1st Years - 4 stage reclining feeding seat

[bryan_n_nikki]

My wife and I are expecting our 1st child in 6 weeks. We recently received both a FP Healthy Care High Chair and a 1st Years 4 stage feeding seat at a baby shower. The 1st Years seat attaches to any chair and touts that it "grows" with your child, from infant reclined feeding chair to eventual booster seat, eliminating the need for a highchair. Does anyone have this reclining chair? Is it actually a replacement to the highchair or just a gimmick? Its on target's site:

http://www.target.com/common/catalog/product.jhtml?prodid=95341&catnav=90049&navAction=push&navCount=4

[tilly2321]

We actually registered for both so that we would have a "portable" item to take to people's houses or to restaurants if necessary. I have heard great things about this item and it is sold so many places such as babies 'r us, target, one step ahead catalog, etc..
Lots of people gave this item good reviews also. I am not sure you would need both, but since the price of both of those chairs don't even come close to the price of the chicco mamma or prima pappa, you are still way ahead of the game. (IMHO) HTH!
Elaine

[suzska]

We have the Evenflo chair for at home, and the 1st Years one that attaches to a seat but doesn't recline at Grandma's house--she doesn't have room to store a regular high chair, so we got the portable one. It probably would have been nice to have the 3-stage one so that he could have sat at the table with us sooner--the other 1st Years one we couldn't use until he could sit up on his own. We've also "borrowed" the portable one to take with us to relatives houses for Thanksgiving and such.

Whether you want to use the portable chair as your main chair is a matter of preference. I know of people that have done so.

--Sue B.
SAHM to Evan Jeffrey 03-11-01

[webma]

I have the reclining version and we were able to use it before the baby could sit up. Its best points are that it's inexpensive, portable and easy to clean. It's not as cushy as the other high chairs so don't expect the baby to do more than eat in it and play for a few minutes (i.e., no napping or playing that a more comfy chair might encourage).

I've got it ratched down firmly but my dd still loves to try playing bronco on it so make sure to check the straps often and use a sturdy chair. I put a splat mat over the base and back of the chair under the seat to make clean ups easier.

[GrahamGal]

My Brother in law and his wife have used this seat exclusively for both of their children, they never bought a regular high chair and they love it but she says don't plan on it lasting through more than one child. I have one also and it is at my caregiver's home for feeding DD while she is there. It is indispensible for going to other's houses for dinner too. Love it!!

[sarsah]

I have this chair and used it with DS#1, now 2 1/2. I liked when I first started him on cereal (about 4 months), but I feel it's usesfullness declined as he got older.

Some good points of the seat are:
- the recline is nice and works well for young infants
- the seat is very easy to clean
- if you have a small kitchen/eating area, it's nice not to have a high chair taking up room

Some bad points of the seat are:
- it takes up a chair -- we only have 4 chairs for or kitchen table to begin with, so that makes it difficult when we have guests over.
- the tray comes off pretty easily -- DS could push or kick it loose without much trouble
- the latches on the tray that came with the first seat broke, but 1st Years sent me a new tray and a prepaid sticker to return the broken one. The new tray has not broken so far
- the tray is small compared to a high chair tray -- only the smallest plates will fit on it, limiting it's usefullness for older babies
- at about 14 months, DS refused to sit in it anymore, opting to sit in a normal chair with us at the table

I now have baby #2 on the way and am planning to get a high chair. We moved to a new house which has a large kitchen, so space is no longer an issue like it was before. Also, since we only have 4 kitchen chairs, I'd perfer to have the baby in a highchair since we often have single guests over for dinner.

So, to sum it up, for the price, I think it's a good seat, especially for an infant and young toddler, but as the child gets older, it's not that great due to the ease of removing the tray and the small size of the tray.

Sarah.....

[JLiebCamm]

I registered for both the feeding seat and the chair, but have not used either yet. I had alot of recommendations to skip the high chair, but ultimately decided that I wanted the high chair to pull up beside me when I was cooking or doing dishes. I wanted the feeding seat for its portability, especially for Grandma's house and vacations. If you have the space, I would recomend keeping both.

[bonbon98]

I have the reclining seats for my babies - so far it's working for us. We have the chairs at the most upright position. However, I noticed that the crotch bar is just a little bump compared to the traditional high chairs. My MIL has the Pappa and I know that when the kids arch their backs to twist, they can't get their leg over the bar. In hindsight, I think I would have registered for the highchairs to use on a regular basis and have the feeding chairs for visiting Grandma.

HTH