High Chairs and Feeding Supplies

I have not used either of the high chairs that you mentioned. I use one made by Peg-Perego and have been very happy with it. I used it for my first daughter and am now using it for my second. It has the harness for when they can't quite sit up yet and the height is also adjustable. I think it was a little more expensive but not much but it was worth it. As far as feeding supplies, I have always stuck with Gerber.

I have the Svan highchair and just love it! It's easy to clean and move around and doesn't take up much space. There is a store in Park Ridge called Kustum Kribs that carries them. They carry lots of cute things. I don't know much about bibs since my mom insists on making them (which is great), but I really love the Born sippy cups. As far as other feeding supplies, the Sassy line is cheap and works well.

I just started feeding my little girl some cereal once a day and I can recommend a few things.
Firstly, get those great big bibs that have an actual stretchy collar around the neck. So much food is going to dribble down the chin and neck, it's unavoidable and close fitting bibs are the best. Topless feedings are best! Second, Gerber makes silicone tipped spoons that are soft and gentle on the gums of little ones. You can get a pkg of 6.
Third, I would go with a Born Free sippy cup. They are BPA and Pthlate free/no plastic in baby's mouth. Babies R Us has finally gotten with the program and is selling them now.
Fourth, make sure the highchair is really easy to take apart and clean, with washable surfaces and a tray that can be taken off with one hand. Trust me, you'll be glad! An added bonus is a tray that has another tray with in it that comes off to be easily cleaned instead of having to clean the whole big piece.
Finally, I'm sure you've done all your homework and know whether or not your baby is ready for solids or not but I just thought I'd let you know that in the US we tend to start our babies on solids sooner than anyone else and we also seem to have the most probs with food allergies. Also, who needs the added work of toting around food/spoons, etc while you're out once your baby is eating solids? All I'm saying is, make sure you want to open this Pandora's box so soon! :D Best of luck!

My Baby is 5 months old too and we haven't used our high chair yet. We are using the bumbo seat with the tray. I get down on the floor with her and feed her there. It's perfect because she fits nice and snug in there and it has a lot of support. There was a recall on this product some time ago but when I looked into it they just wanted to put a sticker on it reminding people not to use this seat on tables or other high places like counters. I would think most people know not to do this. Hope this helps.

I have 2 Stokke style chairs and LOVE them! My 5 yr old and almost 3 yr. old still use theirs daily, yet they are also good for adults when needed. The BEST bibs ever made are the Bumkins Super bibs [www.onestepahead.com, or www.babyworks.com]. You just scrub them under running water, hang, and they're dry in a half hour. They fold small enough to fit in the back pocket of your jeans.

Highly recommend the Stokke!!!! It's definitely worth it. My 4 year old is still using hers and we're saving up to get one for our 7-month old.

I HIGHLY recommend the Fisher Price Healthy Care Booster Seat. It is relatively cheap ($20-$30 depending on the model). We use it when we go out to eat because our daughter couldn't sit comfortably in the big highchairs at all of the restaurants (she'd slump, slip and slouch). The booster adjusts to ANY chair and is very secure and comfy. She sits up nice and straight and it has a tray (2 actually--a snack tray and meal tray) that we attach toys to. We have finished many meals without a fuss from her since we started using this seat (when she was about 5 mo. old). It would work well at home and would be a major space saver, but we do have and use a regular high chair here. It is relatively compact and we just keep it in the trunk now so it is always handy for travel or going out.
Good luck!

For bibs - definitely the Bumkins bibs. They are a little more expensive, but they are worth it. They don't stain, you just wash them off with a sponge & dish soap, or in the dishwasher, or even washing machine. Whatever material it is made out of, after you wash it off after a meal & put it somewhere to dry, it's ready by the next meal. I even ended up with one down in the garbage disposal, and it only suffered one small hole. And it has a pocket to catch most of the crumbs...

For high chairs, I don't think it matters, except try to make sure it's something easy to clean. The ones I got had vinyl seats, so I thought they'd be easy to clean, but there is a fabric edging that gets all messy, lots of creases & crevices for crumbs to collect... Try to imagine a few months from now when your child's hands are covered in cottage cheese or spaghetti sauce & they are touching all parts of the chair... I, too, have put away the high chairs & gone with booster seats right at the table. They're just the $25ish Fischer Price seats, and everyone that I know that has them loves them. We use them at home & everywhere we travel.

I have the svan high chair and love it! My 12mo. daughter has been using it since she was 6-7 months. It's a great space saver in comparison with the other bulky high chairs, it has several adjustments as the baby grows to a toddlers. Very easy to clean tray. The best feeding bibs we have are from Bumkins, with the pocket at the bottom. Can't tell you how many things that pocket catches. Best sippy cup is by Thermos Foogo. I have about a half a dozen of my friends who have them and love them too for their kids. You can find these items and many more at my online children's store www.ana-k.com. Good Luck!

Hi we have used the Svan since our daughter was five months old and we love it. It is very easy to use and keep clean as well as comfortable. If you go with the Svan, I would get a 2nd cushion set and phalate-free plastic try. We use the Bumkins bibs. We also use dishes, utensils and sippy cups by Nubby and Sassy. The are all BA free. You can find them at www.thesoftlanding.com. Good luck...

The Svan chair is great - it transitions into a toddler chair so you get a lot longer use out of it. Plus it looks great! I have one at home for my 14 month old son, but i will also be carrying them at a boutique i am opening up in Lincoln Square called Little Green Baby. Feel free to stop by and check it out!

K.

I don't know about the high chairs. We have a relatively inexpensive one by Evenflo and it works just fine. I've heard good things about a highchair from Ikea - kind of mod but very inexpensive.

