Do I need a highchair?

[hbomdiggity]

I registered for one, but didn't get it. We have a very small house and I seem to recall people IRL saying it wasn't necessary.

I'm looking at starting DS on solids and well I don't really have anywhere to feed him.

Any recommendations?

[awkwardpenguin]

We're tight on space, so we were just going to get a booster seat that attaches to one of our dining chairs. I like this one:

www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Healthy-Care-Booster-Green/dp/B004C43JJ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449857402&sr=8-1&keywords=healthy+care+booster

Or this one:

www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Healthy-Deluxe-Booster-Green/dp/B0000DEW8N/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1449857402&sr=8-3&keywords=healthy+care+booster

But then it didn't fit on our dining chairs because they're weirdly shaped. So instead we got the Ikea Antilop high chair. Everyone loves and and it's easy to move out of the way.

[tulips]

We have the fisher price space savers. They sit on a regular chair to save space.

Personally, high chairs are a must for us. They eat there as well as sit in them for craft time to reach the table. I've used then to contain the kids while I cook, too.

[smock]

Some kind of feeding containment device will make your life much, much easier. I plop DD in the highchair frequently while making dinner, even now that she's 1.5.

But you can definitely find something small or collapsable to fit in your house. We've used the Fisher Price booster (posted above) at my mom's house and it worked great. We also have a clip-on chair (the Inglesina one) that works great as long as it fits on the table.

[thebreakfastclub]

I regret purchasing a high chair. We should have just gotten a booster seat.

After 18m, DS refused the high chair. The booster lasted a few more months.

It's a lot easier to have him eat at his own small table, or at the regular table. He won't use a booster now.

[sent]

We have a small house, like no dining area small. My husband & I eat on the couch. So we have a high chair. She used it consistently for a little over a year. Then she started yelling when we'd put her in it, so I got her a little Sesame Street table and chair set from Walmart and she usually eats her meals sitting in that starting around 21 months. She still eats lunch and dinner in the high chair at my mom's place (we are there 3 days/week).   Like walks over to the chair when my mom says "time for dinner."  It is the same exact high chair we have at home and she won't get in it when I say "time for dinner" at home.  So you never know what they'll do.

But I was never able to use it for anything other than meal times. Using it as a containment device = screaming DD.

[jeaniebueller]

YOu definitely need either a spacesaver or a regular high chair IMO. They make huge messes when they start feeding themselves, plus its nice to have a spot to contain them. You can probably wait until your child starts solids to get one too.

[lilac05]

You don't need a traditional high chair, but I would have been lost without SOMETHING to contain baby. Ideally, I would have something that has a tray for when they're really little, then fits nicely under the table so they can eat at the table once they're ready for plates and will last until they're ready to sit on the chair. The problem I had with the booster chairs is that the tray is generally too small to put a plate on it. They also needed a little more support (& the five point harness to keep from crawling out) when they were really little.

I'd look for a FP Space Saver on Craigslist. Use it for awhile, then sell it and get a regular booster.

[pooh8402]

We're tight on space in our kitchen too, and we're getting a fisher price spacesaver that just straps to one of our chairs. It's fairly inexpensive, $50 at Target.

[rugbywife]

We have the second link one. We have two of them and have only ever used them, after finding a high chair took up way too much space. We put them on our bar stools around our peninsula. We bring them to the table when we sit as a family.

[noodleoo]

We have the Chicco Stack higher chair and I love it. It is definitely smaller and less obnoxious than most other highchairs. And converts to a booster seat or can be used on a table chair. Very versatile.

[sju1982]

I can't imagine not having a highchair, especially when feeding him messier foods, I like knowing that the mess is (mostly) contained to the chair. Plus, he's usually fine sitting in it for short spells while I cook/dishes, so long as I give him puffs.

[kershnic]

IKEA highchair for life. Best $20 (well, $40 because I have two kids) ever spent. I love that you can use them with the trays or take the trays off and slide them up to a table. We use them for meals, crafts, and a containment device when parents gotta get shit done. Sometimes they even enjoy watching us do things in them.

Our chairs for adults have fabric covers so using a booster chair type thing attached to them is a no go for us. They would be destroyed, because food and drink flies everywhere.

[bluelikejazz]

I can't imagine DD sitting in the high chair (we have the FP space saver one above) for more than 15 minutes to eat. I'm jealous of you ladies that can pop them in while you do stuff...

High chair/space saver is great for eating, but I don't think it's worth it to have a full size one for as little as we use it.

[laurack]

we have the clip on phil and teds and it's been great.

We also have an actual high chair in the kitchen, a large monstrosity. I hate that damn thing but it is nice to be able to contain him somewhere as often as possible

I'd recommend the phil and teds if low on space or one of the space savers

[preppy]

We also have a clip on one since we have no space. DD is only 3 months so we haven't used it yet though. When we move in April we will be getting a regular chair I think and use the clip on for travel/restaurants.

[linz]

We have FP space savors and love them. 

[niq]

You could try a totseat + booster seat. The OXO one is pretty small, and you'd get mileage out of the totseat if you ever went out to a restaurant that didn't have highchairs.

[djc315]

Highly recommend the FP Healthy Care Booster linked above. It's all we've used for 3 years.

[patbutcher]

We also have the booster that straps to the regular chair. Normal high chairs take up way too much space IMO

[sillygoosegirl]

If I could only have one piece of baby gear, it would be a carrier. But if I could only have two, the second one would be a high chair.

[halfpint]

As others said, a Space Saver or similar is great. We did have a regular high chair, but we had room to spare.

I loved our Phil & Ted lobster chair - it won't work on every table or counter top, but it worked on most. We clipped it to our breakfast bar for a long time just to have one more place to set him with some toys and a snack while I cooked or cleaned.

[vtdiamond]

Dec 11, 2015 14:14:25 GMT -5 linz said:

We have FP space savors and love them. 

Ditto!  Having to walk around/trip over 2 high chairs would have driven me nuts!!

[polarbearfans]

We have the ikea antilop.. It isn't huge, and is easy to move around. I wanted something easy to clean

[heygrey]

Yes, you need a highchair. When you're using it 3 times a day you need a dedicated spot. We bVe a fp space saver and it's been great from 6+ months. It's aldo super easy to clean.

[steamboat185]

We used the inglesina hook on high chair. It's been awesome. We could move it from the counter to the table, we traveled with it a few times easily, it folds down, and takes up very little storage space.

Oh and it was only like 40 bucks.

[FoxInFiji]

I wouldn't want to go without a highchair. We love our Oxo Sprout. It's legs don't angle out much so it takes up less space and the seat is neoprene so it's really easy to clean. It also converts to a toddler seat.

[statgirl]

A space saver is awesome. We bought one as a booster and I wanted to burn our hand me down full size high chair.

[turtlegirl]

Another vote for the Fisher Price space saver. We've used it through 2 kids already and plan on using it for DD in a few months.

[carfar]

I"d get SOMETHING. I still thing that when he was able to sit up and be in his high chair was a life changing point in parenting for me. Like around 4 months, he'd sit in his chair and we'd give him a toy while we ate dinner, and we could both eat hot food AT THE SAME TIME! WITH BOTH HANDS! Truly awesome.