Floor seats are a huge market right now! Who wouldn't want to keep your baby upright and happy for a few minutes while you get something done?! I can completely relate! But, here are some helpful things to keep in mind when shopping for a floor seat for your babe.

1. A seat that keeps baby's back straight rather than rounding it into a "c-shape"
2. Pelvis tilted slightly forward which promotes upright posture
3. Head aligned with the hips and shoulders and not leaning to the side or slouching forward
4. Head upright and not protruding forward
5. Sitting equally on both sit bones which allows equal reaching with both arms

The Upseat knocked it out of the park with pelvic positioning. Other seats tilt the pelvis backwards a little which causes the spine to round out. The Upseat puts the pelvis in a slightly forward position which promotes an upright posture and better alignment of the hips and neck. This position makes all the difference when we are asking baby to look around and reach for objects. Because Upseat consulted physical therapists and developmental experts, you can be sure that this seat is developmentally appropriate and beneficial!

I love the Upseat as an activity chair! Because it is so ergonomically designed, it gives the right support and puts the body in a great position to manipulate things with the hands. When the body is in a correct position, you can put more focus and energy on a task rather than on keeping your body upright.

We love to put spinner or suction toys on it. The large tray is the perfect surface area for attaching suction toys. This also means you won’t be chasing stray toys all around the place while baby is playing!

• This seat is the perfect way to contain and entertain your baby while you cook dinner, take a shower, etc. Throw some suction toys or magnetic tiles on the dishwasher, window, fridge or shower and get yourself a few seconds of peace. This activity promotes reaching overhead, which activates the core and promotes strengthening and balance.

• This seat is also a great container for sensory activities: sand, water, play dough, whipped cream, etc. The tray is super easy to wipe down, which is always a plus! Sometimes, using a high chair for these activities can be confusing as baby thinks it is time to eat (not so great for non-edible sensory activities) but using the Upseat can cue baby that it is time for a fun activity!

• We love to sit in our Upseat and read books as well. We all know how short a baby’s attention span can be, especially when reading books. But this snug, comfortable seat is a great way to increase baby’s attention a little longer. You can even put some toys on the tray and baby can play while you read aloud to her.

If you plan to buy a floor sitter for your baby, why not get one that is not only developmentally appropriate, but that is so versatile and will last through many phases of your baby’s development. My son is almost 19 months and we still pull out our Upseat! I love finding products I can put my name behind and this is definitely one that I am proud to recommend to other mamas!

Brittany is a pediatric physical therapist and owner of Mommy & Me PT! She has been a therapist for almost a decade, treating kids of all ages and abilities. She found her true passion for educating parents on developmental topics when her daughter was born and realized so many parents have the same questions. Follow her on Instagram (@mommyandme.pt) for tons of tips and tricks to foster your baby’s motor development through play!

Finding out that you’re expecting a little one is an incredibly exciting time. But, with all the baby products on the market, it can be overwhelming. At Upseat, we know there’s nothing more important to you than your baby’s health. That’s why we developed an ergonomic baby seat with the help of physical therapists. Of course, you’ll require more than a floor seat when your little one arrives. We’ve created a list of 6 essential items for new parents to help you find the best, high-quality baby products.

It's no surprise that the Upseat Baby Floor and Booster Seat is on our list. But don't just take our word for it. Take a look at what over 100,000+ parents have to say about the Upseat.

When it comes to baby carriers, Ergobaby is worth the investment. These carriers are designed for safe and easy babywearing, allowing you to multitask during your busy day. Ergobaby carries a variety of styles and colours, supporting infants of all ages from newborns to children around 48 months.

Like the brand’s name implies, serving meals for your little one has never been easier with ezpz’s sectioned plates. Their plates are made from 100% toxin-free silicone, are eco-friendly, and promote independent eating. Our favourite thing about them? Like Upseat, they consult with pediatric specialists so that proper eating techniques are reflected in all of their products.

When it comes to traveling with your baby, you want to make sure they arrive at the destination safely. Clek is a car seat brand that doesn’t cut corners. Clek carries sleek, functional, and comfortable car seats for all ages that are worry-free.

