Like most of our baby items... I replaced most of what I received for our shower within the first 6 months of Roman being born. I didn't know what I wanted or all the cool products available. It was overwhelming, I was tired (and busy working) and didn't know all the research that should have been done.
We started out with the Space Saver high chair by Fisher Price. I thought I wanted something small and compact. It sucked. The quality was poor, I HATED the design, and it was very inconvenient to only have 3 of our 4 dinette seats available. Did I mention it was an eye sore AND by 6 months Roman already felt squeezed into it. I did a TON of research. A modern design was at the top of my list but the ability to be compact for storage and easy to clean were also important.
Inglesina has an excellent reputation with strollers but this was their first high chair. I also considered the Bloom Fresco high chair and Boon Flair high chair.
The Bloom aesthetically is beautiful but beauty comes with a hefty price tag (starting at $450.00) that I wasn't sure was justified. It also had mixed reviews, a few of which saying that their little ones fingers almost got caught in the tray hinge. The Boon Flair ($230.00) also has a cool design but the tray is much smaller than most. I am not sure if this really matters for us now, but at the time i wasn't sure how I felt about it. I also hated its base.
The Inglesina Zuma is reasonably priced ($279.00) and also has a similar, pod-like design as the Fresco. I also love the color options for the Zuma and it had great reviews.
I have lots of love for this product and my only concerns I believe are solved in Inglesina's smaller high chair, the Club which I've never tried out. Call me a baby product whore, but this high chair is even more beautiful in person.
We started using this high chair when Roman was 6 months old. He was still a little baby in my eyes. This high chair was so cozy for him. The plush, washable seat cover comes in a variety of colors. We purchased the white base and cream cover. The cover is easy to remove for washing which is great while they are so small and rarely make messes. I also LOVED this high chair while he was so small because it was cozy enough for him to fall asleep after meal time and I could easily recline the seat back to almost turn it into a cradle. Every. Moms. Dream.
The tray is actually a double tray. There is a smaller tray which clicks into the larger one making it impossible for Roman to remove. This was great until I washed it in the dishwasher (which it is safe for) and it warped slightly now making it very easy for Roman to snap off. I only use the main tray now which is perfectly fine since meal time is so messy anyways.
Two hands are required to fully remove the tray but what I really love about this high chair is you never have to remove the tray! There is a lever in the front of the tray which allows you to pull it out (with one hand) and you gain a few more inches to slide baby in and out. The tray doesn't adjust right up to Roman so a lot of food slides through, but this really isn't a big deal.
Roman is finally starting to fill this chair out. For more petite babies it would be nice if there were an additional insert you could purchase to lift them up and push them closer to the tray, though receiving blankets would work just as well.
Now that Roman is larger and feeding himself, I no longer use the seat padding. It gets WAY too messy to wash between every meal time. What is great through, is that the seat actually has double padding on the back and seat bottom in the same interchangeable colors so the seat is still very comfortable. The bottom cushion gets filthy and it is rather difficult to remove with tons of crevices below for food to go. I wish it had a smooth bottom like the club has so that it could wipe clean more easily.
Another great feature is the telescope adjustable height of this high chair..... You can put the seat all the way down which we've used when we had parties and people are sitting on the living room floor. It also adjusts all way up which I will do if I am standing and feeding him while cooking dinner. There are 8 heights to match any table height. You could just remove the tray and push them right up to the table if you want.
The Zuma high chair has a 5 point harness that no toddler could ever break out of. We actually don't use the shoulder harnesses any longer as they were getting really funky and are really hard to remove to clean. We just tucked them behind the back cushion. This is another feature on the Club which I like because it comes standard with a 3 point harness.
One of my favorite features is how easy and compact this high chair folds up for storage. Two steps and it becomes a tiny package to stow away.
The seat adjusts to three positions with a simple lever on the back.
Overall I am really happy with this purchase. It looks great in our kitchen and is rather simple to clean. Every evening I take a toothpick to some of the seams just because caked on food grosses me out. The white also doesn't stain which surprised me because we eat a TON of pasta.
This high chair is great for any age. If you already have a toddler, I would probably go with the club high chair just because it looks even easier to clean. We also are using the recline less and less often now that he is a one year old.
Inglesina did a great job transitioning over from their tried and true product line of strollers to high chairs. This high chair was introduced a few years ago and every year they come out with new features and colors. Eventually, (maybe next baby) I would love to try out the Inglesina Club high chair. If you are in the market for new high chair, I would absolutely add the Inglesina Zuma to your wish list.
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