A high chair is one of only a handful of big ticket items you will buy for your baby. Before investing $100 or more into this purchase, you’ll want to do some research. And yes, you can get a high chair for under $100, but I’ve discovered that in this product category, the adage “you get what you pay for” holds very true.

I began researching high chairs with some personal biases in place. Many months ago, I researched and wrote an article about ergonomics in the home for www.theWAHMmagazine.com and I learned of the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair. I was immediately hooked.

The high chair has several appealing features:

• sturdy solid wood construction (and available in a variety of colors/finishes)
• adjustable footrests
• removable tray for easy cleaning
• modular seat so it grows with the child, even converting to an adult chair

Most significantly, the Tripp Trapp is the first chair that permits you to pull your child—even an infant–up to the family table for dinner.

The solid beechwood construction is built to last and, with 11 available colors, you can purchase a high chair to match your kitchen or dining room table. The cushion is sold separately, so if you change your décor, you can buy another cushion. I love the fact that the high chair doesn’t look like yet another piece of baby gear, but an actual piece of furniture in the home.

And it becomes just that, years down the line, when you can convert it to a regular chair.

The Tripp Trapp allows you to adjust both the height of the seat and footrests and the depth, so your child can fit comfortably at any age and size. Designed ergonomically, the chair has a double curved back rest which takes pressure off your child’s developing spine.

Additionally, the adjustable footrests keep your baby’s feet planted solidly, not dangling in mid-air. Since children are able to shift their weight from foot to foot, they fidget less. (Aren’t you more comfortable and secure with your feet solidly on the floor or a footrest?)

For infants, a separate baby set is available, and a five-point safety harness keeps your baby safe and secure. Not many (if any) other high chairs offer the five-point harness, which exceeds ASTM safety standards for a high chair. The baby set / safety guard is available in colors to match your chair.

Many moms (myself included) might balk at the price tag of the Tripp Trapp. But when you consider that you’re getting a high chair that can change with your décor, last for the life of your child, and convert to an adult chair that holds up to 250 pounds comfortably, the price begins to make sense.

Even more important, however, than the style, durability and adaptability of this chair are the psychological benefits of a high chair / booster that brings your child directly to the family table during dinner. For co-sleeping parents, the concept is a no-brainer. Our children share the family bed; by all means they should join the family dinner table.

Studies show that the family dinner table is the optimal place for children to learn socialization skills, manners and good nutrition. Your child can be part of dinner in a conventional high chair, but they might feel separate from the rest of the family—the “grown-ups.” I’ve always believed in integrating children, whenever possible, to the adult dinner table. Let children be a part of dinner activities as soon as they are able to sit with support, and the learning and socialization can begin sooner!

Best of all, Stokke, manufacturers of the Tripp Trapp chair, have joined forces with Babies Online to offer a FREE Anabel Karmel feeding gift with each purchase made before March 31, 2009.

I’m writing a lot these days, because at the pace my daughter is growing, and learning, she just gives me so much food for thought. And speaking of food, I truly am wondering whether my baby is eating too much.

She is 10 mos. old. Here’s our feeding schedule:

Breakfast is usually oatmeal cereal with bananas or pureed apples mixed in. She usually eats half a cup of this.

Lunch: Is another serving of fruit or veggies, usually a quarter cup. She also usually has steamed rice with homemade soup, about a quarter cup. She will also usually have shredded chicken from what we’ve cooked for the family.

Dinner: She eats everything…kidding, that’s what her uncle chimed in while watching me type this. It’s the impression everyone has. But seriously, she’ll have steamed rice with homemade soup again (1/4cup), a few spoons of cottage cheese, and about 1/2 oz. of shredded chicken.

I feed her until she’s no longer interested in eating, but as soon as she sees something new on the table, she will screech and demand to have some. Bread, cheese, spicy entrees that we don’t let her have, more rice, rice rice and rice.

I’m a little worried that she doesn’t seem to have a stop-signal from her body that it’s time to stop eating. I also nurse throughout the day before I feed her a meal so you would think once I get the first signal from her that she’s full (less enthusiastic opening of the mouth and sometimes outright spitting of the food), she won’t want anymore.

She’s always been in the 95th percentile in weight and around average for height. I guess I’m worried that this is a precursor to a lifelong habit of non-stop eating, which I know is ridiculous at this age. Okay, okay, you’re probably saying why don’t I consult her pedia on her height and weight. I will and I’ll let you all know what she says. However, I always find other parents’ input invaluable.

What has been your experience in feeding your baby?

Introducing solid food is a major milestone in your baby’s life. Most pediatricians recommend solid food be introduced sometime between 4 and 6 months.

The most common first food is baby rice cereal, a very small amount mixed up with formula or breastmilk so it’s only slightly thicker than than the milk.

It’s exciting to be able to feed baby “real” food. But an obstacle many moms face is that their baby tries a few mouthfulls of food, or eats well for a while, but then won’t eat any more!

There’s a couple of reasons.

• First, it’s a totally new experience, and baby may not be ready. Leave it for a week, then try again. If you are trying solid food early, around the 4-month-mark, babies are especially likely to not be ready.

• Some babies don’t like eating from a hard spoon. Try something more familiar. Offer food on the tip of your finger instead. Or, put a blob on baby’s finger and help her suck her finger.

