Top tip - Shopping for a highchair

When it came to shopping for baby things before Bobble was born, I spent a serious amount of time doing research. Anyone who has set out on this journey of what-on-earth-do-I-need-to-buy-for-my-forthcoming-baby will know that the world of baby shopping is a scary place. There are so many things out there to potentially buy. Talk about a crowded market place, it's like 6am at a Boxing Day sale at Next!

A lot of the stuff preys on every parent's insecurities and fears. Baby monitor with motion sensor mat? Special bin to mask the smell of stinky nappies? The best thing I saw was something called a Pee Pee Teepee. It's a little 'tent' made especially for using with little boys to catch any little accidents while you change their nappy. Love it. I personally enjoyed the Russian roulette game that came with changing Bobble's nappy. Yes he peed on his own head on more than one occasion - I called it a 'golden arch' - but you're likely to endure must worse incidents! Save yourself a tenner and buy something else less pointless!

As I've said before, I love spreadsheets and I'm notorious for creating them. I have a baby purchases spreadsheet that I created for that initial pre-birth shop. I've shared it with several pregnant friends and plan to share it on here very soon.

But today's tip is a quick one about highchairs. I'd like someone to benefit from my mistake. I bought a beautiful wooden highchair. I read plenty of online reviews before I bought it, but I didn't want something large, hideous and plastic in my kitchen, so I decided to ignore negative remarks about the straps and how easy it was to use. It was a nightmare to use. You couldn't lower the tray once the baby was in the seat, and when the tray was lowered it was hard to see what you were doing with the straps. There was no crotch bar and Bobble nearly slipped out on several occasions. I dreaded mealtimes as it was stressful getting him in and out safely. And food and crumbs managed to find their way into all the cracks and crevices.

After 2 months I sold it on ebay and bought the highchair I'd heard such good things about before, but had chosen to ignore. The Ikea Antilop highchair is the bees knees. Here's why:

• First up price. It's £12, or £16 if you add the tray. Bargain. Of. The. Century.
• It's an absolute doddle to clean. The seat is made of one solid piece of plastic. This makes is super easy to clean. And there's nowhere for food to hide.
• Your baby cannot fall out. There's a lap strap for extra security, but the bar that goes between their crotch means they can't go anywhere.
• It's not ugly. It's definitely not as pretty as the wooden one I had before, but it's simple and neat looking.
• It's transportable. I've never done this as we have a booster seat, but there's no reason why you can't pop the legs off and take it away with you.

You will see this highchair in so many cafes, for all the reasons above it appeals to the hospitality industry too.

I. Love. It. And I will recommend it to anyone shopping for a highchair.

Shop for the Ikea Antilop highchair