Always adapting…the art of modifying a highchair.

Always adapting…the art of modifying a highchair.

Now that Lena has started eating solid foods, there’s a been a scramble to dig up or buy all the accoutrements that are necessary to manage this new endeavor. In our infinite wisdom (and total lack of space) we opted not to buy a highchair since we had absolutely nowhere to put it. My husband’s aunt kindly loaned us their traditional wooden highchair that was much smaller than its modern counterparts and we were very happy for this addition. We prepared for the fact that we wouldn’t be able to use the highchair until Lena was sitting up and thought we’d cross that bridge when we came to it.Our lovely wooden highchair.

Cut to the present day…

Lena has taken to solid foods with a vengeance and is absurdly happy whenever there is a colorful spoon traveling toward her mouth. She proves this point again and again by exhibiting the same open-mouthed grasping as a baby chick and humming a contented ‘mmm’ sound all the while. Any pauses in the spoon’s trajectory are met with squawks of protest until she is satisfied the last mouthful has been scraped from her bowl.

A dear friend had kindly loaned us a bouncy chair which was pinch hitting for the highchair until Lena was good and ready to upgrade to a sitting position. At the very least, we thought we’d be able to sub in her Bebe pod (similar to a Bumbo seat). Well, our bouncy chair loan expired and we were forced to consider our options. The Bebe pod was a good one…except for the fact that our child’s love of food had landed us with a 20 pound baby at the tender age of five months. She was quickly learning muscle control but her efforts in the Bebe pod might lead some to suspect we were spiking her milk.

My crafty husband devised a plan! He quickly realized the Bebe pod could be strapped into the wooden highchair, lending Lena the added support she needed to remain upright. Eureka!

Our highchair with the Bebe pod.

If needed, we can even tuck a pillow behind her for added support. The relatively small size of the highchair is ideal as it hugs the Bebe pod and allows the baby to hang on to the arms or tray. The modified highchair takes up much less room than most of the more modern, reclining highchairs. Lo and behold…Lena actually prefers sitting upright while eating and has managed to create a good deal less mess while she’s at it.

Finding creative solutions is the name of the game with parenting as we’re quickly coming to realize. My next step will be recovering the original seat cushions so that we’re ready to transition again once she’s sitting up on her own.

For now, we’ll count this as one of our small victories toward raising a baby on a budget!

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