When is he old enough?

[Pjay]

I need some help! My 4 month old has been really good up till now with lying slightly propped up on a pillow on the sofa so he can look around, see me, the T.V etc. He was also good in his bouncer, the problem is that now he seems to want me in view all the time and is starting to try to sit up more and more. With this mixture of things I am worried about leaving the room with him on the sofa in case he falls off by trying to sit and losing his balance. The bouncer chair is OK when I'm there but the other day I came back in and he was sitting that far forward I thought he might topple over still in the chair. What I really need to know is when is he old enough for a walker, or would a baby nest be more appropriate, also if I invest in a baby nest will he bother with it for long because finances aren't that great that I can waste money on something he will not use. Help!

Pjay, we didn't use a babynest for ds, we just used a duvet nested round him on the floor, which worked very well. With dd we got a playnest because otherwise ds nicked the duvet to play with, so we felt the playnest would protect dd! The only thing we found with the playnest is that once she started kicking out with her legs she sometimes was in danger of kicking herself backwards out of the playnest.

It sounds as if your DS is going to be active early. my kids have been like this and despite all the negatives about baby walkers I used them with all 3 of mine with great success. The kids all had great fun and TBH so long as they're supervised I've not had any problems. I used baby-walkers from 4 months. Some people swear by door-bouncers but I thought the chances of my overactive lot doing damage to themselves on the door frames was quite high. The baby-walkers were only in use for about 2 months with each baby as they soon discovered the joys of crawling and cruising but they were invaluable in that tim period. If money's tight a really basic one does the job and you can stick toys on the tray.

We had an "activity centre" for DS from about 4 months. It has a walker type seat (allowing them to be upright) in the middle which can rotate to get at the various activities around the unit, but doesn't actually let them go careering around. The one we bought (item L5089 on the mothercare site ) could also be "walked" around in a circle based on one fixed point, so they get some limited mobility without the safety concerns there are to do with walkers.

We did have a playnest too - but my active DS never actually played with any of the activities on it, and could get out of it by 6 and a half months, so you might not get much use out of it if you bought it now. We also had (which was cheaper than the playnest) a baby size beanbag, which was at least equally effective as support for sitting up.

Thanks for the ideas, I think I'll check out the mothercare website! I'd never even thought of a baby sized bean bag. I definately think the baby nest would not be worth it now though

Hi, Pjay! Our seven mo dd loves her playnest; however, she can now kick herself out of it as Azzie describes so we have to be in the room with her. We also bought dd a Babyden playpen but she loves to bounce herself, and was using the bars to pull herself up to get a really good bounce and headbutted the metal bars! We have decided that the safest place for dd is either her highchair with mein the kitchen or in her travel cot, which can be used as a playpen. The downside to the travel cot is the mesh sides, which is why we got a babyden. It's a real pickle.

BTW the hv said not to get a walker as there are lots of accidents reported with them.

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Can you tell me where I can get a free-standing baby door bouncer?

atomic b; early learning do a door bouncer which hangs from the door frame (not sure if this is what you mean?). Looks a bit insubstantial, but it is VERY sturdy and our dd loved hers from being about 3 months until 7 months or so, when she began to find it restrictive. Some (less manic!) babies get much longer use out of theirs.

If you're anywhere near S London, there will be an NCT Nearly New Toy Sale on Oct 25th at St Faith's, Red Post Hill, nr Dulwich, 11am. They always have loads of nests, babydens, activity centres etc 2nd hand in really good nick. Or check NCT website for a sale in your area. You can re-sell stuff too, you don't have to be a member.
We bought a 'convertible activity centre'...was great for keeping him upright and able to look around, and good at crawling stage when I needed to 'trap' him away from danger! (probably bad practice, and I don't think they're supposed to be in them for great long periods). Then turns into a farm with track for vehicles...but tbh that's not too successful, we're selling it as it takes up too much room.

Look at the how to entertain a 7month old thread on Behaviour.