Did you know that diapers create an estimated 3.5 million tons of waste in the USA alone? While cloth diapers are a great option to reduce waste and save costs, we understand that convenience is also important. That’s why we recommend Honest’s Clean Conscious Diapers. They’re designed with plant-based materials and advanced absorption. They also don’t add latex, fragrance, or parabens to keep your baby’s skin safe.

Purchase your binkies, bottles, warming bowl, and breast pump adapters all in one go with Nanobébé’s Starter Set. As an award-winning kit, the starter set makes breast feeding simple and safe. Their flexy pacifiers are made with silicone and adhere to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines for newborns. We highly recommend their ergonomic pacifiers so that your little one reaches their early developmental milestones.

Your baby’s health is our number one priority. We recommend pairing any of the above products with the Upseat to fully support your baby’s healthy development.

As a physical therapist, a common question parents (and grandparents) often ask me about is “why don’t PTs like seats?” It’s funny because as a PT, I always refer to seats or toys as “tools”. The tools to help your baby engage are just as important as when they are playing on the floor - why? Because of how our muscles and bones develop - specifically the pelvis area.

The pelvis includes what we commonly refer to as the “hip” and “thighs” and starts developing as soon as your baby spends time exploring the floor on their belly/back and rolling.

But why does rolling and playing on your belly strengthen the hips?

The hips have many muscles connected to them and bone develops in response to the muscles causing pressure on the bone. Basically, when a baby is rolling the muscles “turn on” while the baby is kicking their legs or crossing their body to kick the toys hanging in the air. Once the hip muscles have been developed and strengthened in those positions it’s onto sitting! That’s where a seat that promotes the best strengthening and coordination of the muscles and joints are necessary. The time spent in sitting with an adult's help or in a seat is also crucial to weight bearing through the hip joints. In addition, the “ring” sitting position is improved in a proper seat that allows room for the baby to weight shift and use their trunk muscles in the most natural way.

Then what comes next?

Sitting is so fun for babies and they are working hard on this skill because it’s a big help when they are trying to work on the next phase of hip development: crawling on all fours! This is where the baby becomes very active and a huge amount of strength and coordination growth happens during play. With proper alignment and practice in ring sitting, babies often transition easily from going from ring sitting play to side sitting (where knee’s point in one direction). Once they’ve mastered side sitting babies are typically getting into so many different things - their toys and becomes a good reminder for baby proofing!

Hip development is a mix of many things but it does start from the moment your baby starts exploring the floor and even continues throughout learning to walk. That’s why play that promotes proper alignment and “tools” that don’t limit function are vital to baby’s development.

With a constant barrage of different devices on the market claiming to be “teaching your child to sit” it is so important to look at the components of them through a developmental perspective. With The Upseat play seat, your baby's hips are encouraged to be wide and open with the proper amount of bend to increase hip socket development. Oftentimes other seats place the baby's hips in a narrow position but with the Upseat, the pelvis and hip joints are positioned similarly to how a baby's hip position is in a squat with their hips rotated out, knees slightly out and feet slightly outward. This is a functional position often facilitated by physical therapists during play and it's great when the baby can be exposed to this position at rest as well.

The Upseat is by far the best seat that promotes the most natural position for your baby while they are making a mess with food, exploring different textures in a book, or video conferencing with grandma and grandpa who live out of town!

The Upseat has been designed to promote optimal spinal alignment in sitting, unlike many other devices that hold your baby in a rounded-back posture. The Upseat also comes up higher on your baby’s back, providing more support while they are still learning to sit. The larger space for your babe’s legs also allows more freedom of movement in the seated position.

So get excited—this is just another step in promoting purposeful play with your babe that will lead to even bigger motor milestones. Cherish these moments because soon your baby will be on the move and instead of getting a workout from carrying them all day, you’ll be getting some cardio running around to move breakables out of their reach and blocking them from eating every stray crumb on your floor. And as always, remember that once they are sitting, you should still always place them on their tummy FIRST for play. Happy sitting, y’all!

