high chairs!

[SilverFish]

i want to get a high chair for my 4 month old. she's not sitting unassisted yet (but is progressing quickly), and not eating anything solid (and won't be for another couple months) but she's showing signs of being frustrated lying on her back, and i'd like an easier way to include her in our evening routines than holding her on our laps while we eat or carrying her while i work in the kitchen. my back isn't great so i'd rather save the baby carriers for when we're out, and she's not too keen on being held all the time anyway... she likes her space.

are there any high chairs out there that will work for a not independently sitting babe? i'd consider the bumbo if it weren't incredibly expensive and too low. i'd like to be able to interact a bit more easily while i'm cooking in the kitchen, and it would be nice to eat dinner in the dining room, at the table, and with both hands!

what do you have? do you like it?

[daytripper75]

http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Ne.../dp/B0010WAXN6
This is what we have. I love it because it just straps on to one of my dining room chairs, I can take it anywhere with me, and it was super cheap. We've been using it for 5 years now and will likely get another year out of it before my youngest decides that he doesn't want to use it.

[Chamomile Girl]

I have this chair and I have been putting babe into it since he was 2 months old. I like the fact that it has shoulder straps, an infant head support insert and it reclines. Plus it folds pretty much flat for storage. The downside is that it has a large footprint and its kinda ugly (our pattern is different than in the link but still ugly). Functionality wise its great! I always put the babe into the chair when I'm making food because I don't feel comfortable babywearing by the stove...I'm way too much of a klutz.

[ellairiesmom]

so interesting! crashing the thread...

...in the middle of the night last night i wondered about trying dd2 in the highchair. she won't do tummy time, gets bored on her back after awhile. i wear her out of the house constantly & want to give my back a break at home & i wanted an alternative to her bouncy seat-she LOVES it but i don't want her in it too long.

dd1 has been out of her highchair awhile but we just left it out for visits from friends & my nephew. so when we woke up this AM, i put her in it expecting her to slouch right over but she was totally sitting! i couldn't believe it. i put a few toys there & she even grabbed them & put them in her mouth which was a 1st for us. i realize now i haven't really challenged her much-been holding her or wearing her a lot!

picture:
http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/r...a/IMG_7574.jpg"]

we have a svan-it wasn't cheap but we are very happy with it & it becomes a versatile chair type thing later on. also like that it is a bit smaller overall. i can pull it into the kitchen, dining room, living room, sunroom with total ease-it is so light & compact. i like that i can remove the pad & throw it in wash. once in awhile, dh takes the whole thing outside & hoses it down. it also has a plastic tray that clips on & off & can go in dishwasher. i wanted wood & something that was more eco-friendly since it was an "eating" place.

their site:
http://www.svanusa.com/svanchair.cfm

[illumini]

I have the simple and easy ikea high chair. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70146792 It's easy to clean and doesn't take up a lot of space. I love it!

[angelachristin]

we also have the Svan and love it. love that it is wood, is small, washable cushion, removable plastic cover for the wood tray, that it is a chair that can be used forever, as an adult chair later on! We got ours on mamabargains.com, sometimes they have them for a steal!

[Katie T]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Safety-1st...ooster/5192166

This is what we have and I love it! It folds for taking it with you, cleans easy and is on child number 2 stilling looking brand new. I started DD2 in it at 4 months and she couldn't sit up yet but I just stuck recieving blankets next to her and it was fine.

I don't line the ones with covers that have to be machine washed or big bulky high chairs.

[Knitting Mama]

I have this wooden Graco high chair. Our criteria was easy to clean, washable cushions, and a nice look so it would go with our furniture. It fits the bill!

[hakeber]

With DS 1 we had one pretty much like this:

http://www.chiccousa.com/gear/highch...ir-splash.aspx

But it had the cutest fishy design that I just loved. We got it in Argentina, and I think it cost us about 135 dollars.

Anyway, it was really great and if we hadn't moved across the ocean three times since he was small enough to use it we would no doubt still have it. My friend inherited it and she is still using it two kids later. The best part for me was that when we were having a party we could take the tray off and he'd still be strapped in for safety, but he could be pulled right up to the table and join in. The tilting was good for us, too because from time to time he would be snacking or playing in his chair while I cooked dinner (i'm sort of a whirling dervish in the kitchen and needed a safe place to put him where I could still talk to him) and he'd quite suddenly drift off to sleep, so I could tilt the seat back and easily slip him out without waking him up...very handy indeed.

[cristeen]

I have one similar to the first one linked, only it's Fisher Price. I like that it has different recline settings and a 5 point harness. The tray is a little bit high - I do wish that was adjustable. At 6 mos, even with my tall kid, the tray was about nipple-height on him. Getting him to get his arms up there to try to feed himself was not easy.

[Mom2M]

We have a standard Graco very similar to the one listed above with the huge plastic tray.
I got it used because it was such a great deal even though I was a little disappointed not to go and get a cool looking one.

But, I have to say, as ugly and big as it is, it was a super choice! DD1 used it for so long because she loved to sit in it (especially when I was cooking) and spread out coloring stuff, whatever she felt like playing with and when she ate in it, she liked to spread everything all over the tray.

Now, DD2 is 7 months old and I just tried her in it last week and she loves it too. she's not eating table food yet but I give her cups and kitchen stuff to play with and water and she likes to be right next to me while in the kitchen.

We did buy a new cover for it because the old one was cracked but that was cheap.
It was funny, when we got the highchair out again for DD2, DD1 insisted on getting in it to see if she could still fit. She said she missed it, lol

ETA I dragged it around to different rooms when I absolutely had to clean and it was great for keeping her off the floor and happy