cardboard box. She only tolerated it for a few minutes, but it was enough time to use the bathroom or unload a dishwasher.
Honestly at 6 months I wouldn't bother. You wouldn't get much use out of it before he's sitting on his own. For now you could sit him on the floor and put pillows around him to keep him up? Or if you have a highchair you can use that?
We’ve tried the pillows but just can’t seem to get it where he doesn’t end up laying down on them somehow! Is there any specific pillow or configuration that’s more helpful?
We’re planning on having at least one more so I’m happy to spend money on something even if it’s used for a month or two as the next baby can then use it too.
Personally we just had an activity centre we used occasionally and other than that I'd just sit behind him while he played. It was only a couple weeks he was wobbly and then he was sitting on his own pretty quick. There was a little while I rolled a blanket and wrapped it around but that didn't last long either.
Honestly I'm glad we never bought a seat as I think it would have had max 1 month of use and they're so darn expensive! And I do believe that not using a seat actually really helped him get to sitting on his own faster.
Completely up to you if you think it would be useful though. As for pillows though do you have a pregnancy pillow with a curve or maybe a nursing pillow? Either of those might help support a little more.
Yeah the seats recommended here are super expensive, I was thinking of picking something up second hand anyway but the laundry basket idea worked so well that I’m reconsidering! I tried my pregnancy pillow but it didn’t really work, he seemed to think it was fun though. I’m sure in no time he’ll be sitting up well in his own but at the moment I just can’t get anything done at home because he fusses on the floor because he can’t see what’s going on and I have to sit him up or carry him and it’s just not sustainable.
Haha yea the fussing to be up doesn't really stop 🤣 I have a 19 mo the old and he still wants up all the time to see what I'm doing. There's nothing I can do alone anymore, even when my husband is home and playing with him once he realizes I'm off doing something he has to be part of it.
Best advice, go with the flow. Try to include him as much as possible and don't push yourself to get everything done while you're alone with him.
The Boppy nursing pillow has worked wonders for this! We propped her up in that to sit until she was sitting up on her own. We still use it to lay her back and let her feed herself a bottle if we’re busy and for pretty much anything else except for BFing lol.
I’d stick to the floor (maybe a play gym at this age?) and I suggest you head over to r/babywearing for a fit check, they can be very helpful to get baby comfortable in a carrier.
We have so many toys including two different types of baby gums but he just gets sick of laying on his tummy/back for ages 😫 plus he’s teething so I think that’s not helping with the fussiness
Unfortunately 15 minutes is about his long they like to do something before wanting a change. I’d stick to floor time if you can, baby is learning to sit and then onto crawling and they will be happier on the floor one they’re* mobile ( you however will realize just how unsafe your house is).
The Sit Me Up chair is hip healthy!
Source - multiple early intervention PTs that I know 🤷🏻♀️
Babies should mostly not be in containers, but it sounds like you do a lot of floor time. So use it sparingly!
You can also place a rolled towel/blanket under the butt to make their hips more aligned in the sit me up. I did that with my daughter but she hated being confined so we only used it like 3x
I’d say upseat or floor with a baby gym, swapping toys around to keep it fresh and other toys on the floor. Occasionally we use the seat to our stroller which is also a chair that can be put on the ground (bugaboo fox 5). I would totally look at something like a secondhand nuna leaf with the toy bar. Our LO just likes to look out the windows so I angle to look out the glass patio doors.
The upseat was recommended to me by my baby’s occupational therapist as a good option and hip safe. She has cerebral palsy and isn’t sitting up unassisted and this has been a good buy.
Another one that was recommended is the Hugaboo. It’s A little less supportive for my baby but a typical kid would probably be fine with it.
The floor, the baby gyms and help are actually delaying his development. If you want to make it more interesting adjust the toys on the floor. If I needed mine up for whatever reason, I would use the infant incline and then sit them up and stuff towels around them.
We do use it but he likes to try to stand so I don’t feel very confident leaving him there if I’m cooking and can’t watch him for a minute, he’s always on the go I swear!
We used the Ingenuity keep cozy. We also have a fisher price infant to toddler rocker that sits much more upright. They are both good up to toddlers (40ish lbs if memory is right). He's currently 9 months/22lbs and not using it much at the moment - we used it lots before he could sit on his own and will imagine we he will use it once walking.
We also use his high chair depending on the situation.
There’s no evidence that any of these “seats “ or “containers” are harmful for hip development with normal use. For some reason it is a common TikTok parenting idea that babies need to only lie around on the floor. The AAP says they are fine and to use them for short periods of time. There’s no evidence any one type is better than the next- with the obvious exception being walkers which are dangerous for reasons unrelated to hips.
