Product Spotlight: High Chairs and Eating Accessories

lyse01

Distracted by politics this week, so enjoy the double effort this weekend! I feel like baby food prep can be its own category.

High Chairs: Give us the pros and cons of what you have, or ask about what you want. How does it store/travel? Is it good for your huge/tiny place? How easy is it to clean? Does the tray hold up? Are you getting a new one with baby 2+? Why or why not? Are there patterns you adore? What do you do when you go to Grandma’s? Is there other relevant info?

Mats: Do you lay something plastic down to catch spilled/thrown food for easy clean-up? Do you wipe down or wash? Paste links.

Bibs: Get one with something to catch the food. Beyond that, which brands do you like?

Baby place settings (fork/spoon/bowl): do you like a particular brand of baby spoon? What do you think of bowls/plates with suction cups to stick to the tray? What else do you recommend...or not?


FTMs: when you look at this stuff, what’s overwhelming or confusing? Ask away!

Want to discuss something else? Recommend it here, or second some recs by loving someone’s post (I’ll try to prioritize): https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12734953/product-spotlights-upcoming-or-requests

All product spotlights can be resurrected at any time for further discussion - type “Product Spotlight” into the search bar at the bottom of the page to find previous threads.

lyse01

High Chairs:
We have the Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair which I like a lot (but maybe don’t love). A year+ in, and I’ve got some knife cuts in the tray (our fault), some red sauce staining (usually comes off after a few days of washing), a lost strap (pro: machine washable! Con: we don’t consistently put them in a laundry bag sooo...), and crud in the crevices. I recommend Lysol wipes instead of sponges to clean. I wish the tray didn’t have the leg separator built on, and that there were fewer small (finger size) spaces on the underside of the tray, near where you have to unlatch the tray, since they get dirty easily and are mildly difficult to clean. The seat as a whole is technically small enough to throw in the car for a trip elsewhere, but practically, we only do so for holiday dinners where we REALLY don’t want to have DD on our laps. It doesn’t slide under the table at the end of the meal so I’m not sure how much space it saves compared to a freestanding high chair but I like that it feels more part of the kitchen.

I’m considering something like this learning tower/table for DD: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F2KMX6L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zjY5BbBFP8894
Anyone tried anything like it?

Mats: DD eats over hardwood floors

Bibs: Get one with something to catch the food. I like OXO brand, but any Velcro eventually gets yucky and if you leave the quasi-fabric part in the sink too long, it gets mildewy.

Baby place settings (fork/spoon/bowl): we have gerber baby spoons - originally too big for DD’s mouth (still, at DH’s portion size) but easy for her to manipulate. I also like any tiny normal silverware - demitasse spoons or iced tea spoons, seafood fork, butter knives or ones used to spread cheese/dip. I’m a fan of the durability of Re-Play’s line of toddler place settings but wouldn’t recommend for a kid who likes throwing plates or who doesn’t have a big mouth yet. Prob starting age 18-24 mo.

kangstadt

High chair: We have a hand-me-down Fisher Price space saver because our kitchen is tiny and we don't usually need four chairs anyway (the high chair attaches to a normal kitchen chair).  It works well enough, I use it with my nephew currently, and I do like that it has a recline option for smaller babes.  It's nothing amazing, but it is what it is and works well enough.

Mats: haha, no.  We have laminate flooring and a dog that cleans up after the babes .

Bibs: I never used the ones that catch the food with DS, but my sister uses the silicone ones with a lip to catch food with her son, and it works well since he is a super messy eater (mostly spit food out instead of eating it for the first three months of trying solids).  The only thing I don't like about the silicone ones is that they tend to get stains easily.

Baby place settings: We had the Boon plate and bowl for DS, and I liked the suction cup idea in theory.  DS ended up constantly trying to chew on the silicone lip of the plate though, so we stopped using that.  We usually just put food on his high chair tray until he was big enough to use divided kids plates at the big table.

professormama

High chairs: I’m SUPER loyal to Stokke Tripp Trapp high chairs. They are pricy, but 150% worth the money. The entire idea is that it’s a chair that grows with your child. The seat height and footrest are adjustable and even removable. So the chair can go from being a baby high chair to being an adult chair with a few easy adjustments. Right now my 4 year old is actually using my 33-year old hand me down chair that was mine when I was a baby. Since he’s 4, we’ve turned it in to a normal chair but with a slightly higher seat and a footrest. It’s so nice, because he’s too big for a regular highchair, but he’d have to kneel on an adult chair to reach the table. Plus It’s in basically perfect condition other than a few divots and scratches on the wood. Also, because the chairs are just wooden, they are very easy to clean. I just wipe ours down with a wet cloth, or bleach water if I’m feeling really over zealous. We are definitely going to buy a second one when our next kiddo arrives. Worth every penny, especially given that it’ll last you more than 30 years. 

