what's your favorite highchair?

[spu]

DS is 6m old, and we still haven't bought his highchair. We had 2 peg primma pappas with the twins, and I couldn't stand them! too big, awful to clean!!... DS is much bigger than the girls were, so he'll fit in almost anything, and he's really mobile... so he might like one of those that he can climb into himself later on...

I'm looking for something that's:
-- safe
-- super easy to clean
-- has a tray
-- suitable for an active little guy

It doesn't have to last him until he's in college, but our kitchen table has only 4 chairs, so when he outgrows the chair, we'll either need a new kitchen set or purchase an oddball chair. Do you think it would be worth going with a tripp trapp or something like that even though it doesn't have a tray so it will last longer (and save us more time to buy a new table! LOL!)? Though, on the other hand, seating 5 around the table (or more if we have company) might be a bit of a challenge...

Does your DD/DS like having the tray? I can't imagine a chair without one... ugh!

and I'm afraid to buy the antilop ikea highchair if it's not jpma certified... but maybe I could try it anyways and if we're not wild about it for constant use, we could keep it at grammy + pa's house...

tia for advice!!

susan

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
nursed for 3 years!
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charlotte + else
+ cashew!

http://bd.lilypie.com/u2jym5.png
http://b4.lilypie.com/Bmr5m5.png

[o_mom]

We have loved our Fisher Price Healthy Care highchair. It is about 3 years old, so I'm not sure if the current ones are the same. It has three snap-in trays so we rarely have to use just the plain tray. It does not have a big bar in the front so we were able to pull it up to the table later as a transition to a booster. The 5 pt harness is pretty escape-proof. The cover went over most of the seat so there wasn't alot of stuff going down in the cracks. The only negative I had was that it doesn't stand up by itself when folded, but we only folded it when storing between kids so that wasn't a big deal to us.

[robyn9474]

I second the PP's response. I have the FP Healthy Care as well, and love it. Got rid of a crappy Graco one in favor of it. Everything said above is correct, but I must add that my favorite feature is the easy cleanabilty! Also the wheels on the bottom... allow you to pull it up to the table without worrying about scratching your floor.

[katydid1971]

We have a baby trend high chair and have been very happy with it. It is over a year and a half old and still fits ds just fine. I was going to buy a fisher price but at the time tru only had the fish one and the baby trend was a lot less bright and matches my kitchen better. I had coupons at tru and paid around $50. My parents bought the evenflo highchair and it works well for them also. It stores easily and cleans easily. DS is starting to refuse the high chair now so personally I'm glad I didn't spend lots of money on it and would have even considered the Ikea one if I lived near an Ikea. (A friend has it, it is very basic but works just great.)
Sarah

[SASM]

Cashew is sitting up now, right? Have you considered just a regular chair-mounted one? That way if you are not planning on a DC#4 you will not have to deal with the bulk of another regular-sized chair or the expense of one. As far as regular charis, we have been using the FP Healthy Care Deluxe that we had with Ian and it's fine. I liked how it had a 5pt harnass, 3 removable tray inserts, and a little "leg separator" built into the seat so Ian couldn't slide under and out of the seat while the tray was off/before we were able to harnass him in. Cons: lots of nooks and crannies (it is a wipeable fabric, though, so it is easy enough to wipe clean) and that annoying fabric ruffle around the back. We used this with Bryn (now 2) for a little while, probably 5-9 mos, and then got her a chair mounted seat, b/c we needed it for travel anyway, and she's been using it ever since. Now she **rarely** uses her high chair. I mainly use it now for time outs or when Bryn wants to be in the kitchen with me but I do not want her in my way. :) I like Bryn's chair mounted seat better than Ian's. I do not know the name of it (I **THINK** it is a FP Healthy Care) but I still see it at Target ~ it is bright green and blue with a tray that snaps on with a machine washable tray liner and cover. I do not like Ian's ~ he has one with a swivel tray that comes off. When the tray was off he'd stuff food in the big hole on the arm.

HTH! Sorry about the novel and that I do not have names. Congrats on Cashew!! I cannot believe that your girls are 4!! It is good to see you on here again. :)

[spu]

I thought about a chair-mounted booster - but our current table only has 4 chairs, which are all in use by the girls and DH and me... so that's why I'm thinking maybe going with a scan or babylon. I love the tripp trapp, but wish it had a tray. One of these days, I want to get a large rectangle table that seats 8, but I figure with the girls and DS, maybe we should wait and let them beat on the one we have before splurging on a new table and chair set...

then again, the 18.99 ikea high chair would save alot of $, but would it last long enough or is it stable enough?


susan

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
nursed for 3 years!
http://sunger2.home.comcast.net/superpower.gif

charlotte + else
+ cashew!

http://bd.lilypie.com/u2jym5.png
http://b4.lilypie.com/Bmr5m5.png

[SASM]

$19! That's impressive. You could just throw it out when you are done with it! :)

I was suggesting a chair-mounted seat b/c you can put it on just about any type of chair (we've even put it on folding chairs without concern). Because it has a tray, you wouldn't need to worry about C needing a space at the table. An added bonus...he'd be at your/family level so he might like that, as opposed to being higher in a non-adjustable high chair, and more likely to be more willing to eat with utensils, etc, like everyone else. :) These chairs are great b/c if you are actually planning on going out to a restauant you can just detach the chair and take it along with you, avoiding the use of the nasty restauant chairs. :) We bring ours with us whenever we are out of town (a lot) and it takes up almost zero storage space. There are some out there that are table mounted BUT it sounds like table space is at a premium in your household. :)

Good luck with the decision! :)

[smilla653]

My parents bought the simple white plastic IKEA one and it is fabulous. It doesn't seem unstable to me, and I just saw some in the church nursery where my group meets. If you really have to have a freestanding chair with tray, it is the way to go. Then use the $ you saved on a Tripp Trapp. We love ours, but I wouldn't have wanted to use it before DS was a little older. One caveat about the IKEA chair: the whole thing is not very big, so your son will outgrow it faster than a regular highchair. Definitely before 18 months.

[spu]

that's a really good point about DS outgrowing it, esp. if he's on the big (and squirmy) side!


susan

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
nursed for 3 years!
http://sunger2.home.comcast.net/superpower.gif

charlotte + else
+ cashew!

http://bd.lilypie.com/u2jym5.png
http://b4.lilypie.com/Bmr5m5.png

[mariza]

Someone posted this deal a few weeks ago and it looks like a great chair. I want one, but we decided to just go with the Cooshee Booster for now. This is $139 with free shipping and a code for a free tray too. HTH!
http://www.keekaroo.com/herihich.html

Here are some reviews:
http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/cust_reviews__mid--158060.html

Mariza
Mommy to my "Thing 1" DD 1/05
and "Thing 2" DS 9/06