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I think it's a case of all babies are different, although I think most people do give some sitting time. By 4-5 months my lo could sit with assistance but she often fell from side to side until about 6/6.5 months? Even now at 8 months she can sometimes be wobbly but she catches herself. By 6 months she could sit at least for small stretches by herself and at 7 months she could sit for a long time. At almost 8 months she started being able to get into the sitting position.

At least with my LO (5m3w) it seems like one day it just 'clicks' and he is one step closer to mastering something. I will say he is more interested in sitting if he has a toy to look at/play with! I wouldn't worry about it too much though.

@78h2o: E didn't much like practicing, either, hence the toy. If he was focused on it he was usually too distracted to realize he was sitting

I think every baby is different. My son was starting to sit at like 4.5 months and could sit in a tripod for a little on his own at 5 months and a couple weeks later he was sitting up pretty well on his own but still toppled over sometimes. By 6 months he was sitting really well all on his own.

But he loved it and didn't fight it at all. We would sit behind him with our legs in a V and he would practice sitting. Made it easy to catch him when he started to fall. Once he got better at it, I would just put the boppy behind him. I think if he protested it, we would not have pushed it.

She couldn't sit unassisted until a little after 6 months old. It was a little over 7 months before she could sit up on her own from laying down. She could sit with assistance for a bit, I can't remember exactly when she did that.

Around 5.5 months he started tripoding...he was pretty unsteady until just past 6 months and then all of a sudden he was super steady. Now at almost 7 months he's sitting like a pro--the only thing is that if he gets distracted he'll lean toward something and hasn't quite figured out how to catch himself. He's working on sitting up from lying down but can't do it from a completely flat position.

Honestly, we didn't really "practice" much, until he was showing that he could do the tripod on his own.

LO starts to sit with assistance (I have to really prop him up) starting 3 months (!) which he'd fall on his face at any second. He gets better and better, and I think he could sit pretty well at around 5.5-6 months. He can also pull up and stand on his own then.

I'd say: Lots of tummy time even if she's hates it! We did tummy time for at least an hour a day until he started crawling (at 5.5 months). LO hated it in the beginning but we got pressured by our pediatrician to stick to it at our 1 and 2 month appointment (we literally got yelled at at our 2 month appt lol). It builds up his back strength and the strength required to hold up his head and torso.

We're at 7.5 months and still not sitting unassisted. She sits pretty well, say, in the grocery cart with my purse and a bag on either side, but not alone. I think every baby is different!

@irene: your LO was crawling at 5.5 months? Wow!

K sits up unassisted for a second or two before she topples over. She tripod sits really well. She hates laying down. Any time we lay her down, she's trying her best to sit up!

@78h2o: Tummy time helps build neck strength which helps babies sit up sooner. we would prop LO up in her boppy pillow or put her in the bumbo seat. she sat up unassisted after 6 months but she was always trying to sit up sooner than that

I found the boppy better for practicing than the bumbo. The bumbo almost gives too much support so LO would just kind of slump to a comfy position and chill. The bumbo was totally holding her up and she was comfortable so she wasn't working her muscles. Sitting her up with the boppy around her made her have to try a little harder but she was still safe with the boppy because it provided a soft landing if she toppled over. I would also move her hands into the tripod position so he would get used to that. And then one day last week she got excited over something, flailed her hands in the air and realized "whoa, I'm sitting up without my hands, this rules!" and she's been doing it ever since. She still falls backwards sometimes if she cranes her neck to look at something. But yesterday she played by herself sitting unassisted for a good 20 minutes.

ETA she's 5months 3weeks