For The Boy we bought an all singing, all dancing highchair with recline function, 3 different seat cushions (so he could use it from birth) and a play arch. This thing was so fancy I think it made my husband coffee one day. But it was a pain to clean. We all know babies aren’t the tidiest of eaters and I was forever finding pieces of food hidden in its many nooks and crannies. But we persevered with it until he outgrew it although I moaned daily about how hard it was to clean. Then my daughter, Little Lady, came along and we dragged it out of the loft and I tried to give it a deep clean. I found food from 3 years ago in its creases but carried on using it.

Then I heard about the IKEA Antilop highchair and my life was changed forever (I kid you not!). It costs £13 (as opposed to £160 for our coffee making throne) and has no hidden hinges or creases to hide food. The tray comes off easily so can go in the dishwasher which is ideal for BLW babies or those learning how to use a spoon. It takes me 1 minute to clean with a spray of Dettol and a cloth. It doesn’t fold up but the legs do come off so you can store it if you wanted and it comes in White, Blue or Red (which pleased my Arsenal loving husband to no end so guess which colour we have?). You can also buy an inflatable insert for smaller babies so they are more comfy which we found really useful.

It doesn’t make coffee but it makes me happy!