Sitting Pretty

My little one has reached the ripe old age of six months and has started to eat solids! actually her maiden voyage with "real" food started with some mushed up banana at exactly five months old, which she gobbled up, problem is nothing since seems to compare, we've tried apples, pears, avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash.... we're not even talking the yucky green stuff that even I won't eat! I hadn't planned to start weaning her till the text book six months but she'd been so vocal and teary eyed every time we ate in front of her that we just gave in. If she was eating she was going to need a place to sit so we started looking for a highchair, I'll admit that I was biased to start with, I've always had a thing for wooden highchairs and I've scrubbed down enough crusty baby food leftovers out of traditional plastic highchairs to know that that probably wouldn't be the route I'd take, not to mention I think they're plastic monstrosities! I refuse to have plastic baby gear take over my life and cramp my style so imagine my joy at spotting the Stokke tripp trapp early on in my pregnancy. I love the concept of your child being at table height and how it encourages us to sit and eat as a family, it's great for babies posture and it blends in great with our existing table and chairs. We opted for the natural finish but it comes in ten vivid colours/finishes.


It will definitely put a dent in your wallet but unlike other highchairs which cost quite alot here anyway you won't have an urge to banish it to storage or give it away, after just a couple months of use. Turns out this chair was designed by a like minded dad who designed the prototype for his son over 30 years ago! there's something to be said of scandinavian' design relevance spanning over decades.

I must say that I did do a little market research before making my final decision and I tried giving some other chairs a chance, we checked out the Bloom Fresco available here at Shilav, it looks really cool and modern in a "Jetsons" sort of way but my main turnoff was when I attempted to snap the tray on at the store it pinched my hand resulting in a rather unsightly bruise that took weeks to go away! that and the arm and a leg price tag! it also has a rather large foot print and cannot be folded.


While visiting that Shilav we also came across the Inglesina Zuma, it looks like a Fresco/tripp trapp Hybrid. It comes equipped with a two layered seat pad and a removable tray insert. It appears Inglesina is branching out into the world of Baby "Interior Design" with it's new line M'home, awash with metallics and primary brights It's a little too Hi-techy for my liking and even designer plastic is still plastic.


It was Mies van der Rohe who announced less is more, and I couldn't agree more, I love the simplicity of great design and who knows maybe my grandchildren will be proud to use this great piece of "vintage" design in the years to come!