High chair hunt

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I am researching for a high chair for DS who is starting solids next month. There are some great looking ones there but some are very expensive! We are also quite limited in space (small london flat) so was thinking perhaps getting a travel one that can be stored out of the way when not in use.

Has anybody tried the Combelle travel one?
http://en.smallable.com/travel-highchair-grey-combelle-58012.html

And does anybody know if it is stocked anywhere where I can physically go and check it out? Smallable don't have a store in the UK I don't think....

Finally, would you get a travel one for permanent use? (Perhaps they are not as stable as the regular ones??)

Any thoughts welcome! Thank you

We have had one that reclined before (a huge plastic Mamas and Papas thing). It was great when they were not quite big enough for a sit up straight high chair as they could join you at the table, not to eat but just to be part of things...this was more often with DC3 and 4, it seemed odd to leave them out. Plus it was sometimes somewhere safe to keep them if things got a bit wild with the older ones (it was extremely steady).

There's a way that you can make a footrest for the Antilop, you get a second tray and drill holes in the corners and it just slips onto the legs before the seat bit.

Will find a link.

Here, like this

@SheRaaarghPrincessOfPower oooooh clever!

Although I admit that the image of DS pushing up and falling off the chair has put me off the footrest a bit now but I guess it would be just a matter of making sure he is always buckled up

Another vote for Ikea antilop. So easy and clean and functional.

Oh that's a good point

Tbh, you'd probably be better off with one that attaches to a dining chair.

We had the Nano Bloom for DS (now 6) and I couldn't recommend it enough. It looked nice in our tiny dining/living room, it folded easily, it cleaned easily and the straps came off and could be washed.

My friends have the IKEA antilop and I'm forever tripping over the damn legs.

My friend's DD stands right up in the Antilop even without a footrest. But here's where the sticky out legs come in handy because no matter what she does it just doesn't tip over.

If you decide against the antilop I also liked the Fisher Price healthy care booster. I had the Rainforest one as caught it on a massively reduced argos thingy but it ticks all the boxes in terms of being easy to clean and small and easy to use, and it fit DS from about 4 months (just using play tray to "join in" with meals) until he was about 3 and preferred to use a normal chair. It converts really cleverly for different ages and it comes with straps.

They're only meant to be in a high chair to eat. Not be left in it for hours. Ikea every time.

Ikea!! So glad I didn't buy a 5 point or a fabric covered one.

We had two of these high chairs for our twins. They fold and aren't bulky. Plus you can take the whole seat off and throw it in the washing machine. It has a lap strap, which isn't ideal if you have a baby who might try to escape. But it was easy enough to attach a reins harness for added safety. We used them from about 7 months for our bigger twin and 8 for the smaller one. They really do need to be fully self supporting to sit. Until they were, we fed them in their bouncy/rocking chairs.

Who said they leave their child for hours? If they want to climb some of them will climb randomly between mouthfuls IME and then come back for more food...

My experience is you will need a proper high chair and not just a booster for a while because the little buggers love to swipe at anything near them and that could include doing the magician's trick of pulling the tablecloth off the table, or just upsetting glasses, wielding any knife they find etc...

Here you go, this is the updated version of what I had. I liked the play tray because it kept him entertained when the food was cooling down. And because of the tray you can move them away from the table for the swiping phase! But it also works to push up to the table. And of course you can take it with you for travelling etc. Brilliant! The only problem is you do end up with food all over your dining chair unless you cover it first.

www.amazon.co.uk/Fisher-Price-X6835-Discovery-Booster/dp/B00AYVA1Q8/?tag=mumsnetforum-21

Link would help right?

Yep, we've got the same one Bertie. It's great actually.

Someone asked about advantage to reclining - no there's no advantage to this, unless you're time travelling back to 1982 and intending to wean a baby who can't sit up with support yet. Even if you're starting with totally smooth purees, modern advice is to wait until they can sit (with support if necessary) because this hugely reduces the risk of choking. It's dangerous to feed a baby in a reclined position, much more so if you're letting them self feed.

Goodness me, anything BUT a Mothercare brand one. We got one and I hated it. It was so awkward and hard to use.
We intended to keep it for baby number 2, but I couldn't stand it.
I wish we'd put him in his booster seat ages before we did.

Foot rests are quite important when baby first starts sitting in a high chair - it helps them balance themselves until they're proficient at sitting upright by themselves. Not all babies that are ready for weaning can sit up by themselves for very long. Then they slump to the side, which isn't comfortable for them.

Eh? But they don't use their feet to stand at that point.

Ikea antlop and buy a padded universal insert from eBay for £15 it fits perfect and wipes clean and both together make the perfect highchair

Don't buy the ikea blow up insert its crap

Get this

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291841679323

I would try the Ikea one and think about where you have space to store it maybe with the legs popped off. The legs do stick out but that's what makes it stable. Could you move a dining chair somewhere else so it can go near/under the table?

Re boosters - if you have a baby that tries to push himself away from the table, a dining chair can tip over. It's one thing in a cafe but at home you are likely to be doing other things whilst baby eats, not within arms length all the time. Maybe if you had good heavy stable chairs it would be OK.

We did go on to have Tripp Trapp chairs from about 2yo but I figured the Ikea chair was cheaper than the TT baby set!

If you are short of space this sort of travel high chair packs down very small and strap onto all kinds of seats (used it on a train once!).

Bertie, they use their feet to balance themselves when they sit - just as I said in my post...

It's been a long time since I've had a little baby to be fair but I'm just not seeing it. They sit with their legs straight out in front of them at that age, not like adults in a chair with their knees bent.

I don't remember whether the chair formed a sort of footrest for DS or not but anyway he was fine sitting in it from 5 months or so but didn't sit completely unaided until he was 9 months. I remember that because it was a month after he crawled and seemed really backwards. From what I remember reading they work out sitting balance with their core muscles, nothing to do with the feet.

To be honest a baby who is very slumpy when sitting is probably not ready for weaning unless they have reasons like low muscle tone or being premature, and in that case I'm guessing reclining would be advised, but I don't know.

We have this one which is very similar to the Ikea one but converts to a booster (the legs are narrower too and it has a footrest) www.tesco.com/direct/keter-multi-dine-high-chair/282-6902.prd?source=others

It was a bit of random purchase from a charity shop but much better than the padded one for DD1. DD1 now uses a handysitt www.stokke.com/int/highchairs/stokke-handysitt/2798.html but I think the mess would be terrible with a very young baby.