Newborn high-chair worth it?

[amythompson62]

Hi there - we are expecting in March and trying to navigate what's worth purchasing / splurging on and what's not....

I really like the sound of having a newborn able to be in an elevated position next to us at the table, or perhaps when I'm cooking etc (so am drawn to product like the Bugaboo Giraffe, Stokke Steps and Tripp Trapp as they have the newborn chairs) - BUT they are so so expensive.

I know there are cheaper (i.e. more plastic) options that I've seen - I think Maxi Cosi and Cosatto do them too all for between £100-£150, however we have a REALLY small flat and realistically will have no where to hide these, so will be out on show all day/every day for the next X years....

Two things -

(A) Is having the elevated chair worth it in people's opinions at newborn stage - if not - what do you do with them when you're eating cooking etc? And if yes.....

(B) Is anyone aware of anything stylish / not so plasticky that sits somewhere in between the £150 and £500 price points for a newborn option (the cost of everything by the time you bundle all the bugaboo / stokke bits together)???

---

MNHQ Update
If you’ve come across this thread while on the lookout for similar highchair recommendations, check out our guide to the best highchairs as tried, tested and rated by Mumsnetters. We hope it’s helpful!

I just had mine in a rocker chair at my feet when eating. It was over to the side of the room when cooking so I could talk to him and he could see what I was up to. But I already had the rocker from my first and needed to get a new highchair so waited.

If its a highchair that converts to a proper highchair further down the line then it could be worth the investment but if it doesn't then it seems gimmicky to me and a waste of money.

Oh, and you don't want fabric all over a highchair anyway. It stains like mad with all the food and is a nightmare to clean.

I had 'wipe clean' cushioned seat for my first which ended up a lovely shade of orange/grey. This time I've gone for wipe clean black leather style to hide them!

We have the stokke steps high chair and for dd2 we used the new born seat. She is now in the high chair seat and dd1 uses it as a seat so they come in handy as extra seats around the table. My SIL has them for her 7 year olds and they still use them as seats, so for longevity all together I thought it was worth it.
We got a decent amount of use out of the new born seat, both attached to the high chair base and just as a bouncer seat

Hi @Mrsm010918 - yes the Giraffe and the Tripp Trapp all convert to sit-up baby seats, then regular child seats then appear to be rated to 100kg so it's with you through the ages apparently...

All fabric machine washable too it would seem....

I can really recommend the Stokke Trip Trap. We never went for the new born attachment, but used the baby seat once he was sitting, and he still uses it now, and it will be his seat at the table i imagine till hes 7 or 8.
I think its worth it, but if it were just me, Id get a second hand one and give it a good clean. My partner was a bit iffy about second hand stuff at the beginning. Now, I just don't mention if "new" stuff is second hand.

We have the Hauck alpha one (still in newborn stage), seems to tick your boxes. We eat at the table and it's nice to have him at our height as he likes seeing us. The newborn part is actually a bouncer so you can move it between the Highchair and a bouncer stand.
We don't love the bouncer part itself as the harness doesnt unclip and it's hard to get him out of but it's a lot cheaper than the tripp Tripp and it's fine although not perfect (about £120 for everything I think)

Our baby mostly didn't want to be put down so one of those chairs would have been wasted for us, not that I knew about them anyway! We usually held baby and ate with the other hand and I wore him in a carrier whilst cooking or doing other stuff. When he was happy to be put down he would lie on his playmat next to the table and as he was obviously on his back he was looking up at us so we were fully in sight. I haven't had one of these chairs so can't comment however I would say if you've got a very small flat and you're working out what's worth buying personally I wouldn't think the chair is. You're going to have so much stuff it takes up tonnes of space and it just builds as they get older so I myself wouldn't choose to have anything extra like that!

I was also coming to mention the Hauck one if the Stokke is too expensive. For DD1, i used to just put her in her bouncer whilst i was cooking and then the moses basket whilst i ate. But we're expecting DC2 and I'd like to keep more of our "table" routine to benefit DD1 once baby arrives. I just cannot justify Stokke prices so thinking Hauck might be a good alternative instead.

Edit to add - for DD1 we had an Ikea highchair that was about £14 and has been brilliant for us. Outside, inside, hosable. But its not for newborns.

We essentially used a bouncer chair until they were old enough for a high chair. The bouncer chair was probably our most used item (we had the baby Bjorn one)

They mostly want to be held when they are very little so I would cook with them in a sling, or in the bouncer, and then eat one handed whilst they fed or bounced in the bouncer chair, or were in a sling, or if lucky whilst they napped. Eating becomes unimportant for a while, you eat for fuel for the first few weeks and easy to cook food, ideally eaten with one hand. You’re unlikely to be whipping up 3 courses and sitting formally to eat for the first few weeks.

Once we were back into proper meals and a decent sleep routine at 8 weeks it’s not long until they’re old enough for a high chair anyway. We had one of those all the way through chairs but only used it from 6m onwards.

We got a second hand Tripp trap (loads available on eBay and Facebook marketplace) and my little one loved being in the newborn thingy when she was little. It’s such a short period though that I’d say it’s nice to have rather than essential the Tripp Tripp is a great high chair though (friend who is a paediatric OT recommended it)

We had the newborn chair for our Tripp trapp and it was about £25 on eBay. It’s done our 2 and a niece and nephew so pretty good value really! We did get all the other bits new, but I would say all you really need is the chair and baby set (plastic moulded thing with leg holes) and straps. The tray and cushions were a waste of money.