Kelsey is a pediatric and perinatal physical therapist and owner of The Mobility Project! She has been working in the pediatric field supporting families for over 5 years and has found a true passion meeting children and parents where they are at to promote development. After having her son, she realized that she wanted to help parents and caregivers truly understand how to support the development of their babies with less guilt and more play! Follow her on Instagram @the.mobility.project for tips on how to integrate purposeful play into your daily routine with your little one.

Choosing the best baby product for your little one can be an overwhelming task. With so many high chairs on the market, it’s difficult to make a purchasing decision. While many high chairs are available in fun colours, sleek designs, and attractive price points, few are actually designed to promote healthy development.

The Upseat is a 3-in-1 baby seat that was created with the help of physical therapists to promote upright posture and safe hip development.

We’ve discussed the importance of proper positioning when practicing sitting upright in previous blogs. When it comes to feeding, posture is just as an important. In this blog, we’ll explore the advantages the Upseat as a highchair has that many other brands lack.

Most pediatric physical therapists agree that the most important factor to consider when choosing the proper highchair is your baby’s positioning in the chair.

The optimal position for babies in any type of baby seat is one that encourages an anterior tilt. The anterior tilt repositions your baby’s hips so that they lean slightly forward and engage their abdominal muscles. Most seats have the opposite effect and tilt babies backward, creating a hunched over effect. Feeding in a chair that does not encourage the anterior tilt can actually increase the risk of choking because the hunched over position extends the neck. While it’s not ideal for your baby’s neck to be extended, high chairs with a reclining feature should also be avoided. A reclined position is not the safest for chewing and swallowing.

With an ergonomic baby seat like the Upseat, your little one will stay upright. In fact, Ode Magazine recently listed Upseat as one of the best high chairs to purchase precisely because of its ergonomic features.

At the Upseat we understand life as a new parent is busy. That’s why we designed a seat that’s:

• Portable
• Easy to clean
• Is a 3-in-1

With the handy conversion straps, the Upseat converts to a booster seat. The convenient, large attachable tray that is included easily transforms the seat to a high chair for feeding. This makes the Upseat an economic and convenient choice. As a 3-in-1, there’s no need to buy separate seats for sitting and feeding.

The Upseat is suitable for babies and toddlers ages 4 months to 2.5 years old. That’s about 850 days of potential use! The seat is designed with large leg grooves so that it grows with your baby. The materials used are also so durable, each seat comes with a lifetime warranty. This means that if you plan on having more than one child, you won’t need to worry about purchasing a new seat due to wear and tear.

We’re excited to announce we’ve launched our latest product, the Upseat Boost!

The Upseat Boost is an ergonomic booster seat that is suitable for toddlers and children ages 18 months to 5 years old.

The Upseat’s mission is to provide new and expecting parents with quality baby seats that encourage proper upright posture and healthy development. After the 3-in-1 Upseat Baby Booster Floor Seat became a popular choice among parents, we quickly realized that toddlers and children needed an ergonomic option once they outgrew the original Upseat.

We’ve worked extensively with pediatric physical therapists to ensure our products are safe for little ones. They too expressed a need for a better, healthier solution to recommend to parents.

Not only does the Upseat Boost encourage proper upright posture, but it also:

• Is portable and lightweight
• Comes with an adjustable 3-point harness
• Is comfortably padded
• Is easy to clean

These unique features are perfect for busy parents in need of an ergonomic booster seat.

Purchase your seat today!

Click here to view our 3 in 1 baby seat and make a purchase with a 100% money back guarantee.

One of the most common questions I get asked as a therapist and educator is “when can I start practicing sitting with my baby?” Sitting is such a fun milestone for parents and oftentimes when they feel like their baby starts to become a little more independent. But it is important to consider a few factors when thinking about sitting skills. Positioning starts with the pelvis and we need to make sure that our baby’s pelvis is in good alignment to promote good posture and balance for sitting.

