Highchair and bowl recommendations

[WeeScottishWife]

I'm starting weaning soon and wondered if anyone had bowl or highchair recommendations?

For a bowl, I want one with a suction base, and wondered if there were other makes apart from Bamboo Bamboo that people like?

In terms of a highchair, it needs to fold (so the much-loved Ikea one is no good), and I'd like one with a footrest that I can adjust the height on as my daughter grows.

Would love to hear any thoughts from you all! :D

A determined toddler is much stronger than a suction bowl I’m afraid. Are you going to be doing puree and finger foods or blw?

Never found a good suction bowl....
High chair wise I have s mama's and papas one which folds and is good and also an east coast High chair/toddler chair and table combo which is ace

Suction bowls are a waste of time IME. Just get a set of plastic bowls, and you'll probably end up with a few melamine ones from various sets. The suction mats are quite good though.

The legs can come off the Ikea one for storage if you want.

I also liked Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster Seat which straps onto a normal chair and can be tidied away when you want. It's compact enough for a 6mo but still fits a toddler. You just remove the tray as they grow.

With the Fisher Price one, the chair it's on acts as a footrest and you can adjust the height.

I also wouldn't recommend a suction bowl - they aren't really necessary. When I start weaning with finger foods I just put them straight on the tray. The cheap Ikea bowls and plates are fine for other foods.
I would recommend getting some sort of easy to wash/wipe mat to go under the highchair so that any dropped food can be picked up and put back on the tray, a shower curtain works well.

I think to decide what you need, you need to decide if you're going to do BLW or purees. Theres nothing wrong with either way, with purees you'll need a bit more stuff.

With highchairs, it depends on your budget. I went for an Ikea one. Its great, it works, its cheap and easy to clean.

Also, I just dont understand the need for these bamboo bowls people rave about. Its just a wooden bowl. Honestly, I wouldnt fork out for stuff.

We got a high chair from Mamas and Papas. I bought it because it has a 5 point harness as we didn't want our LO falling forward, adjustable height, additional basket for bibs and things, reclining position in case she falls asleep and a foot rest. It cost about £80 but it's been great for us. I have to admit we didn't pay too much attention to bowls. We bought the Tommee Tippee ones from Lidl but the tray from our high chair has separate compartments for food (if doing BLW) and it's detachable. At the moment our LO doesn't want to eat from a bowl but if we put things on the tray they'll try it. Sometimes kids just don't go the way you think they will. Lol.

Bamboo looks cute but it can’t go in the dishwasher. No time for that! Suction plates never work. Beware the bamboo plates that look like plastic too, they crack the first time they hit the floor. I have a pack of 10 basic plastic plates that came from Boots, high sides for easy scooping, dishwasher safe and indestructible when thrown. Seriously, keep it simple and robust.

I love our Stokke Tripp Trapp. It was expensive but we’ll be using it for years. You can get loads second hand. Otherwise, at the other end of the scale, the IKEA Antilop or the Cuggl Pickle which is similar and has a foot rest. Avoid anything huge with loads of padding, it’ll be a nightmare to clean.

Tbh, at first, skip the plate. Just dump it on the highchair tray. The plate will only get turned over, played with then thrown.

I’ve got the twist and shake bowls and mat. We didn’t get a huge amount of use from them but they were very good in the beginning as he didn’t have to hold the bowl whilst he was spooning food.
I always use a plate or bowl, anything that was thrown was removed. He only did it once or twice (and he’s not the best behaved child, despite my efforts but throwing food was a major line). Sass and belle do some bamboo ones that are like melamine and can go in the dish washer, we’ve loads of melamine plates and bowls.
I tended to put hot food in a small glass bowl and none were broken. Vitrified hotel ware is a very tough and cheap alternative to plastic or melamine.
My high chair was an ancient one someone gave me.

We've got a Stokke Steps high chair. As a PP said about their trip trap - it was expensive but you get years out of it as changes into a seat (My DN's are still using theirs at 4, and my other DN who is 8 often uses his siblings' seats)

With bowls, we did spoon feeding so got the set of 3 munchkin bowls with suction - the sucker doesn't stick to the stokke tray so all food now just gets put on the tray (DD is 13 months so not much spoon feeding now)

We also got the set of plastic cutlery from munchkin (3 forks & 3 spoons) and they're the most used items in the kitchen!

We have the IKEA set of plates, bowls and cups that are multicoloured and plastic that get used regularly. We have 1 Bamboo Bamboo plate that DH ordered that has never been used, but it looks lovely!

I really recommend the Joie mimzy foldable highchair. It has a removable tray, basket underneath for bibs/wipes etc, good harness and really easy to clean. It also folds using just one hand which is handy when you have a baby on the other hand. It's fanstastic.

Bamboo can also contain formaldehyde - so beware anyone touting it as a "chemical free" alternative to plastic!

The ikea highchair is great. Or i have heard good things about the Joie Mimzy Snacker.

I personally didnt see the point of an expensive one with a harness as I never do up the straps. Hopefully it never ever happens but in the event that baby started choking I just want to be able to lift them out.

The best suction I have found is the Bamboo Bamboo bowls but they can't go in the dishwasher which is annoying so I dont use them very often. I also have a set of 3 munchkin suction bowls which are ok if you wet the seal a bit. Majority of the time i just put the food on the tray or hold the bowl load the spoon and hand it over.

This is all really helpful to hear, thank you all :) It sounds like suction bottoms on plates aren't as effective as they look, so I'll maybe just get some ordinary ones after all.

The best played and bowls I've found are easy tots. My LB can pull all others off his high chair. You can use discount code Firsteats10 for 10% off and free cutlery. I haven't done a bamboo plate yet that he can't pull off. 😭

I've got the mimzy snacker highchair which I love xx

We used the Tripp Trapp and just our normal china bowls and plates from Ikea. They're pretty heavy so harder to pick up and fling, and they cool food nicely.

We had a few plastic ones for snacks and taking out and about.

Currently weaning my 10 month old.

Haven’t found any suction cups that are strong enough to hold on when she inevitably decides she wants to hurl it across the kitchen so I just put the food on her tray.

Tried the chicco poly magic high chair but I didn’t get in with it at all. It folds but it was a big cumbersome thing that was always in the feckin way so I gave it away and got a chicco pocket snack chair that basically straps to pretty much any dining table chair. Works for us.

For sippy cups I recommend the munchkin cup with the straw. It has a weight on the bottom of the straw so your LO can drink from any angle.

For bibs, I use the Tommy Tippee one that has a pouch to catch the drips. Put a Muslim square or bib underneath around their collar for especially messy food like porridge.

I do a mix of purées and finger food/ blw. I find my LO doesn’t have the attention span to feed herself enough to be full so I spoon in mouthfuls while she has a go at getting a broccoli spear in her gob and whatnot.

My last bit of advice is to embrace the mess. Good luck!