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Original poster

highchair for 6mth old starting weaning, best one to buy??

34 replies

alibo · 04/08/2004 14:04

ds has just started solids,6 months old, can't sit up without "wobbling" yet. Hates his bouncy chair, seems to "bunched up" to swallow properley in car seat, and arms and legs everywhere if feeding hm on my knee!!! Can anyone recommend a good first highchair?

OP posts:
wellsie · 04/08/2004 14:11

We got a 2nd hand Chicco highchair (I think it's the £100 one in the mothercare brochure - Chicco Mamma?) and TBH I hate it!
DS is 7mths and if I put the tray on it he can barely see out over. It's big and bulky, too heavy and when I set it up or take it down my fingers always get pinched in the sides (I'd have to show you!!)
So my recommendation is don't get one of these.

Sorry if there are people out there who like this one.

crumpet · 04/08/2004 14:18

We got one from mothercare which straps to a chair (first years, possibly). It reclines which we found useful in the early months. Can't remember how much it cost, but it should still be on their website. DD is now 18 months, and the chair can be brought to the table if she's joining us or painting/cooking etc, as well as having its own tray for other times.

shrub · 04/08/2004 14:23

i've had a mama and papas prima pappa after it was given 5 stars in best baby buy guide - i now realise it was probably given 5 stars as these companies buy lots of advertising space in these magazines and there is an unspoken rule about who then gets the best review! anyway its very similar to the chicco that wellsie mentioned - big, bulky and a nightmare to clean as all the food gets trapped. i looked on mumsnet review and searched posts for recommendations and loads of mums recommended the tripp trapp. i have since bought one (£99) and its brilliant. nice to look at being wooden, really easy to clean, your baby gets to eat with you at the table and you can use it for years as it grows with your child. another mum posted recently saying a company has copied it for a third of the price - see www.tchibo.co.uk and then search for baby products, you should find it there.otherwise if you were interested in the tripp trapp go to mumsnet homepage and then look under reviews, then highchairs - they give a list of suppliers and some give discounts for mumsnet.

prettycandles · 04/08/2004 14:38

We have the Chicco one and like it! The fact that it can tilt back and is well-padded makes it good for non-sitting babies. We didn't bother with the tray until they were sitting comfortably on their own (so were using the seat in its upright position) and wanted to play with things at mealtimes - probably about 7-8mo. You do have to make sure you wipe down the padding properly every day, otherwise food gets stuck in the creases and becomes rather disgusting. I have never pinched myself on it and we fold and unfold it every day. I do agree that tray is a little ungainly.

bunnyrabbit · 04/08/2004 14:46

I think I have the same one as Crumpet. It's by First Years and Is brillaint. We don't intend to buy a highchair as there is no need.

It's not exactly supposed to be portable as such but does easily fit in the car so in the first months of weaning you can take it with you (we even used it when out for a family meal DS was only about 6 months. He loved being at the table)

Funnily enough it comes 4th in the reviews section under high chairs, which is pretty impressive considering how much it costs, and the competition. See here

BR

woodpops · 04/08/2004 14:52

I have to agree with shrub on this one. We also have the mamas and papas highchair and it's an absolute swine to clean. Once a week dh puts it in the garden and jet washes it with the power hose when he's cleaning the car. It's the only way we've found to get it really clean and get into all the nooks and crannys. Saying that dd has never used a highchair. We had a bumbo which I thought was fab when I was weaning. I also took it with us to restaurants so dd could sit on it on a chair next to us. Plus highchairs in restaurants anren't always the cleanist. When she figured out how to get out of that one she sat at a little table with her brother. I attached her walking rains to the chair just so she got used to it and didn't fall off. Now she's 21 months and no longer uses the rains but sits at the table good as gold.

catgirl · 04/08/2004 14:59

We have a trip trap which is wonderful, but to start with we used to stuff towels each side of ds to 'stabalise' him and stop him listing quite so much - worked for us. he is now approaching 2 and we have taken the baby bar bit off and he climbs up and down himself.

zeebee · 04/08/2004 16:32

We also have a mamas and papas prima pappa and not too keen for similar reasons to everyone else. It is a pain to clean and have to get screwdriver out to clean straps (v old 2nd hand model) - so ours are generally food encrusted! Bad mummy! In particular the tray seems really high, even at 18 mths DD has to lift her arms up onto it. But, for the early days the padding and reclining were great.