When looking at good posture in the sitting position, we ideally would like to see:

• Pelvis tilted slightly forward, called anterior pelvic tilt
• Equal weight bearing through both sit bones
• Head aligned in the middle of the body and aligned with the hips (not tilting to the side or protruding forward)

When all these boxes are checked, we know that your baby is in the most stable sitting position and the core and back muscles are aligned and activated. This slight anterior tilt of the pelvis is also a very alerting position. It triggers your Reticular Activating System in your brainstem, which controls your focus and attention – pretty cool, right! Obviously, we want our babies to be alert while working on important sitting skills to maintain good posture and engage with their surroundings!

Unlike other traditional floor seats, the Upseat has taken all of these postural must-haves into account already! While many other seats have rounded or bucket-type seats, the Upseat offers an ergonomic seat that automatically positions your baby’s pelvis into that slightly forward position. This means your baby doesn’t have to work against the shape of the seat to get good muscle activation and posture, but can instead focus on good head control, using the arms and engaging with his environment.

Try this out yourself: sit on the floor with your back rounded all the way down. Your shoulders and head will likely slump forward, and it will feel hard to look around or lift your arms up easily. Now, activate your core and push your pelvis forward toward your thighs. Did you feel your body wake up a little? Now you can hold your head up straighter, look around, and freely use your arms because your core is activated and engaged!

With so many different devices on the market claiming to be the “best of the best,” it is so important to look at the components of them through a developmental perspective. I love that the Upseat consulted trained, skilled pediatric professionals to come up with the best design for their seat. The pelvis is such an important factor in stability and overall function, so it is important to find baby gear that takes special care to address its positioning.

As parents ourselves, we know just how overwhelming it is to find the right baby product for your little one. Not to mention, parsing through reviews, reading mommy blogs, and filtering search results for your price point and specific needs can be time consuming. Not all baby seats are made the same, and there are some that will benefit your baby’s development more than others. We’ve created a list of the top five things you should consider when purchasing a baby floor seat.

Finding a seat that is multipurpose is a great way to avoid overspending and making the most out of one baby seat. Some brands make you purchase trays and accessories as add-ons to their seat rather than a package deal. The Upseat is a 3-in-1, meaning each baby seat includes conversion straps and an attachable tray. It easily converts from a floor seat to a booster seat to a feeding chair, saving you money in the long run.

According to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute, “The healthiest position for the hips is for the hips to fall or spread apart to the side.” Most baby seats are too narrow and leave little wiggle room, restricting hip movement and forcing the legs together. Designed with the help of physical therapists, the Upseat uses a large pommel with wide leg groves to allow for safe hip development. The wide leg groves also ensure your baby won’t outgrow the seat until they’re approximately two and a half years old.

While all floor seats allow your baby to sit up, they don’t all allow for upright posture. Your tiny tot is still developing their shoulder, neck, and tummy muscles, and needs proper support. Most baby seats fail to do this and result in:

• Slouching
• Tightness in the hamstrings
• Long term poor posture
• Increased risk of choking when feeding

The Upseat is an ergonomic chair that prevents these issues by encouraging an anterior pelvic tilt, which is a slight forward rotation of the pelvis that engages the muscles responsible for upright posture. This is one of the main reasons why physical therapist Dr. Emily Heisey recommends the Upseat.

Life as a parent is busy, and you’ll need a seat that you can use on the go without it being too heavy or carried in an awkward position. Besides, you already have your hands full. Loading your diaper bag, purse, and baby seat into the car all while your baby is attached to your hip is a lot to juggle. The Upseat has a built-in handle and is made with light weight material for your convenience. Whether you’re meeting a friend for dinner at a restaurant or are dropping baby off at grandma’s, the handle allows for easy transportation.

While your baby practices sitting up, you’ll want them in a contained space where they can still play and enjoy this knew skill they’re learning. Ensuring they can partake in activities is essential. The Upseat’s detachable tray is 16.5 inches wide, with plenty of space for feeding, playing with toys, and even finger painting.

You’ll also want a versatile seat that is built to last, especially if you plan on having more than one child. The Upseat is made with medical grade plastics that do not contain any lead, phthalates, or other harmful materials. The materials are so durable that each seat comes with a lifetime warranty.