Stokke Tripp Trapp High Chair Bundle, Natural with Beige Stripe Cushion https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CVF89Z0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_n0Y5BbJ03HVNB

bibbs: we just used whatever ones people gave us. I never felt like I needed anything fancy. And the plastic ones that catch food just looked like they’d be uncomfortable so we never tried them. 

Baby place settings: again, pretty much we just use whatever plastic cups and plates we had around the house - nothing fancy. My son does like to drink out of water bottles. He has several camel backs, but I don’t think I’d buy them again - the plastic spouts get chewed and I keep having to replace them. Plus the spout leaks sometimes. I much prefer the Hydro Flask kids waterbottle he has. It was more expensive but it has held up way better. The hard plastic spout doesn’t get chewed up, it doesn’t leak, and it doesn’t sweat either since it’s double walled stainless steal (plus keeps drinks cold) 

harveyisaboysname

Has anyone had the ikea one? I think I’m going to go that route this time because it’s so cheap and simple looking. 

blueberrymomma

We have a Graco high chair. Don’t love it, it’s hard to clean. We also have a cheap one that straps to a chair and we used that one much more. It’s all plastic so super easy to clean and takes up less space than that big high chair 

Bibs, I am probably in the minority when I say that I prefer the terry cloth bibs that I can just throw in the washer. DD has super sensitive skin and most of the rubber or plastic bibs gave her a rash on her neck

I love IKEA plastic kids plates and bowls

Also we have wood floors and a dog so no mat underneath the high chair for us.

thatbaintforbetty

@harveyisaboysname I have the IKEA antilop high chair. We ended up selling the Graco one we bought because DD kept stuffing food in crevices/the padding and it was a nightmare to clean. I actually really like the IKEA one but it does not recline at all. Also the tray doesn’t come off once you get it on. But I feel like it’s much easier to clean then every other seat. You absolutely can take it outside(or throw it in the bathtub) and just hose it off. 

We used some plastic bibs and they wear down/out fast. We had some that had like a stretchy plastic inside terry layers that were useless if you put them in the dryer. And some straight terry ones that were pretty good but the Velcro wears out/gets icky/weird and everything stuck to it when you wash them. I actually never found any I really loved. 

We also have the ikea kids plates/cups/cutlery. Its been pretty awesome. DD went through a throwing phase and they held up well. But the cutlery is kinda chewed up cause my kids chews on stuff hardcore. We also have some random/Gerber/Walmart brand kids metal silverware that works great. 

We had faux hardwood and a dog when she was little so never bothered with anything on the floor. 

kaitykins

We did a boon adjustable height high chair. Small tray but removable and dishwasher able liners and washes really easily. It was nice to have baby at table height when we were eating and up high if we were standing. It can also just be a chair at the table if your table is not ours...  it takes up the space of one chair too. No extra. 

Then we did a booster seat and then we did a tall chair which she is in now. I liked the metal prong forks from Walmart... actually slightly pointy. 

mrstmoose

@harveyisaboysname we also have the IKEA high chair and love it. 

High Chairs: We have the IKEA one and love it. It doesn't fold up but I'm willing to look past that for the sake of simplicity. Spaghetti night? Take that bad boy outside and hose it off. It does stain (because it's white) but again, if I do resell after we are done, it'll be for a few bucks because it's cheap as heck.

Mats: Don't eat over soft surfaces? We have wood floors in the kitchen and dogs. Problem solved!

Bibs: I like the hand towel bibs that our moms and grandma's used. You can buy them off Etsy, they wash easily and they are lasting me several kids now. I don't even bother with the plastic bibs. I thought they were a waste of money. They stretch and fit your kid as they grow. I promise, you won't regret buying them.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/597392361/set-of-three-towel-bibs-handtowel-bibs?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=hand towel bibs&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&organic_search_click=1&sca=1

Baby place settings (fork/spoon/bowl): do you like a particular brand of baby spoon? I like the plates that suction to the table for little babies but I like the RE brand at Target, they use recycled items and the utensils are bigger and easier to grab. Now, don't have a mob coming after me but I'm a fan of teaching your child to not throw the plate. We have used regular RE plates since DD was 12 months and we've never had an issue. 

kosmo86

we have one that I liked put it was SOO hard to clean. I really just want to ikea one this time around and save the hassle! 

rache1990

@professormama I want that stokke chair. Thanks for the tip!

eli_belle

High Chairs: We have the Graco Blossom 4-in-1 system. I thought I would get more use out of the booster/toddler chair option but really once they were done with the high chair we just moved them to a toddler sized table and chair. Overall the high chair has been great. After two kids we will need to replace the cover. Doesn't quite wipe as clean as I would like (food gets stuck in the seam lines) but no major complaints. I love that it comes with two snap off tray covers. I just wish they would fit in our standard size dishwasher.

