Baby Trend highchair and Fisher Price booster seat

[proggoddess]

Hi, all,

DD is almost 4 months old, so it's time for me to start shopping for a high chair. I've looked at the boards and on BRU's website and it looks like the Trend high chair is good as well as the FP portable booster seat. Should I get both, or can the less expensive booster really replace a high chair like some of the reviews say?

We definitely will get the booster seat for when we go out to eat or head to the Grandparents' house. Our kitchen is large, so having a high chair in there is not a problem. I just want to know if a high chair is worth getting.

Thanks!

[new_mommy25]

I have the Fisher Price Healthy Care booster. We went through a huge move a couple months ago that coincided with DS starting solids. I didn't want to buy a high chair because they are so large and we would have to ship it. I bought the booster after doing some research here and a few other sites with the intention of using it temporarily and then buy a highchair upon arrival and keep the booster in the car. When we came over it fit perfectly into a suitcase and I've taken it on two trips since then. It works so well that DH and I have decided to forgo the highchair and just stick with the booster. It is so convient and DS has never noticed otherwise. You can either use it with the tray or just pull him right up to the table which is great. There are two trays and a cover. So if you are out eating you can just cover the tray and wash when you get home.

[cdmamatutu]

We have both a high chair and a booster seat. I love the convenience of having both. We leave the booster seat in the car so we don't have to worry about remembering to pack it when we go out. I think it is also nice to have both for when guests show up. There have been several occasions when a friend ended up staying for a meal and we were able to pull out the extra booster seat for their child to sit in. We have only a few regular dining chairs, so every extra chair counts. :)

Having said that, it is entirely possible to get by with just the booster. I just love having both of them, as it certainly has been more convenient for my family. You could also just get two boosters for the same effect. There is really no specific reason for a high chair unless you need all of your regular dining chairs free for guests.

[Marisa6826]

We have the Baby Trend (and loooove it) and also an inflatable booster we keep in the car.

I think a highchair is completely worth getting, especially if you plan on having other kids in the future.

-m

[malie]

We have both a high chair and a booster seat and personally if you have the room i would get both. One of the advantages of a high chair is in many ways it's more secure (yes a booster strapped correctly to a chair is pretty secure but day in and day out with a high chair you aren't worrying about making sure the straps are secure. Also a high chair tends to be roomier and the tray tends to be bigger (at least ours is but we don't have the high chair you are looking at). That's nice if you are like me and actually put your child in your chair for awhile before you actually feed them. Luke spends at least 15 minutes every morning in his chair playing while I do things like empty the dishwasher and get his breakfast ready. Because the high chair has wheels it's easy to move him so he's watching me and frankly I like the high chair in the beginning because it's higher up and you aren't feeding your child facing a table so it tends to be easier.

Obviously if you didn't have the room then that would be a different story but since you do, I think it's a good idea

[proggoddess]

Thanks, everyone. I think I will buy both. We could probably use the booster semi-permanently at my parents' house as they babysit a couple days a week. Then we wouldn't have to unstrap it to bring it home to use in our kitchen.

[kitmama]

Just want to add that we also have the Baby Trend high chair, and we really love it. It's so convienient to be able to wheel ds around as I putter in the kitchen, and the recline is very nice, and I like that it can be raised and lowered, and it looks good, and is relatively reasonable in price. . . basically we just love all the features and we use it all the time. We don't have a booster, so I don't know about that, but the highchair IS a good one.

[HallsofVA]

We have the Linkadoos high chair, and the FP healthy care booster seat, both purchased when my son was 5 1/2 months old. I found that he wasn't really sitting up well enough for the booster yet, plus I think he found the hard plastic of the booster seat a bit of a shock. That said, I think he'll do well in it once he gets a bit more trunk stability.

He does well in the high chair, which we plan on keeping in the kitchen, and using the booster seat for trips out to restaurants or other folks houses who don't have high chairs.

[proggoddess]

We bought the Baby Trend high chair and the booster. The high chair is pretty nice. I like the large tray, although it only holds toys right now. Feeding DD by bottle in it is very convenient, as it tilts way back. The only problem is that you can't hang the tray on the storage hooks on the back and have the seat back in it's most horizontal position. It can only go to the 3rd position with the tray blocking it. Ah well.

DD is DWARFED in this chair! It's kind of cute to see her little head poking up above the tray. Hee hee! But, as with all things baby, she'll grow into it!

Can't say much about the booster, as we bought that for later.

[LucyG]

"DD is DWARFED in this chair! It's kind of cute to see her little head poking up above the tray. Hee hee! But, as with all things baby, she'll grow into it!"

My DD was the same way. We have the Baby Trend high chair, and she had to sit on a folded towel in it until she was about 8 months old! Otherwise, her head barely cleared the tray!