As a physiotherapist with 30 years of experience working in pediatrics, I know that the development of an anatomically upright and aligned posture is essential in allowing correct bone, joint and muscle development in children. It is important that parents vary their baby’s positions multiple times throughout the day to allow them to gain exposure to different gravitational forces and promote both healthy bodies and minds. When a child is old enough to start sitting up with support (around 3 months of age, depending on head control), a supportive seat can be used for short periods of time. Once the infant is able to sit independently, supportive chairs should only be utilized for feeding or when working on fine motor activities. For brain development and neuronal connections to occur, babies need to move, so floor time is always most important.

There are several options for supportive seats that may be used for infants under 6 months of age. Not all of these options are beneficial to a child’s development.

There are many reasons as to why I professionally recommend the Upseat, as well as why this supportive seat can benefit an infant under and even over 6 months of age, when used for short periods of time during the day.

The Upseat places the infant’s pelvis into a slight anterior tilt, which facilitates lumbar extension. The head, chest, and pelvis are thus positioned directly above each other resulting in good postural alignment. In this position, the infant will activate both their trunk extensors and abdominal muscles in a balanced way, allowing both muscle groups to develop equally. This core strength gives the baby stability and a base of support to learn to move.

When used for feeding, the Upseat holds the pelvis in a more neutral or slight anterior tilt, allowing the baby to sit in an upright position with trunk held straight, which positions the esophagus in a straight line with no curves or kinks. This allows food to pass easily and directly down to the stomach. In this position the head and neck are held straight with the chin tucked and in a good posture for chewing and swallowing, lowering the tendency for uncoordinated muscle movements, and resulting in less gas being swallowed.

The Upseat places the core muscles in an optimal position creating stability, so that the infant can use their arms more easily to play with toys and develop more refined fine motor skills.

One of my personal favourite benefits of the Upseat is that it has a wide pommel between the legs, which positions the legs in abduction (open), and external rotation (turned out). This is an ideal position for the development of the immature hip joint. The leg slots are also wide and allow most chubby little thighs to move freely.

The “back to sleep" campaign recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics has resulted in babies spending many hours lying on their backs, which has created a new set of problems commonly seen in infants. Plagiocephaly (flat head) and torticollis (tight neck muscles) are now frequently being diagnosed. One of the many ways to alleviate and prevent these problems is to allow the infant to sit upright for short periods of time during waking hours. Sitting upright allows the infant freedom of movement and time to exercise, strengthen and improve neck range of motion, by turning their head to look around.

Being upright also allows the infant time to start socializing and view the world from a different viewpoint. Long distance vision and tracking can be practiced.

In summary, the Upset is a great device to introduce during your child’s earlier months, to not only help facilitate hip joint and postural development, but also fine motor skills, social, visual, and sensory development.

Jo-Anne Weltman B.Sc PT, MRSc. is a physiotherapist with over 30 years of experience in pediatrics. She is the owner of S.M.I.L.E Therapy, a physiotherapy center that specializes in childhood development.

As a new or expecting parent, there’s a lot to learn and research, especially when it comes to buying baby products. You’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed with all the information available online. We know your baby’s health and development is your priority, which is why we’ve consulted with pediatric experts to create this list of 10 things you should know before purchasing a baby seat.

According to Dr. Kailee Noland, a Pediatric Physical Therapist and mama of two, it’s crucial a baby plays on their tummy, back, or side during the first three months of their life to promote motor development. Usually around four months, your baby will start propping themselves up on their elbows and lifting their heads up, showing you they’re ready to start sitting.

Jo-Anne Weltman, a Pediatric Physiotherapist in Toronto, Canada, states that many baby chairs and seats are titled backwards. This causes your baby to slump with a rounded posture. When seats, like the Upseat, are designed with a slight forward tilt, the muscles responsible for proper, upright poster are engaged.

Jo-Anne Weltman also shares that when babies are born, their immature hips and joints are still developing. To protect their joints, it’s important to pick a chair that causes the hips to fall or spread apart to the side. Many traditional chairs push a baby’s legs inwards, which can cause problems later.