Mats: None, just bare hardwoods.

Bibs: Honestly I didn't like the food catching ones. They were too hard to keep clean. I much preferred cloth bibs that we could just throw in the washing machine.

Baby place settings (fork/spoon/bowl): Mostly we would just put the food directly on the tray. Once they were a bit older we really loved the IKEA rainbow colored plastic cup, bowl, plate, silverware sets. They are super cheap and pretty durable. We now have three 6-piece sets. They are in a toddler accessible drawer and the kids can help themselves to them when ever they need something.

distraction

High Chairs: With DD1 we used a FP Space Saver High Chair, I plan on us getting another one of those for DD2. It works great to just hook on an existing chair, which means no crazy footprint of space! My mom had one at her house as well, so it made it easier to not have to bring one with us every time we visited. & at $40, it's a pretty reasonable price! 

Mats: Never had one for DD1, don't plan on one for DD2. 

Bibs: I like the ones that are fabric with a terry cloth on the back, not the bulky plastic/rubber ones. 

Baby place settings (fork/spoon/bowl): The plates, bowls, silverware at Ikea in the kid dept is great & super cheap. But that's more for toddler.. not something I am worried about now.. 

sheepshepherdess

Has anyone used the chairs that basically just clamp down onto your table so they don't take up floor space? We are looking into this one.

kaitykins

sheepshepherdess said:

Has anyone used the chairs that basically just clamp down onto your table so they don't take up floor space? We are looking into this one.

We hVe one for travel or camping or picnics. I’ve occasionally left it on our table too. Our table is round with one pedistool leg so it didn’t work past about 30lbs. And it got gross as ours was fabric and taking it apart to wash was annoying and so was moving it to clean. 

catherineclaire78

@sheepshepherdess I agree with the previous poster...I had the Chico Cady and it was a pain in the ass to clean. You have to totally take it apart to wash the seat. Used it for my first, but happily got rid of it for my other two kids and won’t use it for this one either.

sister_c

@harveyisaboysname  we just started using the IKEA highchair for our 2 1/2 year old, and we really like it. The footprint is not too big and it's easy to clean. we had trouble getting the tray on and off at first but have figured it out.  We also have an oxo booster seat which we like. It's easy to clean and doesn't stain. 

@sheepshepherdess  for the past two years we had been using a clamp on high chair – a black phil and ted's. It was a total pain to clean. If you put it through the washer it looked like new, but after one meal it would pretty much look disgusting.   In fact my mom commented on it every time she came over  which drove me nuts.  A part broke and the company would not replace it because we have not saved the original receipt.  Even though it was not good customer service, I'm happy they didn't because I hated it. 

Mats-  we have hardwood floors and a dog, so we didn't need one. 

Bibs-  we love the silicone bibs with the pouch to catch food. We have two in gray and one in orange. They rinse off easily and you can stick them in the dishwasher. We got a knock off Chinese brand on Amazon. Highly recommend. 

 Plates and silverware -  we used IKEA silverware and camping plates and bowls we had from our pre- kid days. (Took DS camping once last Summer- total nightmare). They are the lightweight metal ones that are coated in ceramic I think.  They worked really well but now our toddler has graduated to regular plates.

sheepshepherdess

Thanks all, this is super helpful! The other one I was leaning towards was the booster style. This is all because our house is very small. @sister_c thank you, now leaning towards the oxo booster.

mrstmoose

As a STM, I wouldn't worry about getting a highchair for awhile. 

angelob88

High Chairs: We ended up buying an antique one and refurbishing it. The nice wooden ones that the tray can lift over the chair itself. It has a metal tray on it to unattach and wipe off. I loved this thing, it was $20 and my DH's grandparents completely redid it to look brand new. We never did buy a newer plastic version. I did purchase a fabric back to it off of etsy though. Now for DD we use a booster seat that straps onto a regular kitchen chair and that thing is still going strong just bought in a rummage sale.

Mats: Never had them, never found a use for one.

Bibs: We had a few that had a catcher and honestly they started getting smelly and gross extremely quickly. We are sticking to button fabric ones that can easily be thrown into the washing machine. I do like the idea of those hand towel bibs that @mrstmoose listed, I think I'm going to grab a few of those because they seem like they will work better than the cheapy plastic ones we had with DD. 

Baby place settings (fork/spoon/bowl): We have 3 toddler plates that have the 3 different spots to them to separate food. They work well and we've never needed more than that. Utensils we used toddler plastic ones when she first started, the gerber metal with the rubber tips for purees but now that she's two she just uses normal ones.