high chair for a small space

[jtschaef]

Hi everyone,

I'm 6 months pregnant with my first baby. My husband and I live in a small, 100+ year old house and to top it all off, we have smallish antique furniture. I'm very frustrated with the choices available for high chairs. I thought the Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair would do the trick, but measured my chair cushions and they are slightly narrower and not quite as deep as the dimensions of the high chair. I don't want to purchase any of the free-standing high chairs because their footprints are so large. A friend suggested I just buy a cheep chair at Ikea to put the Space Saver on. I would love to know if anyone has any other suggestions.

Thanks,
Jennie

[Jen841]

The booster type chairs are great, but I like them a bit more for the older kids. As much as I hate to say it, the free standing chair was great for us b/c we got one that would tilt back. They could at the table with us starting at birth. Ours had wheels and when we had a 1 story place I pulled #1 along with me everywhere I went. It was priceless!

Whatever you get, I would get one that tilts if you are going to use it for an infant. Maybe pick up a used chair somewhere to use it with? I would not go buy something new.

Another option are the hook on chairs. Can you table handle one?

[Mom2K]

Have you measured for the FP Healthy Care Booster Seat. I originally got the Space Saver High Chair and ended up returning it because it didn't fit right on our chairs and it felt wobbly to me. I was waiting for the Zen High Chairs to come out and decided to try out the Healthy Care Booster as I was waiting and I've been using it ever since - love it! Granted, I did wait until my daughter was 6 months to start her on solids so she was sitting up pretty well and didn't need a recline option. It's great for travel and for dinners out at restaurants too! Plus it saved me from buying a $200 full-sized chair - Yea! good luck.

[pinay]

Have you measured for the FP Healthy Care Booster Seat. I originally got the Space Saver High Chair and ended up returning it because it didn't fit right on our chairs and it felt wobbly to me. I was waiting for the Zen High Chairs to come out and decided to try out the Healthy Care Booster as I was waiting and I've been using it ever since - love it! Granted, I did wait until my daughter was 6 months to start her on solids so she was sitting up pretty well and didn't need a recline option. It's great for travel and for dinners out at restaurants too! Plus it saved me from buying a $200 full-sized chair - Yea! good luck.

This is what I use as well- we live in a very small condo and I could not justify a free standing high chair in such a tiny space. DD didn't start on solids until her 6 month bday and she's been doing great in it ever since. We've also taken it on vacation, to my parents' house, it's been a well-used purchase!

[pongstress]

another vote for FP booster. I had originally borrowed a Peg Perego high chair from a friend but I just couldn't stand having to walk around it in a small kitchen. Plus it didn't recline and was difficult to clean.

FP was around $25 from Amazon, and came with an enticing toy tray (which was quite useful but only for a couple of months). Portable and easy to clean.

When she was just starting solids and couldn't sit up as well, I used a bouncy seat on the breakfast table, or sat on the floor with her on towels!

Either way you may want to delay the purchase for a few more months - one more thing to store.

good luck.

[cath_b]

The booster type chairs are great, but I like them a bit more for the older kids. As much as I hate to say it, the free standing chair was great for us b/c we got one that would tilt back. They could at the table with us starting at birth. Ours had wheels and when we had a 1 story place I pulled #1 along with me everywhere I went. It was priceless!

Whatever you get, I would get one that tilts if you are going to use it for an infant. Maybe pick up a used chair somewhere to use it with? I would not go buy something new.

Another option are the hook on chairs. Can you table handle one?

I love my FP-Healthy Care Booster Seat. It is very compact. I leave it in the car because my son would only eat when he's seated in a high chair or booster chair. I don't have a problem feeding him where ever we are i.e. in the park or a friend's house who doesn't have children.

The only down side to this booster is it doesn't recline. So if you have a child who is not sitting up on his own yet, this is not the chair for him/her. I started feeding solids to my son when he was 5 months old and the recline was a life saver.

Hope this helped.

[westgre]

I've been researching this as well. The only conventional highchair I'm considering is the Graco Contempo. It folds very compactly. I'm also considering the Fisher Price Healthy Care booster. For DD and DS#1 I used the Healthy Care highchair and I really don't want that big monstrous thing in my kitchen again.

[rgavelis]

My SIL used a Bumbo and the tray that snaps on in their place once my niece was big enough to sit in one. She was using that for a while.

[MontrealMum]

We also have a small place that is very old and antique-y looking, and decided on the Tripp Trapp. I know it's not for everyone, but for us it's great because it can be pushed under our table just like a normal chair when not in use. While on vacation we also used a Fisher Price Healthy Booster (I think that's the right model) at the cottage we rented and found that it was quite nice and cleaned easily. They had bar chairs that they strapped it to for us (we rented from my mom's friend) and it worked quite well.

[new_mommy25]

When my DD was a young infant (4-6 months) we would put her in the Bumbo in the middle of the table. They say not to use it on table but I saw no issue with DH and I sitting right there. She was never left unattended. We used the Bumbo for several months so she could be part of the family even though she wasn't eating. It worked out great. Once she started eating she went to a Graco hook on chair. I liked the Graco because it has a tray and was very easy to wipe clean.

My DD is two so the Bumbo tray came out right after she outgrew the seat. Had it come out earlier we would have gotten even more time out of the chair.

I love big free standing high chairs. We had the Fisher Price Healthy Care. in the kitchen and it was great. But if you don't have space then a hook on or a strap on booster is a great choice. The Fisher Price booster is really nice. We used that for awhile when my DS was younger and we remodeled our house. The small chair was just what we needed. I would start with one of those and then when your child is about 18 months look into something like the Kinderzeat or similar chairs.

[MontrealMum]

Another idea, Ikea makes a repro wooden highchair, (sorry, couldn't find it on the website - but they had it last week when we were there). I imagine that it has a harness system since it's actually a modern repro. We use an antique wooden highchair at both the IL's and my mom's, and they're beautiful (and might fit with your decor) but we have to tie DS in with a necktie or something so he doesn't try to climb out! And they take up more space than the modern folding kind, or the Tripp Trapp, but again, maybe you'd prefer something that matches your decor?

[Aishe]

We live in extremely cramped quarters. We've used the FP Healthy Care, the Ikea high chair (the white plastic one), and the Tripp Trapp. Our favorite by far is the Tripp Trapp. It pushes up under the table and so it doesn't take up any more space than a regular dining chair. And this may have been a coincidence, but my dd was fairly uninterested in table foods until we got the Tripp Trapp. I think the foot support did wonders for her comfort level.

That said, I saw the wooden high chair at Ikea yesterday, and it's very cute and compact.