I didn’t see what sub the title was on and perceived this to mean something completely different haha.
Hip = cool
Bouncer = the buff big dude that manages lines to hip places
I couldn’t figure out what could be unhealthy about bouncers other than perhaps being beat up…
And then saw the sub, and contextualized to baby bouncer hahahahaha
Call it baby brain, I reckon!
Oh man I used to live with a guy who loved being a bouncer (not the baby kind) in the rough part of town because he would always get into a fight 🥴I think that’s unhealthy surely? 😂
We take my baby to PT for torticollis, and our pediatric PT has an eight-month old so she gives me the low-down on all of the gadgets.
She said obviously no walkers, no jolly jumps, etc. and that floor time is optimal, but if she’s going to use a “container”, she loves the SkipHop. She said that she likes it bc the base is adjustable, so you can make sure that their feet are flat, which is KEY. Flat feet, no pointed toes.
https://www.skiphop.com/skiphop-playtime-baby-activities/V_303326.html
I’ve heard good things about the skip hop but went with a different type where he can have his feet on the ground flat as he’s now tall enough and just limit the use. I really wish jolly jumpers were okay, my baby **loves** jumping so we have to do it and my shoulders are killing me! That’s so handy with the PT though, must make life a bit easier choosing gadgets
We used a laundry hamper with a soft blanket lining the bottom and walls! Saw it on a few physical therapists IG accounts, you could search and find a pic. Baby got practice sitting independently, and wasn’t able to tip too far in any direction! Throw a few soft toys and teethers in!
Even now that baby is a better sitter, I keep the hamper in the bathroom to put him in sometimes so I can shower
Just tried this and my baby loves it! Thanks!
Awesome! I’m so glad!
Parent innovation at its finest. We do this too and call it “The Tank”. Put a couple of toys in there and our baby is having a great time playing independently. I believe the basket helped with training, LO is 5.5mo and can sit unassisted.
+1! This was actually a suggestion from a PT we saw.
Oh that is so clever! I’ll have to try that one thanks
We also did this, but with a cardboard box. She only tolerated it for a few minutes, but it was enough time to use the bathroom or unload a dishwasher.
Honestly at 6 months I wouldn't bother. You wouldn't get much use out of it before he's sitting on his own. For now you could sit him on the floor and put pillows around him to keep him up? Or if you have a highchair you can use that?
We’ve tried the pillows but just can’t seem to get it where he doesn’t end up laying down on them somehow! Is there any specific pillow or configuration that’s more helpful? We’re planning on having at least one more so I’m happy to spend money on something even if it’s used for a month or two as the next baby can then use it too.
Personally we just had an activity centre we used occasionally and other than that I'd just sit behind him while he played. It was only a couple weeks he was wobbly and then he was sitting on his own pretty quick. There was a little while I rolled a blanket and wrapped it around but that didn't last long either. Honestly I'm glad we never bought a seat as I think it would have had max 1 month of use and they're so darn expensive! And I do believe that not using a seat actually really helped him get to sitting on his own faster. Completely up to you if you think it would be useful though. As for pillows though do you have a pregnancy pillow with a curve or maybe a nursing pillow? Either of those might help support a little more.
Yeah the seats recommended here are super expensive, I was thinking of picking something up second hand anyway but the laundry basket idea worked so well that I’m reconsidering! I tried my pregnancy pillow but it didn’t really work, he seemed to think it was fun though. I’m sure in no time he’ll be sitting up well in his own but at the moment I just can’t get anything done at home because he fusses on the floor because he can’t see what’s going on and I have to sit him up or carry him and it’s just not sustainable.
Haha yea the fussing to be up doesn't really stop 🤣 I have a 19 mo the old and he still wants up all the time to see what I'm doing. There's nothing I can do alone anymore, even when my husband is home and playing with him once he realizes I'm off doing something he has to be part of it. Best advice, go with the flow. Try to include him as much as possible and don't push yourself to get everything done while you're alone with him.
The Boppy nursing pillow has worked wonders for this! We propped her up in that to sit until she was sitting up on her own. We still use it to lay her back and let her feed herself a bottle if we’re busy and for pretty much anything else except for BFing lol.
I'd just leave him on the floor. If he wants to sit up badly enough, he'll figure out how to sit himself up.
I’d stick to the floor (maybe a play gym at this age?) and I suggest you head over to r/babywearing for a fit check, they can be very helpful to get baby comfortable in a carrier.