So I’m really not a fan of the look of the Tripp Trapp at all - really would love a Giraffe but it’s so new that there are none second hand out there …

I suppose the question is - to all those who have / had the newborn Tripp Trapp (or those who just put bouncers on a table, on the counter etc) - would you of paid full price for it (~£500 odd for the whole bundle)?

We can JUST about stretch to it financially - but it’s an awful lot of money !

Thanks !!

Just used to put the baby bouncer on the table if they werent being held, obviously can't leave them at all but newborns aren't flinging themselves off a table. Then into pimped up ikea highchair once big enough.

We just had a normal bouncer chair on the floor, then got the ikea high chair once weaning started. However - we ate round the coffee table as our flat was too small for a proper dining table to be left out, so it worked fine for us.

If I had the space, the Trip Trapp would have been our preference, but it would have been more odd dc being above us when we sat to eat

We have the stoke tripp trapp with the baby seat. I love the stoke and I know she'll be using it for many years - I have used it with my other two but the baby seat she's almost never used it. I had exactly the same idea as you - thinking she'll be sitting with us at meals but it just doesn't work. She doesn't really like it.

We have the tripp trapp which we purchased in readiness to start weaning DD. We got it in John Lewis when they had a bundle deal for the chair and the baby set. I'd been stalking second hand ones on FB market place for ages beforehand but hadn't seen a good one. I bought the newborn seat second hand off Vinted as DD was just about still little enough to get a couple of months use out of it before going into the baby seat. It was an absolute game changer. We'd always had her on the floor in her Moses basket or on one of our laps / sling for dinner and it had always been really stressful. It's probably the one thing I wish I'd bought from the beginning so I'd recommend it.

We had one for our son as we have a dog and I wanted to be able to have him out of reach (PFB).

I really liked it but in reality it is only 6 months and I could have just used the pram/ bouncer.

If you are still wanting one the HAUCK ALPHA does the same as a Trip Trapp.

We have a Cybex and it is way to big and a ballache to clean.

If I had my time again I would just for the ikea plastic Highchair.

At 18 months he wanted a booster seat at the table.
By 2 my son wanted to sit on a normal chair.

As a newborn DS wanted to be held constantly so he was mostly feeding whilst I ate one handed 😅

As he got slightly older he would go in the baby bjorn bouncer at our feet or played on his play mat on the floor while we ate. When we were cooking we quite often laid him in his pram in the kitchen so we could chat/sing to him. Then when he could sit in it comfortably (even before we started weaning) we'd pop him in the high chair at the table so he could see what was going on and watch us eating.

Just to say I paid a small fortune on high chairs for DCs when they were little

the only one that ticked all the boxes was the IKEA one, cheapest of the bunch! Easy to clean, carry around, dismantle etc

Honestly, this just sounds like another thing design to make new parents spend money.

We did eat proper meals at the table from very early on but it was never an issue. Either baby was in one of our arms, was feeding (both of which just meant 1 handed eating for us), was in a sling on us, asleep somewhere else, kicking around on a playmat, or or occasionally on the bouncer.

Neither of mine particularly liked bounces, prams, etc anyway, so I'm glad I got my bouncer for 10 quid second hand.

There are a lot of bulky expensive purchases which get pushed at you when you have a baby, a lot of them really unnecessary especially if you pushed for money or space. We didn't get a changing table for example, but we did get sucked in and he bought a cot top changer. It was great for storing stuff and we did what most other people did and just changed baby on a mat wherever...

Also really don't discount second-hand, babies are in these things for so short a time you can often get bargains. The dreaded jumperoo for example, is often about 100 quid new, second hand anywhere from 10 to 20!

We saved a fortune by getting these big-ticket items second hand (except car seat).

You can clean them as thoroughly as you like, and spend the ££££s on something more fun...or put it in an investment account for the baby.

We used a second hand bloom high chair a lot for our second child. Our third doesn't love it. We used bouncer next to the dining table for our first. And they've all been in a wrap on my back whilst I've cooked.

We got really lucky and found a Tripp Trapp on Facebook Marketplace for £50 including the newborn bit. DD is 6 now and the chair still gets used daily, so it was a good investment. I am not sure I would pay full price for it.

The newborn bit was very good and we used it a lot.

We also lived in a very tiny flat first time around. So my reply is based on my experience of baby and tiny flat:
Even machine washable fabrics end up orange once you hit the weaning stage. We had a 'machine washable fabric' high chair and quickly switched to the £12 Ikea plastic high chair (likely closer to £20 now as several years on). The Ikea one cleaned so much better! No awkward crevices to trap sick or crumbs, no orange-ing over time, easy to take apart and carry with us in the car to visit friends/relatives (or hidden behind the couch or in baby's room) and the best part... it can be chucked in the dishwasher to clean!! We used the Moses basket, pram or bouncy chair for him when we were cooking, eating, showering, tidying etc. Never ever put our bouncer on a table or other elevated surface though, just kept him on the floor as safest height for babies. He was happy enough being chatted to from there.
Congratulations on your baby!

I wanted the same as you OP
also preferred the 'look' of the giraffe however read it was much much harder to clean when they start eating so went with the trip trapp.

got some money off new .
could you look out in Black Friday or second hand?

there wasn't much second hand around me unfortunately!

Thanks so much everyone this is all super feedback - think I'm leaning back to it really not being worth it.... we have space next to the table / in the kitchen for a mat, bouncer etc so it sounds like that sounds fine - then we can work out whether to go the high chair / seat booster etc down the line....

THANKS!! A