The lack of tray always puts me off the trip trap as I find the tray does contain a lot of the mess and could see the whole tble getting covered at times without one. Other than that I know lots of people rave about it.

Carameli · 04/08/2004 18:03

We've got a tripp trapp here and its been great. Although I have to admit its sometimes not so easy to get my DD(now 10mnths) out of it. She is not exactly skinny, but we manage fine. Its great having her right up at the table and they are easy to clean.

Piffleoffagus · 04/08/2004 18:31

tripp trapp here, we love it too!

enid · 04/08/2004 18:34

mamas and papas prima pappa was without a doubt my worst ever buy. You could try a Bumbo chair - they help babies sit properly and they are very comfy - then you could move to the cheap-as-chips white Ikea highchair when he's a bit older - £11 and absolutely brilliant but you need a baby that can sit well. That's what we did with dd2. The Bumbo is great as you can use it until they are quite a bit older and it makes a lovely chair for them - there's been lots of threads on it.

princesspeahead · 04/08/2004 19:28

I said only this morning to a friend of mine "if I meet the bloke who designed the Chicco Mama I will beat him to death with the f tray".
My main gripes are that the tray has a stupid rudder at the bottom so you can't rest it horizontally on a table (AURGH!) let alone get it in a sink (DOUBLE AURGH!), and is full of cracks and crannies to trap food. The rest of the chair is designed for giants' children, is 3 times bigger and more unwieldy than it needs to be and has pointless functions (seat raises and lowers. WHY? WHO USES THAT?!)

Every time I look at the ugly, hulking, messy, STUPID thing in my kitchen I feel cross. But I can't get rid of it because it cost the best part of £100!

enid · 04/08/2004 19:33

pph. Thats what I thought. I kept it for months, just because it cost £90. My dh stepped in in the end and threw it out (well, took it too MIL's house). It went mouldy eventually, just to add insult to injury.

You know whats best. Chuck it out!! We replaced it with a Handisitt (dd1 was about 18 months) and it was brill. Dd2 has it now (post Ikea highchair, post Bumbo).

princesspeahead · 04/08/2004 19:39

god but we've only had it for 4 months.... I do LOATHE it though. do you think I can persuade some poor sap to buy it off ebay? !

motherinferior · 04/08/2004 19:40

WE got a mothercare folding wooden one, seems to work fine and folds away nicely flat, although the straps are a sod to clean and you couldn't put a very round child in it, I imagine.

Can I just say that I once reviewed products for a baby mag - breast pumps, not high chairs - and I personally didn't go on advertising. (Might have saved myself a rather stressful two weeks if I had - ever tried testing 11 pumps in succession?)

motherinferior · 04/08/2004 19:41

PPH (whispers) give it to a particularly obnoxious pregnant friend?

Chandra · 04/08/2004 20:04

DS has been using an Antilop high chair from IKEA since he was 4m, it costs £11+£4 for the tray, inflatable cushions are available (great to help a wobbly baby sit up right as it inlates to the sides as well) and there's also a fabric one to use with it that I found very useful.

Very easy to clean as well.

Flip · 04/08/2004 20:13

The cheapest one I could find and it's great. I got it from Toy R Us and it was £25. It's on their website, here

enid · 05/08/2004 06:47

I write about baby products!!!! And I STILL bought the Prima Pappa!!!!! How did that happen??

Pph, how old is the bub that uses the dreaded Chicco beast?

princesspeahead · 05/08/2004 08:58

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StripyMouse · 05/08/2004 09:09

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enid · 05/08/2004 09:14

but can he reach the tray - I mean with his whole hand, not just the desperate tips of his fingers?

Hulababy · 05/08/2004 09:18

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enid · 05/08/2004 09:22

I didnt go for the tripp trapp as I quite like a tray when they are tiny - good for playing on if nothing else. But you can buy a tripp trapp tray. Stokke don't recommend it particularly (although they make it - weird) as they feel it may cause the chair to tip forward - but if you position the tray over the table it will be fine.

enid · 05/08/2004 09:23

and they are now making a buggy type pushchair that converts to a highchair when out and about - what a great idea! Finally you can rock up to a cafe and not worry about a) where to put buggy or b) if there is a highchair.