There she is at home, eating her first strawberry. The world will never be the same.
While we were in Italy, the most common high-chair provided in restaurants was a clip-on high-chair. Every now and then, there would be a tall chair with NO restraint, like a miniature barstool (um, no thanks!), so we would just hold Sugarpie on our laps.
Space is always a premium in Italy, so these high-chairs offered restaurants a family-friendly and space-friendly option. You can imagine, that it does the same in your own home.
There were always three different brands: Inglesina, Chicco (pronounced KEE-koh, people), and some other that I don’t remember.
Now Ettore, you know you can’t have no sugar! That was the Inglesina chair in Italy.
The first was an Inglesina. It was a pretty spruce green and had a strap inside that wrapped from the back to the front where it clips under a Velcro cover. The clamps were short (adaptable to more types of tables) and the hold was steady.
Daddy is getting bread for her in the Chicco chair in Siena.
The Chicco was great too, but the under-table clamps were so long that it limited the types of tables we could use it with. The third one had a cotton knit lining and a strap that was hard to adjust. The first two have a material that is more receptive to spot cleaning.
This was the not-so-memorable third brand at an al fresco lunch in some Prosecco vineyards.
We were so in love with this chair that we decided to buy one once we got home. We have a lovely Svan hand-me-down, but this chair is going to be great for travel, etc.
I did a little research and found that the Inglesina is sold through Amazon and Diapers.com. It had great reviews, confirmed by our own good experience with it in Italy. It has a storage pocket in the back and a pouch that stores the tote bag under the bottom. Sugarpie feels really secure and it’s so cute having her at the table with us.
They come in a ton of different colors, but I resisted the temptation of some light bright color in favor of a less-stain-apparent dark green. It’s made in Italy instead of China, which makes me trust the quality more.
I can also spread out our mess-prevention table cloth under the chair on the ground instead of draping it over the highchair base.
The only drawback that I can see for now is that the arm clamps don’t allow us to use her suction cup place mat, so she just eats right off of the table!
This is how the clamps work. They’re very sturdy!
We’re pretty in love with it, and at around $50 it’s a justifiable extra piece of gear. I highly recommend it!
Anyone else out there use one?
Sugarpie 