Using the Totseat for travelling

If you haven’t heard about the Totseat yet, let me explain.

The Totseat is a portable highchair that you can strap to most chairs. It’s a fabric harness that keeps your little one securely on a chair without you needing to hold them. It can be squished into a small bag and is machine washable.

“The Totseat is designed to keep one wiggly baby, in one place, for more than one minute.”

A-mazing.

I mainly use the Totseat when I’m feeding George when a highchair isn’t available.

I used to feed him in his pushchair when we were out and about, but as he’s starting to feed himself it’s getting way too messy! Have you ever tried to eat your dinner while balancing a baby on one knee – usually a baby who is trying to get their hands in your food and then all over your clothes and hair. They’re after your wine and your cutlery and napkin and you leave the restaurant feeling stressed and hungry.

The Totseat isn’t just for feeding, it can be used anywhere where you need both hands free but can’t let your little one crawl around the floor.

The Totseat is great for travelling – especially when you’re visiting places where highchairs aren’t always available. Lots of hotels only have 2-3 highchairs and B&Bs, AirBnB, families or cottage rentals don’t have highchairs at all. Having a Totseat means you don’t need to lug a highchair along and it’s one less stress while you’re travelling.

I usually give George his dinner in our room while we’re away. He’ll then be full and sleepy when we go to a restaurant for dinner so we can enjoy our meal too (well, that’s the idea anyway!) so the Totseat always comes in handy as you can rarely ask for a highchair to be brought up to your room.

The main advantage of the Totseat over other portable highchairs is the size. As it’s all fabric, it stuffs back into a tiny bag which can then be squished into your luggage or handbag with no problem.

How to use the Totseat

The Totseat is so simple to use. It slips over the back of a chair and then goes underneath your baby, around their waist and clips at the back. There’s an extra strap in case they’re sat on a chair with a gaping back that they could potentially fall through. This strap could also be used as an extra strap for super wiggily babies but it’s unlikely you’ll need it.

I was nervous at first, thinking George could easily lurch out of the Totseat and smack straight onto the floor. But even during the wiggiliest meal times he couldn’t get free!

The Totseat has just enough movement to allow a baby to move and not feel tied down, but enough of a firm hold to keep them in place.

It can be used for babies ages 6-30 months or from when they can sit unaided.

It comes in loads of funky fabrics and – most importantly – it’s easily washable. It goes in the washing machine with no problems, you don’t even need to remove the clips.

George’s verdict

George loves sitting in the Totseat. He associates it with getting his dinner so of course he loves it 😉

He’s totally happy in there and will sit in it for much longer than he’d sit in his pushchair. If we’re in a restaurant, he prefers to be sat in the Totseat as he’s sat with everyone else at the table rather than being on his own and lower down in his pushchair.

Any negatives?

When George is sat at table in the Totsteat he’s usually head height to the edge of the table, meaning if you’re not careful you could get a bump on the head. Some portable highchairs have a booster seat with them – but this of course makes them bulkier, heavier and less portable and the portability is the best thing about the Totseat. I guess you can’t have everything! 

Who would use a Totseat?

Parents who like to get out and about with their kids and don’t want to have to stick to ‘baby friendly places’. The Totseat is great for travelling but also great for everyday places like tiny cafes where there isn’t always space for pushchairs. If you’re a fan of baby-wearing then it’s handy to have as you end up with nowhere to sit your baby other than your lap.

I’ve found it great for travelling, for feeding babies in hotel rooms, for keeping them still in the airport and as a handy backup for when highchairs aren’t available – especially at friend’s houses.

Find out more about Totseat on the Totseat website or on Amazon where there are lots more reviews.