I got my high chair as a hand-me-down from a mother of twins who probably taught me more about baby things than anyone else! This particular high chair isn’t being made anymore, so I’ll tell you some of the features that attracted her (and me) to it.

Firstly, it has a wide, wrap-around, tray with a high lip around it. I had always wanted one of those beautiful wooden high chairs, and it was tough for me to take a modern plastic one….but I’ve never regretted it. That big tray with it’s tall lip has saved me from many messy spills. It’s also been great during the toddler period when he’s eating bite-sized finger foods, but is not responsible enough to manage a plate at the same time.

Secondly, the tray comes off easily for cleaning. There are just two squeeze latches - one on each side - so you just grab the sides of the tray and lift it up. You can actually do it with one hand if needed: you simply squeeze one latch and lift the tray up at an angle. The other latch comes undone by itself.

Thirdly, I love the way the tray pulls out. It’s also a one-handed operation - just grab the lever in the front and pull or push. My friend with the twins especially appreciated the fact that the lever was on the front of the highchair’s tray, rather than underneath. She could “hip it” if her hands were full of babies.

There is just one thing I’ve occaisionally wished my highchair had: wheels. And this one has nothing to do with feeding convenience. There have been times when I wanted to wheel a tantruming toddler into a time-out without having to undo a bunch of straps!

The one thing I think we all can (and should!) do without is these high chairs that recline. I’m going to get on my soapbox for a minute, OK? I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I have to say this for health and safety reasons. If you have a baby who is really ready to eat solids, he will be able to sit up on his own. If he still needs to recline, he’s too young to eat solids and should be breastfeeding instead. And if he needs to be bottle fed for some reason, he should be held and loved, not left alone in a reclining high chair. I get very frustrated hearing about babies who “have to” be fed solids at 6 weeks or 4 months. Their digestive systems aren’t ready for this assault, and it can in fact be a choking hazard! Breastfed babies often go six to nine months or longer without solids, and are completely healthy - even round and chubby! So please, before you spend money on a reclining high chair, ask yourself if God ever intended for babies to lie down and be spoon fed adult food. OK, I’ll step down now, and hope you’ve heard this in the spirit of concern in which it was intended.