Life with a baby is a busy one. Whether you’re going out to a restaurant, your parent’s house, or to see a friend, you’re going to want a travel high chair and baby seat that is portable and easy to travel with. The Upseat is the perfect seating option for parents on the go with its built-in handle.

Shortly after your baby learns to sit, you’re going to want to start thinking about feeding them solids. Eventually, they are going to want to take over. This is when you’ll want to have a large tray for silicone suction plates and bowls to stick to. The Upseat includes a large tray and booster seat conversion straps, which allows your baby to join you at the dinner table. From floor seat to booster seat to feeding seat, Upseat provides versatility to meet your baby’s needs.

A slumped posterior tilt while feeding can cause digestion issues. According to Jo-Anne Weltman, “Babies with reflux will have difficulty with chewing and swallowing with their necks being held forward.” The Upseat holds your baby in a “good extended position”, which means that the food goes directly down to the stomach.

When purchasing any essential baby product for your little one, you’re going to want to check if there are any warranties. Luckily, all original Upseats come with a lifetime guarantee so you can purchase your seat with confidence.

Your little one is curious and interested in the world around them. With the Upseat, your baby has the freedom to explore their environment from an upright position. Not only does the Upseat improve your baby’s arm control, but it also encourages the muscles required for proper, upright posture, all while your baby plays!

The Upseat is perfect for babies ages 4 months to 2.5 years old. With approximately 851 days of use, your little one is given ample time to engage the muscles responsible for proper upright posture and work towards developing healthy hips.

Babies come in all shapes and sizes, but many parents find their little ones have mobility issues in most booster seats. The Upseat’s leg openings are 4 inches wide to accommodate the healthiest thigh size.

There’s lots to consider when purchasing a product for your child. When it comes to baby seats, proper posture is key. Click here to view our 3-in-1 baby seat and make a purchase with a 100% money back guarantee.

Exersaucers, bouncers, and baby seats . . . Oh my!

Whether you’re pregnant, a new mom, or out shopping for your 2nd or 3rd kiddo, picking the right baby products can be overwhelming. Newer and fancier products seem to come out every year. My hope is to simplify the process and provide an objective review of Upseat’s baby seat through the lens of a Physical Therapist.

But first, it’s important to understand how your baby develops and what proper sitting looks like at different stages of development.

All babies develop muscles starting at the center. These “proximal muscles” include the trunk, shoulders, and pelvis. Developing strong proximal muscles or muscles closest to the center of the body is crucial for proper fine and gross motor development.

By 3-5 months, your little one should start demonstrating some big changes in motor control and strength. You’ll notice head control improving and the disappearance of the bobblehead. They’ll start pushing through arms when placed tummy down and even start rolling to their back. You may even notice your little one fighting to sit up when placed in sitting.

So, let’s talk about sitting posture and how your baby gains the strength they need in order to sit upright. Well, it all starts on the tummy. Yep, that same position that your little one loathes is instrumental in preparing them to sit upright. Here’s the kicker, tummy time yields no benefits if your little isn’t placing weight through the forearms or hands. It is this skill that develops the necessary shoulder and neck strength for sitting.

But let’s face it, not all hours of the day can be devoted to “Purposeful Play”. There are times when dinner must be prepared, a sibling requires additional attention, or you just need a quick time out.

So, how can we take care of your baby's posture during these times? The answer is a reliable baby booster seat.

One size does not fit all . . . Or does it?

Children come in varying shapes, sizes, and levels of function. One impairment that may impede sitting posture in children is increased muscle tone or muscle restriction. Let’s take a look at the before and after pictures above.

The BEFORE picture shows a rounded sitting posture as a result of tightness in the hamstrings.

In the AFTER picture, you’ll notice significantly improved upright sitting. How?

The Upseat design places a child’s hips in a slight anterior to neutral pelvic tilt which places a relative stretch to the hamstrings allowing for improved upright sitting and core control.

