Choosing a Highchair

What a difficult decision.  There are so many factors to consider...folding or static, all plastic or fabric, with or without tray...and then there is the cost....do I really want to shell out hundreds of pounds for this, admittedly very important, piece of furniture? Well...no I don't.  So there are all these factors and then there is the biggest factor of all...is MiniMe going to be comfortable/enjoy herself/be able to get the best out of whichever chair we end up buying. 

We've decided to buy MiniMe her highchair as a present for Christmas.  Although she won't be 6 months until the end of January we think that it would be amazing for her to be able to sit up with us while we eat our Christmas Lunch...and not be on anyone's lap. 

Her head control is really good and she is capable of sitting up straight with a little bit of support, so we figure she is ready.  Also, she has started to get very fussy when we are eating our meals and she is relegated to the Bumbo on the floor, or her bouncy chair.  She looks at us and barks "How dare you sit me on the floor while you two have all the fun up there!" Normally she can be placated with a toy, but for the most part we end up wolfing down our dinner with zero conversation.  Not ideal.  

Stokke Tripp Trapp

For ages I drooled over the Stokke Tripp Trapp and the infant insert.  How forward thinking, I thought, to have MiniMe up at the table from day ONE.  And then I saw the price...sure, it is an investment, but considering we are quiet keen on trying Baby Led Weaning we really need a highchair with a tray.  Siiiigh it still is a very nice highchair.  Oh well, MiniMe will have to do with sitting in one when we go out to a couple of the cafes that have them.  

Phil and Ted's Lobster 

We live in a tenement flat so space is at a premium and our living room is quickly becoming overrun with MiniMe's gear.  The highchair is going to be yet another thing that we have to find room for.  Sure it is going to be used daily, hourly, constantly, but some of these things can be pretty massive.  Something like this Phil and Ted's Lobster seat could be the space saving solution we've been looking for.  The seat is made of fabric and simply clamps onto the table.  MiniMe could sit right up with us, and it wouldn't take up any valuable floor space.  Downsides I can already imagine....cleaning the fabric could be a nightmare, it could leave dents in our table (although all the info I have read says it won't) and, well Dad doesn't think it looks safe at all.  And there is no tray.  I'm really not keen on MiniMe spreading and grinding her food into the tablecloth just yet.  

Cosatto's Pretzel

Cosatto's version of the Stokke Tripp Trap solves the tray problem.  This highchair comes with a tray attached that can flip over the back of the chair so MiniMe could sit right up at the table as well as eat off her tray.  The fabric pads are removable and washable, but I have visions of having to wash them 3 times a day once MiniMe is into her food...not ideal, although it looks awesome.  

Mothercare MiHi

These Mothercare highchairs tick a lot of boxes.  They are all plastic, so easy to clean...they are relatively inexpensive (something like £20) and they are super stylish...ok not actually one of the criteria, but it comes in a range of bright bold colours...how cool! The only downside I can see is that the seat itself is very wide.  MiniMe isn't a big girl, she's rather dinky.  I have visions of her slumping over during this in between time when she can't quite sit up unaided. 

Ikea Antilop

Most of my pals have this Ikea highchair, and from what I have spotted...most city cafes have them too.  The seat is narrower than the Mothercare MiHi and at 4.5 months MiniMe can sit up pretty well in it needing only a little extra padding to support her back...she isn't slumping over to either side.  It is easy to clean and is cheap as chips. The legs do splay out so would take up quite a deal of space, but that seems pretty standard.  Ok, it is boring white (although it comes in red and blue...those colours aren't stocked at our nearest Ikea) but that way it is more like a blank canvas for all that food that is going to get smeared on it.  

I'm no closer to choosing a highchair and as Christmas draws closer and closer I realise we really need to just make a decision.  Any wise words out there? 

Too nosey to nurse

MiniMe is too nosey to nurse unless she's sleepy or has just woken up from a (rare) nap.  Granted, at these times she is much more efficient at feeding (something we are trying to encourage) but this curiosity is making it increasingly more difficult to nurse during the day, let alone when we are out and about.  

Breastfeeding has been a challenge from about 2 months anyway.  The curiosity partnered with a determination not to eat too long (surprisingly not a greedy baby) has caused MiniMe to suffer from a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance...which sucks.  It means she is feeding little and often, like VERY often. And it isn't doing her tummy any favours.  

We are working on feeding for longer, using block feeding (feeding from one side for a length of time before switching to the other breast) and breast compressions.  We are trying to lengthen the time between feeds by waiting until she is really hungry and demanding to be fed, making feeding in public a fiasco.  It all weighs on my mind.  

If MiniMe doesn't up her weight gain over this next week we will seriously have to consider introducing a formula feed in the evening to help bulk her up.  

I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Of course I am going to do whatever is best for MiniMe, I wouldn't refuse her formula just to be able to say she was exclusively breastfed.  I mean, it doesn't matter that much to me.  BUT there is a little part of me that knows that introducing the one formula feed will quickly lead to more.  I'm not convinced that she is always latching on properly, and I'm pretty sure she's lazy...the bottle is just going to be too easy.  

I was voicing all my concerns with Dad this weekend and he said, "Well in 6 weeks we'll be weaning anyway, you aren't going to breastfeed after 6 months are you?" 

Oh, I hadn't actually considered stopping breastfeeding at 6 months.  The thought of introducing both solids and formula fills me with dread.  The BBC broadcast a report a month or so ago about a pilot scheme paying mums to breastfeed and they reported that something like only 1% of exclusively breastfed babies continued to be breastfed after 6 months.  Does that mean that MOST babies go onto formula when they start weaning? 

I'm not sure what I'll do.