• Some babies don’t like the taste or texture of rice cereal. Try it – it does taste a bit like pureed paper to me, so it’s understandable baby may not like it either. You can also try stage one pureed foods – pears or sweet potatoes are often more popular than cereal. If you like, you can mix them with breast milk or formula to thin the purees out even more, and make them taste a little more familiar.

If baby is rejecting food whatever you try, don’t insist on it. Babies need to experience food as a positive thing, being forced or pushed to eat solid food can set you up with all kinds of battles later on.

Breastmilk and formula provide all the nourishment babies need, and eating solid food as this age is more for the experience, rather than for nutrition. It’s OK to stop trying for a week, or two, or even longer, and wait for baby to be ready.

It’s also very, very common for a baby who has been chowing down solid food for a few weeks or months, and then reject it entirely. Or suddenly become incredibly fussy – like my son when he would only eat bananas or cheerios for two weeks. This can feel so frustrating, and worrying too – is baby getting enough to eat?

It’s normal, and it’s actually a sign that baby is developing well emotionally, and that she has a strong, healthy relationship with you. She feels confident enough that she can test you, and she’s confident that you will keep feeding her.

It’s common that baby will eat for someone else that they don’t know very well during these phases. During my son’s fussy stages, he’d eat for his Grandma, but he wouldn’t touch anything I gave him.
When your baby opens wide for your mother-in-law, and rejects your food, that’s when Moms have to do some deep breathing!

Remember, as with so many other things about babyhood, that it is a phase, and it will pass. Try not to take it personally. And what it really means Baby loves you more than your mother-in-law.

• Babies Online – Baby Food Stages
  
• Baby?s first spoonful: Are Mom and Baby ready?
• Baby’s First Taste of Fruits and Vegetables

Your baby’s pediatrician should be your first source of information and advice for feeding your baby. Consult with your baby’s pediatrician about what foods are appropriate and at what age they should be feed to your baby. And consult your baby’s pediatrician if you are worried about what your baby is eating, or if they are rejecting all foods, or refusing breastmilk and formula.

A recent report entitled ?Healthy Food Campaigning Could Be Putting Toddlers’ Health At Risk?from the U.K. indicated that the recent awareness and concern about childhood obesity has led to some toddlers to be categorized as undernourished. The focus on fruits and vegetables and high-fiber in lieu of carbohydrates (including sugars) and foods with a high fat content (particularly in nursery schools and day care centers in the U.K., where children may spend as much as 12 hours in childcare centers) is what has led to this reversal. Experts are cautioning that while providing a healthy diet is important, toddlers (ages 1 to 5) need different nutritional requirements than adults, and the diet they are being given is more appropriate for older children and adults.

An average-sized toddler should consume between 1,000 and 1,300 calories daily according to nutritionist, Sue Gilbert. According to Gilbert: “Toddlers? caloric content should come from a combination of 16 g protein (64 calories), 44 g fat (396 calories) and 210 g carbohydrate (840 calories). It is also important that toddlers get 800 mg. of calcium: 800 mg.” She continues, ?Even with two cups of milk a day, toddlers still need another 200 mg. Offer yogurt, cheese, tofu, and leafy greens.? Toddlers who are four and over should consume 1,800 calories per day. ?Regardless of the total intake, the composition should resemble the following: 50 to 60 percent of calories from carbohydrates, 25 to 35 percent of calories from fat, and 10 to 15 percent of calories from protein. It should be remembered, however, that this is simply an estimate, and intake may need to be adjusted to suit each child,? according to a report by Kristen Herbs at Faq.org.

Those figures* may seem high, but toddlers expend a lot of energy (as any parent of a toddler knows) and therefore need food to support that energy. The energy expended comes from the physical and intellectual (cognitive) development that occurs between one and five. Because their stomachs are smaller, toddlers also need smaller portions distributed more frequently throughout the day. Whole foods, including fruits, vegetables and foods with a high fiber content are important, but so are clean carbohydrates and unsaturated fats. The key is to avoid foods with empty calories as in sugary snacks and foods laden with high-fructose corn syrup. Toddlers should never be given soda/pop or ?diet? foods for a variety of health-related reasons.

Herbs also asserts that Basal metabolic rate, growth, and physical activity all affect a child’s daily energy. Protein, for example, is vital for preschoolers and toddlers and is needed for optimal growth. Toddlers at this stage may become finicky or picky eaters, asserting their independence over their lives. Even so, it is still important to strive for the recommended guidelines for caloric intake and nutrition by serving five to six small meals (including snacks) per day.

Being aware of your toddler?s nutritional needs is as important as the concern over childhood obesity. Your child can still eat fun, healthy foods while developing sound, life-long nutritional habits by following these guidelines:

• Fruits/Vegetables: 4 servings (one serving should be high in vitamin A another high in vitamin C)
• Protein: 2 servings such as meat, poultry, tofu, cheese, fish and eggs
• Dairy: 16 to 24 oz. such as whole milk, cheese, yogurt and pudding or custard made with whole milk
• Grains: 4 servings such as bread, cereal and rice.

One serving size for a toddler is a quarter of an adult portion or one tablespoon per year of age. (Your one-year-old gets 1T but your three-year-old gets 3T.) To calculate how many calories your child needs, the American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends that for toddlers between one and three that one allows for 40 calories per inch of height to determine the best number of calories for your child.

*Note: these figures are not necessarily the same for toddlers who are still nursing or in the process of weaning.