The Upseat offers a guilt free seating option that promotes proper back and hip alignment while also encouraging active movements. One of my fellow Pediatric PT’s and INSTAcollegues, Dr. Kailee Noland, shared that “The Upseat comes up high on your baby’s back, providing more support while still learning to sit.” The larger leg space not only allows for additional growth but encourages “freedom of movement”. This one design modification is huge, not only for protecting your little one’s hips but promoting strength and development even when placed in a seat.

As a clinician, I’m constantly looking for products that offer function and proper postural alignment. The Upseat is constantly modifying its design and is devoted to meeting the needs of moms and babes around the world. Here’s to proper posture and motor development!

Dr. Emily Heisey is a Physical Therapist specializing in Pediatric Physical Therapy and President of KinActive Kids. Her goals with starting her company was to empower both moms and therapist with simple, reproducible and integrative interventions for ages birth -18 years old. Emily received her doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve now mastered that middle-of-the-night diaper change with stealth. You’ve likely determined just how much caffeine intake it requires to get through your day and settled into what will now be your new “normal”. Congratulations if you’ve made it through the Fourth Trimester! The fact that you’re here, reading this, tells me you are doing an amazing job taking care of your little love. They are so lucky to have you!

Here I outline when you should start practicing sitting up with your baby and how a booster or floor seat like the Upseat can help.

I am going to guess that by this point, tummy time has begun to get a little monotonous—both for you and for your babe. You observe your baby and know that they are craving MORE. If you find yourself in this position, it’s likely time to begin practicing sitting. Throughout the first three months of life, playtime on their tummy, back, or side is the single most important thing you can do to promote motor development, but there becomes a time when your baby is ready to begin trying something new. When your little one is able to prop themselves on their elbows on their tummy and lift their head up to look at you standing in front of them, they are ready!

The best way to begin practicing this exciting new skill is to sit behind your babe with a toy or loved one in front of them to attract their attention upward. Place them in a seated position with their hands propping them up. Most likely when you begin this, they will be folded forward like a taco, their hands will be in fists, and they will wobble and bobble that little head. That’s OK! Many parents see this and fear they are doing harm to their child, but just like tummy time began flat as a pancake, it requires time, practice, and strengthening to begin to sit more upright. Keep your hands on their waist and observe how they move—preventing them from falling in these early stages. (Later on, some careful allowance of toppling over in a safe place teaches them a lot about how to prevent future falls.) I recommend practicing this skill once per waketime, with priority always given to time on their tummy on the floor. The more time they spend on their tummy, the stronger their arms become for pressing themselves upward, the better they get at learning how to move their body in response to gravity, and the more capable they are of sitting independently. This creates a nice cycle of learning and growing where tummy time helps sitting and sitting practice begins to help tummy time.

There are other ways to promote sitting independence too! Try playing with your sweet one in a sitting position on your lap facing you, with your hands just under their armpits. They will love seeing their favorite person and “talking” to you. Over time, moving your hands lower and lower on their tummy helps them to build core strength essential to sitting upright independently. You can also try carrying them in a seated position facing away from you, with their back against your chest, using one hand under their legs and one across their chest to help stabilize them. Working on pulling to sit from lying down also encourages core, head, and neck, strength necessary for sitting by themselves. Once your sweet babe is able to sit propping themselves up with their arms for about a minute, you can also try out the Upseat—my favorite baby item for holding baby in a seated position.

The Upseat has been designed to promote optimal spinal alignment in sitting, unlike many other devices that hold your baby in a rounded-back posture. The Upseat also comes up higher on your baby’s back, providing more support while they are still learning to sit. The larger space for your babe’s legs also allows more freedom of movement in the seated position.

So get excited—this is just another step in promoting purposeful play with your babe that will lead to even bigger motor milestones. Cherish these moments because soon your baby will be on the move and instead of getting a workout from carrying them all day, you’ll be getting some cardio running around to move breakables out of their reach and blocking them from eating every stray crumb on your floor. And as always, remember that once they are sitting, you should still always place them on their tummy FIRST for play. Happy sitting, y’all!

Dr. Kailee Noland is a Pediatric Physical Therapist, Mama of 2, and self-proclaimed baby & toddler enthusiast. Kailee graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Missouri and now practices in Kansas City at a clinic and school for children with special needs.