Excersaucer??? Actual/adjusted???

clyoungsey

My little guy is 3 1/2 months actual, 1 1/2 adjusted, he has great head and neck control and is very strong.  He is beginning to be not happy just being held.  He prefers to put weight on his feet.  I didn't put my first son in one until he was almost 5 months.  I read recommendations and they say 4 months.  I was just wondering your thoughts and experiencces.  I am not trying to push him, I just wondered.  I think I will always be asking myself this question...TIA

mek10976

we waited until DS could hold his head up well, which wasn't until he was around 6 months.  if your LO can hold his head, i would try it and see what happens.

Denesdia

At our 6 mo. NICU follow up appointment, we were told that exersaucers in general are not recommended for preemies in the beginning.  The logic we were told was that preemies tend to be short in the legs, so they end up on their tippie toes in the saucer and end up with inadequate muscle development for standing flat on their feet.  We were told to use the saucer only when DD could stand with flat feet on the base of the toy.  Our DD is also tired of being held, so she now stands on our laps with us holding her hands.  She can stand like that for a long time.  We still have no exersaucer.  I do think it comes down to head and neck control, anyway. 

meldoo2002

Our physical therapist actually said she doesn't recommend them at all until they are able to sit unassisted so more like 6-8 months.  She repeatedly insists it's not good for them to be thrown off balance by turning around to get different toys and having to right their body, etc.  We are still not using ours.

preemieparent

Ditto what everyone said about exersaucers not being recommended until later.  In fact I know some therapists and doctors who hate them.

I would spend more time working on tummy time.  Or sit with your LO facing outwards and put a toy in front of them for entertainment and working on development.

Susan_KW

We didn't start using ours until DD was 8 months actual/6 months adjusted.  She could sit unassisted at that point.  Then it was just 15 mins max once a day (enough time for me to take a shower and dry my hair a little). 

I still use ours to take a shower and DD is 16 months actual.  

clyoungsey

I knew I could count on you ladies for help!  I think working on tummytime or something like that might make him happy and help him developmentally.  Like I said, although this is baby #2, which many don't have as many questions, I think I will be full of questions since he is just different with the development..

preemieparent

cl - The blog link in my signature is my preemie parenting blog - I have a lot of developmental tips and ideas. I also talk about various products and how to use them for development in case that would help.

Good luck!