When babies are first learning to sit up unassisted it can be pretty frustrating for them. Many a time our little Lily has thought that she has mastered sitting upright in her playnest only to eventually fall to the left or right. Her baby bouncer obviously keeps her in a more upright position but here she is completely supported so in essence the chair is doing the work for her. The Bebe Pod has been designed to offer babies from as young as three months the chance to sit up on his/her own without needing mummy or daddy on hand to reposition and equally provides baby with his/her first experience of sitting in a seat.
Made of lightweight non-toxic plastic (albeit with a bit of a strong plastic smell!) and therefore easy to wipe clean Bebe Pod is both functional and fun. We sit Lily in it and then let her play with a few of her smaller toys. While she is engrossed in the toy, the pod is not only working to teach her how to sit up but equally, thanks to a raised back support, the proper posture to adopt.
The great thing about this product is that unlike other chairs or seats for babies, such as the bouncer which we have for Lily, there are no uncomfortable straps or harnesses to keep baby in place. Instead the babies own body weight keeps him/her in place. That's not to say that I would ever risk leaving Lily in the seat unattended. There is always the chance that she may take us by surprise and find a way of removing herself from the seat. That may seem a little over-cautious at this stage as she is obviously not even crawling yet, but every day she seems to be getting stronger and so I would suggest that it is always wise to err on the side of caution.
Bebe Pod is obviously not suitable for a newborn baby. We only recently bought this after we were confident Lily was able to support her head. The manufacturers recommend that babies should be three months old before using the seat as a guideline. There will equally be a stage when Lily outgrows the seat. Prince Lionheart say 12 months but it clearly depends on the size of your baby. Lily may only be four and a half months but her chubby legs are pretty snug in the seat now, although I guess they will thin out once she becomes more active and so no doubt that will give her a bit more use out of the seat!
The pod comes in a choice of colour options and in addition a new version, the Bebe Pod Plus, is also available. This comes with an adjustable tray and two reusable placements as well as an attachable toy. In this version the central pommel is removable to be replaced with the tray. In hindsight I would have preferred to have invested in this as it would have given us a flat surface to put Lily's toys on. I can also see how this seat is handy when it comes to weaning baby, especially in the early stages when a highchair might not be applicable as in essence baby is sat in his/her own mini high chair, albeit at floor level.
© 2011 Sharon Marie Denman