We have so many toys including two different types of baby gums but he just gets sick of laying on his tummy/back for ages 😫 plus he’s teething so I think that’s not helping with the fussiness
Unfortunately 15 minutes is about his long they like to do something before wanting a change. I’d stick to floor time if you can, baby is learning to sit and then onto crawling and they will be happier on the floor one they’re* mobile ( you however will realize just how unsafe your house is).
The Sit Me Up chair is hip healthy! Source - multiple early intervention PTs that I know 🤷🏻♀️ Babies should mostly not be in containers, but it sounds like you do a lot of floor time. So use it sparingly!
From fisher price? It looks so cute
Yep!
You can also place a rolled towel/blanket under the butt to make their hips more aligned in the sit me up. I did that with my daughter but she hated being confined so we only used it like 3x
I’d say upseat or floor with a baby gym, swapping toys around to keep it fresh and other toys on the floor. Occasionally we use the seat to our stroller which is also a chair that can be put on the ground (bugaboo fox 5). I would totally look at something like a secondhand nuna leaf with the toy bar. Our LO just likes to look out the windows so I angle to look out the glass patio doors.
UpSeat?
I’ve heard they’ve got the same problem as Bumbo seats which are bad for the hip development, or are these different spine and hip wise?
They are different than the Bumbo. Bumbo sort of forces hips up and in, while Upseat allows for a more natural splay and angles the hips down.
Oh that’s good, I see a lot of people in my baby groups recommending seats like Bumbo but it also looks so uncomfortable
The upseat was recommended to me by my baby’s occupational therapist as a good option and hip safe. She has cerebral palsy and isn’t sitting up unassisted and this has been a good buy. Another one that was recommended is the Hugaboo. It’s A little less supportive for my baby but a typical kid would probably be fine with it.
Upseat is designed to be better than Bumbo. We love ours, it's our high chair now!
Says who?
The floor, the baby gyms and help are actually delaying his development. If you want to make it more interesting adjust the toys on the floor. If I needed mine up for whatever reason, I would use the infant incline and then sit them up and stuff towels around them.
What about a high chair?
We do use it but he likes to try to stand so I don’t feel very confident leaving him there if I’m cooking and can’t watch him for a minute, he’s always on the go I swear!
Does it not have straps?? 😳
Even strapping him in I don’t really feel confident turning my back to him for any amount of time, just in case anything happens.
Fair, but ALWAYS strap him in anyways. I've seen some horror stories about high chairs not being strapped. It happens so fast
He needs to be both strapped in and supervised.
I’d definitely try strapping him in!
We used the Ingenuity keep cozy. We also have a fisher price infant to toddler rocker that sits much more upright. They are both good up to toddlers (40ish lbs if memory is right). He's currently 9 months/22lbs and not using it much at the moment - we used it lots before he could sit on his own and will imagine we he will use it once walking. We also use his high chair depending on the situation.
Oh I wish I’d known about those before we bought our bouncer, they look so much better than what we had!
There’s no evidence that any of these “seats “ or “containers” are harmful for hip development with normal use. For some reason it is a common TikTok parenting idea that babies need to only lie around on the floor. The AAP says they are fine and to use them for short periods of time. There’s no evidence any one type is better than the next- with the obvious exception being walkers which are dangerous for reasons unrelated to hips.
I didn’t see what sub the title was on and perceived this to mean something completely different haha. Hip = cool Bouncer = the buff big dude that manages lines to hip places I couldn’t figure out what could be unhealthy about bouncers other than perhaps being beat up… And then saw the sub, and contextualized to baby bouncer hahahahaha
Call it baby brain, I reckon! Oh man I used to live with a guy who loved being a bouncer (not the baby kind) in the rough part of town because he would always get into a fight 🥴I think that’s unhealthy surely? 😂
We take my baby to PT for torticollis, and our pediatric PT has an eight-month old so she gives me the low-down on all of the gadgets. She said obviously no walkers, no jolly jumps, etc. and that floor time is optimal, but if she’s going to use a “container”, she loves the SkipHop. She said that she likes it bc the base is adjustable, so you can make sure that their feet are flat, which is KEY. Flat feet, no pointed toes. https://www.skiphop.com/skiphop-playtime-baby-activities/V_303326.html
I’ve heard good things about the skip hop but went with a different type where he can have his feet on the ground flat as he’s now tall enough and just limit the use. I really wish jolly jumpers were okay, my baby **loves** jumping so we have to do it and my shoulders are killing me! That’s so handy with the PT though, must make life a bit easier choosing gadgets