How to feed a baby who can't sit up?

[MiaMamma]

Hi, DD will be 6 months soon and I'm starting to get ready for weaning (think she's actually ready for it but want to wait until 6months). Just starting to think where should I have her while feeding? She can't sit in the highchair (and we don't have one yet!) and she hates her bouncy chair. Is it worth getting this bumbo seat type thing? How have you done this?
TIA

I have a highchair and bumbo, and i use the bumbo! much more relaxed - i put a towel under and lie/sit on the floor next to DS and just hold a plate of food infront of him (im doing baby led weaning). Puts my mind at rest knowing that if he chokes, i can whip him straight out. Will use highchair later on.

Well, mine were weaned when it was still 4 months, and we used either the bouncy chair or their car seat (we had one you carried, Britex Rock-a-tot iirc) I used a Bumbo with DD, and would recommend it although a few MNers didn't get on with it. DD loved sitting up in it so it was great for us.

I think most people use a bouncy chair if the baby can't sit in a high chair. Some high chairs provide more support then others, maybe try them out in a shop? I'd have thought that your baby would need quite a lot of spine and neck control to sit in a bumbo - again, only by trying one out will you know.In the meantime, can you sit and feed her with her on your lap?

I've used a bouncy chair and bumbo (ideal if going away from home during weaning as practically everywhere provide highchairs for 12mth plus only).

I've also got a chicco mamma highchair that reclines and has a five point harness so used this as well. It is big and a pain to clean - too many places for food to spill into! But it was secondhand and gifted to us, so can't complain.

I used a bumbo and I think they're a brilliant invention and if your dd can hold her head up then I'd definitely give it a try.

Or you could try propping your dd up in the corner of the settee where the back meets the sides and feeding her sitting up that way. Or there's the one-handed-food-everywhere method where you sit your baby on your lap and steady her back with one hand and feed with the other, but it's not such a good method with really sloppy food as you do tend to dribble quite a bit.

I don't know how she manages but my mum used to feed them sitting on her lap, so she could get just the right angle. She can also change nappies on her lap, something I've never got the hang of.

My preference was bouncy chair.

Thanks for quick replies!
The reason DD doesn't like her bouncy chair anymore is that she tries to sit up and gets upset because she can't sit up there. She is strong, while sitting on my lap her back is very sraight and she holds her head up very well.
Maybe will try to find Bumbo seat cheap on eBay and try that

I would say lap too, or propped on the sofa

Can I be slightly controversial here & suggest that you hold off weaning until she can sit on her own. Most of the guidelines for readiness for solids that I have read include the baby being able to sit unaided. Its goes a long way to help prevent choking. If the baby is upright any stray bits of food will fall down out of the mouth. If the baby is reclined or slumped then they are more likely to fall down back towards the airway.

Being able to sit unaided alongside all the other signs like picking food up & putting it in their mouth, chewing, losing the tongue thrust reflex, wanting to participate in mealtimes etc are good indicators that the gut is mature enough to handle food & it is preferable that the baby shows all of these signs rtaher than just one or 2 to be completely sure. A baby is very unlikely to be able to control their motor skills & feed themselves is they cant hold themselves up and thus is unlikely to have a gut mature enough to properly digest the food. Kind of like babies not being able to walk until their leg muscles are strong enough to support them.

My ds hated his bumbo and was so strong he wrecked his bouncy chair before he was weaned! I bought the high chair insert from Mothercare. It's a rip-off at £10 BUT really helps him to be more stable in his high chair and we can take it to restaurants so that he can sit in big high chairs when we are out.

Terramum - I didn't wean until both my dds could sit up unaided, and it was much easier, and I agree safer. Fortunately they could both sit unaided before the age of 6 months. However, it is normal for some babies not to be able to sit alone until the age of ten months, and I think it would be quite hard wait this long until weaning (having said that, I don't believe my dds were ready to wean before the age of 10 months).

I've just ordered a high chair for dd but I think that she may well struggle to sit up comfortably in it so if needed I will use her bumbo in the interim until she is better in her highchair. She really likes her bumbo and already I sit her in it on the table top when I'm eating my lunch so that she can see what I'm doing. She's getting a bit sick of her bouncy chair, I think it's because she tries to sit up but it sort of won't let her, the same problem that your lo has MiaMamma.

ds uses a bumbo to feed and it's brilliant. he had a very strong neck and was holding his head up by 3 months and held his back straight as well (i called it his tummy crunches when he tried to sit up) but just kind of toppled over sitting up alone. by 5 months though he was def ready for solids and the bumbo has been a lifesaver. i would just say it's best not to leave them in for too long else it might take longer for them to sit up alone! (btw he's now 6 months and sitting up no probs)

or if your baby is a big chunky baby (like mine ) a BebePod is a bit more generously sized than a Bumbo, especially around the thighs... Ds loved his, but outgrew it by 6 months, so it was a short term thing for us.

We are doing blw, i sit at the tabble with ds on my knee and eat breakfast together. He can sit up so once he gets to grips with food i will use his high chair.

sorry haven't read the whole thread - i used a bumbo until she was about 8-9 months for feeding, then straight into a handysitt. didn't bother with a big bulky highchair!

I havent read it all either but I used a bumbo for dd and ds, it was fab, in a highchair now at 8.5 months as his chubby little legs dont fit in the bumbo anymore

Thanks everybody, def want to try out Bumbo seat. I'm already getting excited about whole weaning thing, couple of more weeks to go...

Make sure you have a camera nearby, their messy little faces are soooooooooooo cute!!

save your money - prop up in the corner of the sofa

Oh, thanks Emskilou, will def do that

another word of warning re choking

if you do use a bouncy chair make sure it's in an upright position - the baby's more likely to choke if he/she's reclined

Loved Bumbo but my daughter's thighs got too chunky for it at 4.5 months - before she was weaned . Don't mind her chunkiness though as at 3 months she was off the bottom of the charts so glad she has gained weight!

ditto. dd is 4.5 months, weighs approx 18lbs, she gets into her bumbo with only a milimetre to spare.