Trip Trap and BLW. Is it hell?

[DeJaVous]

I'm so so sick of the (attractive, fancy, PFB) highchair we have and have decided to sell the damn thing.

We have a smallish open plan living room so the highchair is permanently in the way in view. I really want to avoid having to look at the Antilop day and night, so I was thinking of getting the Trip Trap.

DD is nearly 10 months and BLW, is that really going to work with the Trip Trap not having a tray? Can you get DC close enough to the table that everything doesn't fall between the table and the chair? Also, what do DC eat from when using the TT? Putting DD's food directly onto the table cloth doesn't really seem like a good idea Have no idea from what age the TT is practical.

The Antilop I have at MILs is great (fantastic in fact, but unbelievably ugly) but is too low for the tray to sit over the table like the tray of my current hated highchair does. This means it would take up an enormous amount of room, which I am also keen to avoid.

So, any advice?

It's not too bad if you also use a pelican bib. Could you get one of those booster things with a tray that straps onto a chair until she is a bit bigger? DD2 is now nearly 18 months and has no problems with the Trip Trap.

Oooooo, the booster with tray thing sounds good, I don't know them. Could you do me a link?

DD refuses to wear a pelican bib , we use the long, long sleeved, fabric ones.

I used an antilop with tray until dd was about 15 months then switched to trip trap

but I think the antilop looks great

Maybe I could handle the Anitlop if it's only for 6 months or so. Oh, I don't know. TBH I feel like feeding DD in the bath and being done with it

Mind you I haven't got a bath

spoon feed until she is old enough to reach the table

just a thought

We used a trip trap all the way, no problems at all. never had a tray (although you can buy them on eBay) and DS managed just fine.

like all high chairs, every so often you have to give it a good scrub down, but it's nice to look at and comes up clean very well. Not too many awkward corners for food to lodge into (DS is now 2.5).

I my trip trap.

this sort of thing

They are pretty good and very wipe-clean, and of course you can just take them off once they're finished with. We have one for travelling and outside eating, and I often wonder why we don't just use it at home!

Sorry, to answer the questions:

No problems getting DS close to the table, the design is very good for that
We used an oil cloth tablecloth so often put food directly on that

Neither DD or myself are up for spoon feeding Enid. Even if we had been, surely this would be the age we should be moving over to finger foods anyway?

Thanks for the thought though, I like lateral thinking!

x evryone who posted after Enid!

Hmmmm, the TT is sounding like an option after all. I suppose if it didn't work at first I could just store it until it was practical...

I'm quite happy to invest in a TT, my niece is still using hers at 7 and MIL had a full compliment of TTS as dining chairs for years. Why didn't I just get one in the first place? Grrrr.

Cheers for the link Bram

Blimey, that will teach me to talk to DD whilst MNing!

DS has had a TT from 6 months - pulls right up to the table no problem. We have a glass table, so we used to put the food on the table directly, but you could use a Hippo mat, or one of those sucker bowls if your child won't just rip it off and chuck it just to show their disgust at the poor design.

cmot, DD is very sharp on design, one of those bowls with a sucker would hit the floor before I could blink . What is a hippo mat?

I'm probably just going to go for the TT...

Can anyone tell me how high the rail at the from is (from the ground), our table is a bit higher than standard.

Found this rather nice hippo mat, but can't find anything food related...

This is the thing I was thinking of mat. No idea if it is actually sticky enough as I gave up on these things pretty quickly.

I think one MNetter got a sheet of glass cut to fit her table, which looks great and protects it from hot items as well. Even at 2 DS likes to move food off the plate to examine it all, and doesn't approve of tablecloths

The hippo mat looks handy, but TBH if you gave up on the quickly I don't think I'll bother (it looks like I'd have to order one from the UK). Our table is rather old and not really flat enough for a sheet of glass, am oil cloth tablecloth would probably do the job just fine though.

A TT it is, me thinks...

Grr, I am so with you on the TT/Antilop debate. DS is nearing 6 months and I favour BLW.

DH does not want our lovely marble table to get stained or "ruined" so I'm trying to figure out the best solution for us. We both want a TT but I'm less inclined to get one initially b/c of the no tray factor. I'm not that keen on the after-market tray as it has no sides, so equally a faff.

Friends with TT love them, but they aren't BLW. I just want to get started, so need to make a blooming decision!

TripTrap + BLW worked for us. I have to sand weetabix out of the (wooden) table periodically but such is life...

Your DH needs to get over it. You had a child - this means that the table will get paint/crayon/plastacine/pasta sauce rubbed in at some point, whether you do BLW or not - its the nature of children.

Get a PVC coated cloth tablecloth and use TT at the table. In fact, you might as well tape one on now if your DH is going to worry about the table getting ruined..

..oh and sucker feet on bowls only work on plastic/glass - they pull straight off a wooden surface

True enough, table will get stained eventually, I'm sure. Gone are our stylish living days. Can't wait to see DH's face when I put the oilcloth on the table!

I had babies when it was called finger foods. Both had tripp trapps from when they could sit up.
We put the FINGER FOODS on a plate. Is there some new pfb rule weaning rule I've missed? 'thou shalt not use plates/bowls, thou must only put food directly on high chair tray/table?'

Do you think that once weaned a child miraculously starts to eat perfectly from a plate with knife and fork? Ime and imo you might as well just get the tripp trapp and get used to the mess that children make when eating/painting/drinking/fighting with their brother at mealtimes.

(We have 2 tripp trapps and they are fab, can't bear those horrible plastic contraptions with trays)

using a plate is great If your baby is of the opinion that plates stay on the table/tray. Mine wasn't and wanted to examine the plate in detail/wear it on his head/use it as a discus. And it wasn't finger food, it was food that DS chose to eat with his fingers - there is a difference.

If I felt like eating my meal with one hand, he got a plate. If I wanted to eat with both hands and not twitch, I used the table. Slowly, he got the idea of plates/bowls/cutlery, and now uses all of them with a good degree of skill

Tripp Trapp and BLW have worked for us - twice! DS1 is still using his and we bought a new one for DS2. I just love the TT and BLW it's so easy!

I have a couple of Tommy Tippee 'sticky' mats and they work with a wooden table and although DS2 can unstick the plate more easily than we can, it does keep it in situ more often than not for most of the meal.