As far as sippies go, I started my daughter at 5 months on the Nuby soft spout cups, but they were kind of unwieldy for her, so we switched to the NUK Learning Cup. She absolutely loved that, and it was easier for her to tip it up, because the handles were at the bottom. Also, unlike the Nuby (the bottom handle version), the handles actually detach from the cup, making it easier to line the handles up with the spout. It's a little more expensive than some other cups ($5-6 for one cup), but for learning, it's been great.

As far as I am concerned a highchair is a highchair .... which ever you like would be fine. We have the wooden Eddie Bauer chair....its oak so is our dining set and it matches nicely.
I started my now 7 month old on a sippy when she was about 5 months.....our firt sippy is the soft spout nuby cup. The sippy part is like a bottle and its easy for them to figure out.

We have a high chair that's currently in the basement and we use a fisher price booster seat.
It takes up so much less room and we don't even use it with a tray anymore. She just sits at the table with us. As far as cups go, we use Sigg bottles from Whole Foods and the First Years Take and Toss spoons and forks. They are really cheap and the spoon is a good size. My favorite bibs are from Ikea. They have sleeves and a pocket to catch food in and they were only $4 for 2 of them. Bumpkins makes the expensive version of them. Pampers makes a great disposable one for when you're out but i've been trying to get "greener" so I'm not buying those anymore. there is also a great placemat for restaurants that has sticky stuff on all four sides to stick to the table so you can just put food straight on it and not worry about them eating off a dirty table.

We have the Stokke high chair and love it. Our daughter, now 6 still uses it, and we hope she'll give-it-up, so her brother, now 7 months can use it when he's a little older. He's now using a portable seat with tray, that attaches to one of our dinning room chairs. We live in an apartment, so space is a bit limited. I would highly recommend the Stokke.

We love our Svan chair! Started using it when our son was 5 or 6 months. Definitely get the plastic tray to go over the wooden one. Makes clean-up much easier. Our son is now 26 months and we've taken the tray off, but it still makes a great chair for him just pulled up to the table. Also here's another vote for the Bumpkins bibs.

I have my daughter in the Svan. I love it b/c we don't have lots of space in our dining area and it fits perfectly. It's not bulky and when she gets older and doesn't need the tray any more, it'll fit under our table. Yes, it is a bit pricer, but I think it was worth it. Have fun with solids!

On the supply issue---we used (and are still using) the small spoons that change color if the food is too hot. I think they are made by Gerber and came in an eight or ten pack. My 21 month old was an early feeder and self feeder and he still doesn't like to use those short, deep ladeled spoons. I think it irritates him that he can't really get everything out of the bottom. Also on sippy cups--I don't know if you can start with these or if they require too much of a forceful suck, but any of the cups with a built in valve are so much easier for us to use. That extra piece in the lid to clean and have fall off while they are drinking just irritates me!! Good luck.

Not a lot, but I loved the Nuby flip top straw cups! My 6 month old took to it right away! I also like the spoons that change color when the food is too hot (munchkin?). I love the Inglesina clip on chair (for home or out - avoid all those icky restaurant high chairs!) Make your own food with your food processor. You get a ton of servings out of a small piece of fruit, etc. Freeze the food in a covered ice tray (OXO brand @ linens n things). Pop out the cubes and put in a ziploc bag or container for pre measured servings!

Hi K.,

My son (Matt) who just turned 5 months on the 9th of April. We have been feeding him solids for about a month or so.. maybe longer. But he weights 20 lbs. Anyway, the highchair we use is from the pooh collection. You can adjust it to three different positons. One, to recline really far back, two to recline sitting up a bit, and the third one is sitting stright up. We use this high chair for many reasons other then just feedings.

If Matt just finished eating and our dinner is ready, we leave him in his highchair and put him up to the table. We don't want to leave him in a play pin or something. We want him up to be with the rest of the family members. We also put him in there so he is not on the floor all of the time. He has learned a lot of things from sitting in the high chair. He can pull him self forward from grabbing on to the sides. He also learned to get his neck muscles stronger from that as well.

I hope this helps. Good luck with everything!

L.

I have the Fisher Price Space Saver seat, as well and I love it! It straps onto your own dining chair and it's easily transportable for restaurants, dinner at someone else's house, etc.

I love that it reclines and converts to a booster later.

The one thing that I loved that I have not seen mentioned was the mesh feeders. A great way to give your little one something to do without worrying about them choking, etc. You can put fruits, (soft) veggies, just about anything into them and let your child learn how to hold it and chew.

We have a Fisher Price space saver that we LOVE! It reclines for early feeders, helps our now 9 month old sit up straight and comfortably for eating, has a tray you can toss into the dishwasher, converts to a booster seat for later, has an easy to clean, cushy seat cover and wasn't crazy expensive... So nice... wonder why the other mom doesn't like it?! We love the Bumpkins bibs, are fond of any sippy cups with 2 handles and also like the Gerber spoons that change color if the food is too hot. And I don't know how you work as far as concern with plastics or the environment but we bought small glass ramekin-like dishes for food. They're microwave safe without the plastic-leaching-into-your food worries. Obviously we'll have to do something a little different when she wants to feed herself more from a bowl/dish but these are great for now!

I'm not sure about the high chairs that you've mentioned. I've never used them, but I can tell you that I have a Fisher Price Space Saver that I'm not really fond of and a Fisher Price regular high chair that the legs are adjustable on and the top of the tray comes off for easy washing. As far as the sippy cups, the Nuby ones are nice until they figure out that if you push the nipple down, it leaks. Stick with the playtex ones. They are 99% leak proof! Good luck! It so fun to watch them try these new foods!