We have an independent sitter! He doesn’t always remember that he is an independent sitter, but we are to the stage where he can sit on his own for over a minute! I love this stage for kids! It is so much fun to see them wobble and catch their balance. And watching them get a new perspective on the world is neat.
I think we tend to forget just how much WORK it is for a baby to start sitting independently. The muscles and balance involved is nothing short of herculean for these little five and six month old babies! And I think there are a LOT of “helpers” on the market that don’t necessarily help baby to work out the core and find balance any faster than they would on their own.
We had a Bumbo seat with our first two babies. And then I did the purge of 2015, weeks before I got pregnant with our third. In that purge I got rid of almost everything baby related, including the Bumbo seat. And when we found out we were pregnant, I had the opportunity to select the things that we would really use to purchase or put on our registry.
The Bumbo seat didn’t make the cut. And it is not for the reason you would think. I didn’t add it to our registry and I didn’t purchase one myself this time around; not because I don’t think they “help.” But because I couldn’t believe how expensive they were! I did not remember spending as much on our first one and I just couldn’t bring myself to part with the money.
So, we tried the independent sitting “training” a different way this time around. Unaided by any baby sitting devices, our little one still reached the milestone of independently sitting at the exact same time as his older sisters (who had the benefit of the Bumbo). And what was wonderful about this process is that I discovered some tips and tricks for encouraging independent sitting with our baby that I wanted to share with you.
