Thanks to baby swings and bouncer seats, moms have lots of options to use with their newborns when they need a free hand. Once the baby can sit on their own, play mats are key and life becomes really easy…until they crawl. But what about the in between period when they can’t quite sit up, but want to see what’s going on? There are thousands of baby products, but this is a tough one.
I am right in the middle of figuring this out for a second time with my 8-month old. Around 5 months or so, we needed other options. Surprisingly, there are some great ones!
*Never leave your baby unattended in any product.
I don’t remember this product being around for my first baby, but wow, it’s life changing. The seat is deep, but supportive so we were able to start using it pretty early on, as soon as he could hold his head. We started in shorter spurts and now, he hangs out for awhile. The grips on the bottom make it difficult to slide and there are loops to hook toys on to. We take it out of town with us and it moves all around including by our neighbor’s pool. This is my new “must-have” baby product.
This is a crazy product, but it’s so smart! I imagine this was invented by a mom who was tired of building a 
pillow fort around her baby who couldn’t sit up yet. It’s washable and has a place to attach toys. The company says it can be used as early as 3 months!
I didn’t include an Exersaucer because our seat is pretty low, but our Fisher Price Jumperoo has another deep seat. We started this toy in short spurts around 4.5 months- there was minimal bouncing, but it was a good option. If we ever needed extra support, we would roll a blanket and put behind them. I think this probably something that is considered a no-no by the manufacturer so ask your pediatrician before trying.
4. Activity Chair
This one is for a little bit older, but it’s great because they can’t fall out of it and it’s light and easy to move! A little pricey, and I imagine that spit up would destroy it, but I have heard great things from other moms.
I hope this is helpful and gives you your hands back to make some dinner or…drink a glass of wine without little fingers grabbing your glass!
