Chicco or Combi high chair?

[merianne16]

We are looking to buy a high chair for our 5 month old but we can't stand the FP Healthy Care fabric choices! The Chicco polly and the Combi chairs seem like good alternatives- any feedback? We are looking for compact storage, easy tray on and off, and easy cleaning!

[pastrygirl]

I have a Chicco Polly that I love. My son doesn't make a mess yet, so I don't know about cleanup, but it seems like it would be easy. I got it when my son was 4 months old so that I could have somewhere high up to put him. This way he could see me while I cleaned/cooked around the kitchen.

I love:
-- the neutral color and lack of ruffles (easier to clean)
-- the top tray pops off for easier cleanup
-- the whole tray stores on the legs in the back
-- how much it tilts back, for very young babies
-- without the tray, I can pull it right up to the table because of the adjustable height and arms
-- it folds very flat; the leg rest sticks out, but that's it

The one thing that might be a con is that the tray has a leg divider in it. It doesn't rest flat if you need to take the whole thing off and put it down instead of on the leg hooks.

Oh, and you might want to be wary of suction toys later on. My son pulled up on the toy and got his fingers pinched between the two trays. No more suction toys!

Cristina

[rgors]

>We are looking to buy a high chair for our 5 month old but we
>can't stand the FP Healthy Care fabric choices!

I am SO in your shoes!! We are starting to consider high chairs as well, and the FPHC is the only one with consistently positive reviews I read. C'mon people, are you blind??? The thing is atrocious. I certainly value functionality over form but every gal has her limits.

I've seen some very negative reviews of the Combi. That one's not on our list at all because of that.

We are considering:

1. Chicco Polly -- I have noticed in reviews that those with younger babies (who make less mess) seem to LOVE it ... the moms who have been using it for older babies (2y and such) seem to hate it! They complain that the straps get dirty and can't be washed, the straps are hard to adjust, and food gets stuck in a "seam" on the edge of the tray. One lady wrote in a review that she removes the straps every week (the ones that remove -- which is not all of them) and soaks them in detergent, and she also uses a toothbrush to clean the tray crevices. Umm, I don't think so!? Also the "dishwasher safe tray" doesn't fit in most dishwashers. DH and I measured the tray and it's 26.5" long... our d/w rack is 22" long -- not even close!

BBB users in the "parent product reviews" section LOVE this high chair, however -- and I consider these reviews to be the most credible source. The polly only gets 3 out of 5 stars on Amazon, however, which I think is the second best source for baby product reviews.

2. Graco Contempo or Graco Meal-time -- there was a contempo recall last year though which gives us pause, of course. The recall was, however, for people who didn't open the chair fully, it could collapse. Part of me is like "well, duh?" The few reviews I have been able to find for the chair are all basically good, but again, very few and far between. I can't find any reviews from BBB users which gives me greater pause than the recall!

3. And yes, we have to consider the FP Healthy Care for the glowing reviews if no other reason. (NoJo makes high chair seat pads -- I don't know if they fit on the FP HC but we'd certainly look into that). If "forced" to go the FP tacky-fabric route, we would probably go with the $80 target version with safari print -- we saw it in person and it was far less obnoxious than rainforest or aquarium (not as bad as rainforest but the ruffles are a serious negative). I read later that the basic Target version chair, however, has a tray that is not a one-handed release ... but some sources say it IS one-handed. So we'll have to test that feature and rank it's importance before we decide.

I know this doesn't give you any useful advice from someone who has actually used the chair(s), but thought I'd give you a legup on the research results I've had thus far. The best fairly consistent advice that I have seen is to bring your baby with you to the store to try out the high chair. Some just fit better than others, both in terms of adjustability as well as comfort.

Why is it so hard to make a really good high chair? It's like all these options have SOME of what I want -- why can't anyone put it all together in one chair?

[MissyAg94]

I have the Polly and we like it. I take all of the straps off and put them in the handwash cycle on my washing machine. I don't know which ones aren't supposed to come off but I wash them all. I don't find the highchair hard to clean but it's the only one I have used so maybe ignorance is bliss. ;) I wash the trays by hand which only takes a minute.

[rgors]

>I take all of the straps
>off and put them in the handwash cycle on my washing machine.
>I don't know which ones aren't supposed to come off but I wash
>them all.

I don't know which ones either -- I was going to go check out the Polly straps IRL and see which ones don't come off -- a few people had indicated that there's a strap that can't come off, but maybe they have an older model?

Thanks for the info!

[MissyAg94]

You know, they might be talking about the thick strap that goes between the legs. It was hard to get off but I did it. Maybe it wasn't intended to come off.

[elsid]

We loooove our Chicco Polly. We didn't like the older patterns because they seemed neutral/masculine, but we have the Splash which is very colorful. Cleaning the straps is the only real labor intensive part. I didn't know the thick strap between the legs could come off. The chair is so easy to use and easy to clean. DD is only 7 months, so can't tell how it will be when she gets older.