Joie Mimzy Snacker Highchair - Review

Back in the Summer, Erin turned 6 months old and her weaning journey began. We started off with a bumbo type seat with a tray and this worked fine for the first week or so but she very quickly grew too big and it was getting a bit cumbersome putting the seat on the table!

It was obvious that we needed a highchair so I began to look around to see what was on the market. There are SO many to choose from so it can be a bit overwhelming at first - how do you choose?! I liked the simplicity of the white Ikea ones but I wanted a highchair that I could fold up easily and keep out of the way when it wasn't in use. I always wanted it to be easy to clean! 

With those points in mind, I decided that the Joie Mimzy Snacker highchair would be perfect for our needs. I'm already familiar with the Joie brand as Elliot has one of their carseats and so I knew we would be getting a good quality item.

Key Features and What we liked!

• 3 position seat recline. The highchair can be used from 6 months but of course not all babies are able to sit up unaided at that age. This means the reclining seat is perfect for those early weaning days when they need a bit of a support. We've had to use it for that purpose but it is very handy when your child falls asleep in their lunch! You can just pop the seat back and let them have a snooze. 
• Very easy to fold. Some highchairs require a degree to fold down but this one is super easy and can even be done one handed. The handle is located in the middle of the seat and you just give it a little tug and the chair folds down. It can also be opened one handed which is a godsend if you are carrying a hungry, grumpy baby. Simply bring the back of the chair up and it clicks into place. 
• Extremely compact in folded position. This is brilliant if you don't have a lot of room spare in your dining room and kitchen, and lets face it, not many of us do after having children!! The tray can be attached to the back of the chair and then the folded up using the handle in the middle. The highchair will then stand by itself which saves balancing it against the wall and risking it toppling over.
• Large tray. The tray is nice and big and can be adjusted into three positions as your child grows bigger. It has a deep cup holder although Erin's drink tends to get launched over the side! The tray is easy to clean and easy to click into place. 

snack time = happy Erin!!

• Large storage basket. This is really useful for storing your bibs and wipes but the only downside is, food does tend to end up in it too! 
• Safe and secure. The highchair has a 5 point harness which is easy to adjust and makes it nice and safe for the child. The tray has a safety bit which goes between their legs which means they can't slip down through even if they aren't strapped in. 
• Cute Designs. Our Mimzy Snacker has the alphabet pattern which features various different animals. I love the design and the pastel colours are eyecatching without being too bright. 
• Price. The Mimzy Snacker retails at £49.95 and I think this is great value for the features that it offers. I really don't think there's any need to be spending hundreds on pounds on a highchair when this one does the job so well! 

What didn't we like?

As much as I love this highchair there are couple of little points that I'm not too keen on. Although the seat pad is easy to wipe clean, there are a few areas where crumbs seem to congregate! The handle to fold the chair is under a flap of material and I find this area is a bit tricky to clean as the food gets stuck right in the corners. The best thing I've found is to use the hoover and suck out any bigger bits and then use a wipe to get in the corners.

Also related to this issue are the straps. I have no idea why manufacturers make the straps white - yes they look nice when new but after about three days, they're stained with food despite multiple wipe downs!

Despite these little niggles, I do love this highchair and think it's brilliant value for money. We use it at least 4 times a day and I love that it folds down flat and is lightweight. It makes it nice and simple to move around the house as needed (breakfast in the kitchen, lunch in lounge etc!).

How did you decide what highchair to get? 

Weaning Time with Babease - Review and Giveaway

credit - Babease.co

I don't know how it happened but my squidgy little newborn baby turned into a gurgling, smiling 6 month old overnight! Well perhaps not overnight, but it certainly feels like it's gone that fast!

Erin has been showing lots of signs of being ready for weaning in the last couple of weeks - for instance I can't eat anything with her on my lap because she tries to make a grab for it!

I tried to remember what we did with Elliot in regards to weaning - he's a brilliant eater so I'm hopeful if we follow the same pattern, Erin will follow her big brother. With him we started off with a mixture of purees and abit of finger food and then went fully into baby led weaning. I know people have different ways and ideas of weaning, this worked for us so I'm going to be following the same route this time round too.

I'd love to say that I will be making all the purees from scratch but we all know that life is busy, and sometimes you need to pick up a ready made baby food pouch on the go. This is where Babease come in! They contacted me to see if Erin would like to test out their organic baby food and well...here we are now :)

Babease say that their food is for babies, not baby food and looking at the range of pouches available you'd definitely agree with this. Created by experts (including Mums!), the food focuses on vegetable based recipes and no fruit fillers. They promise:

- 100% Organic
- No added salt
- No added sugar
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Suitable for vegetarians

At Babease they understand how important it is for parents to know what goes into food so all ingredients are clearly listed alongside an informative ingredients wheel which shows an exact breakdown.

Credit - Babease.co

There are two stages of food to choose from - stage 1 is smoother and a perfect introduction to first flavours. Stage 2 has more texture and a wider range of ingredients to expand your baby's palate.

We started off with Sweet Potato & Pear with Coconut Water, Brown rice and Quinoa - what a fantastic combo. Erin made some pretty funny facial expressions but she was quite keen to get the food in her mouth! (But I'd forgotten how messy weaning is...!)

The lovely white Babease bib stayed clean for about 3 seconds!

This isn't milk!!?

I'm looking forward to testing out the other flavours over the next few days with Erin and I'm sure it won't be long before we can move into stage 2. I also plan on trying out some of the recipes on the Babease website - the savoury mini muffins sound perfect for lunchboxes!

The Babease pouches can be found in Tesco and Boots and here but if you'd like to get your hands on some for your little one to try, take a look at the Rafflecopter giveaway below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway