We spend a lot of time with aunties and grandparents, and up until now I’ve been holding my 15-month-old son, Joseph, on my lap at meal times, which means he never eats very much before he climbs down and wanders off. So I was desperate to get hold of a durable and adaptable feeding seat that would make dinner times less adventurous.
What’s in the box?
- Baby Bud chair
- Tray
- Clip on feet
Any additional extras?
- Babyplay Universal Highchair Activity Tray- £18.00
How do you assemble the Baby Bud booster seat?
The Baby Bud is really simple to put together. It comes with a table, which can be attached if needed, and four clip-on feet. These slot into the corners and click into place with quite a strong shove.
They also have three different height settings to help it fit to a variety of different chairs and tables. The straps and removable seat pad were already in place, so it couldn’t really have been any easier.
The instructions are a series of pictures that are so simple my son Joseph could have probably put it together himself. We were all done and sat at the table in about five minutes.
Is it easy to clean?
Yes, the chair has a slim seat pad that is easily removed to wipe clean. There are no tricky crevices where food can get stuck and lost forever, and no sharp edges.
How comfortable is the Baby Bud?
Very, and one the thing I did really like about the Baby Bud is that it seems to encourage good posture. Once he’s had enough of his dinner Joseph likes to slump and slide down as far as possible in his usual high chair, but he was unable to get up to that mischief in this one. The cushion pad can also come off to make a bit more room as your child gets older.
Even my 7-month-old nephew enjoyed a sit in the Baby Bud. The high curved sides mean it’s supportive for wobbly younger babies.
Is the booster seat portable?
No, because the chair is big and doesn’t fold flat, it makes it difficult to carry around. I did feel a bit silly carrying this bright white large plastic chair around with me, and it’s too big to take out on the off chance that you might go for lunch as it doesn’t fit in our pushchair basket.
But to be honest it’s very rare that eateries don’t have highchairs to borrow, so it’s not too much of a problem for me – the blissful family mealtimes make up for that. Also its bulkiness means it is very sturdy.
How secure is your son when sitting in the chair?
Very, there is a three-point harness that fits around Joseph, strapping him into the seat securely.
To fit the seat to a chair there are two straps, one goes underneath while the other goes around the back, and the non-slip feet really help make it secure so there’s virtually no wobble. It also sits nicely on the floor.
Tell us about the Baby Bud tray.
The table tray has good space for spreading and smearing food and quite a deep lip around the edges, meaning that when Joseph sends his food flying with a quick swoosh of his hands (it is a move we’ve nicknamed The Sweeper’), the food doesn't fly as far.
How has the booster changed your dinnertime?
This product really suits our lifestyle. As I said earlier, up until I got the Baby Bud I had been holding Joseph on my lap at meal times, which means he never eats very much before he climbs down and wanders off.
But the Baby Bud means big family meal times are much more civilized and comfortable, I wish I had brought a travel high chair much sooner.
MadeForMums verdict
This is a good buy. It’s easy to use, I feel confident that it’s safe and not going to wobble or slip off a seat, and my son likes sitting in it – he looks really comfortable.
However it is chunky and doesn’t fold like others on the market, you wouldn’t want to carry it round for afternoon after a lunch out.
