From a couple of weeks old Jayden has had very good head control so much so that all the doctors would comment on it and he has been able to hold his own head up for a while now, because of his excellent head control we decided it was time to buy him a highchair, he has always loved sitting at the dining table while we eat our tea, however he would have to be on the floor in his bouncer, so we thought that a highchair would mean that he could sit at the table with us during meal times. I had a gift voucher that I received from work when I went on maternity leave for Mothercare so I decided to have a look there for a suitable highchair, I spotted the Mothercare Pine Cube Highchair, perfect for what we needed and there was the added bonus that you could have this item as either a high chair or a separate table and chair.

Packaging
The packaging for the Mothercare Pine Cube Highchair was nothing fancy, the highchair came flat pack so all the different parts came inside a plain cardboard box, the pine sections came wrapped in a foam/ rubbery type material to help protect them and prevent them from becoming damaged, also inside the box was another plain cardboard box which contained the highchairs plastic tray. That is basically it for the packaging it really was plain and simple, yet it did keep the highchair in excellent condition.

The Highchair
The Mothercare Pine Cube Highchair is basically what the name suggests a cube shaped highchair made from pine wood, the stand part of the highchair is the part which is a cube shape, it consists of two open sides, a solid back and also a foot board where your baby can rest their feet as they grow.
The chair has two solid sides with an open slit down each side (not large enough for a child to get out of though) a solid back with a rounded top and a safety bar which goes across the front of the chair and slots into either side of the chair, there is then a tough piece of fabric going from the base of the seat with the safety bar threaded through it, this provides extra safety holding your baby in place and also providing them with two separate leg holes as well.
There are four small stoppers on the front of the base of the highchair, two on each side, this helps to prevent the highchair chipping your existing table. The sides and back of the highchair are quite high meaning that your baby cannot lean over the edges and fall out, they are well enclosed when sitting in the highchair.

As I have mentioned this highchair also converts into a separate table and chair, when in the form of a highchair the chair is basically slotted into the side of the table. to change it into a separate table and chair your simply lift the chair off of the stand and turn the table the right way up, the stoppers on the front of the highchair now become the feet on the bottom of the table and the solid back to the stand becomes the table top, when you want to change it back into a highchair you simply turn the table on its side and slot the legs of the chair into the grooves provided. I should also mention that the highchair does not come with a safety belt to strap your baby in with but there are hooks on the side of the chair should you wish to fit one yourself.

Assembly
When it came to assembling the Mothercare Pine Cube Highchair and I saw that it was flat packed I did think it would be fiddly and complicated, however I still decided to unpack it before my husband came home from work and have a look at what was involved.

There was a small booklet inside the box containing the instructions and a parts checklist, everything was labelled with a letter for reference. After having a quick look at the instructions I have to admit I was a bit disappointed with these, they literally consisted of a diagram of the table and chair with a small paragraph at the bottom stating which screws you use on which bit, they didn't actually tell you what bits went where or in which order apart from the diagrams which I have to say were not overly clear.

I decided to have a go a putting it together myself as there were not too many bits, I managed to work out which way up the frames went and took it from there, it wasn't actually that complicated in the end and I managed to do the whole thing on my own, the only part which was fiddly was fitting the plastic tray and I had to get my husband to do this for me. I would definitely say the Mothercare Pine Cube Highchair is easy and quick to assemble (it only took about 20 minutes) however I would have liked slightly clearer instructions with it.

Safety Notes
The safety notes and warnings can also be found in the same booklet as the instructions and include
* Do not leave your child unattended in the highchair
* Do not use the highchair unless all components are correctly fitted
* Ensure the harness is correctly fitted (if you are using one)
* Be aware of open fires and other sources of strong heat near the highchair
* The highchair must be used on a level and stable surface
* Once assembled do not disassemble the highchair
* Keep away from trailing cords, drapes or electric sockets
* Never move the highchair with your child in it
* Never let older children climb on the highchair especially when there is a child in it
* Do no use if any parts are broken, loose or missing
All of these safety notes are quite standard with this sort of product and are just common sense really however it is worth reading through them before using the highchair

Price and Availability
The Pine Cube Highchair is only available in Mothercare as it is one of their own brand products, this item cost me just £49.99, I thought this was excellent value for money especially as you get a separate table and chair as well as a highchair meaning that you will get a lot of use out of this product even after your child no longer uses a highchair. The highchair is finished to a high standard and is of excellent quality, in my opinion it is well worth the money and I was surprised at how cheap this was.

My Opinion
We have been using the Mothercare Pine Cube Highchair of a few weeks now using it several times a day and have been extremely pleased with it, we have been so glad that we purchased this. To start with Jayden loves it, the first time I put him in the chair he sat there smiling at everyone and seemed enjoy being up level with everyone else rather than lower down in his bouncer.

It does suggest that you do not use this product unless your baby can sit unaided, however we have found that Jayden can sit up perfectly in his highchair despite not being able to sit up unaided, although in the last few days he has started to sit alone for short amounts of times if we put him in a sitting position, personally as long as your baby can hold their head up I see not reason why they cannot use this highchair, the sides and back are high and there is a safety bar across the front as well as the plastic tray so your baby is well enclosed in the seat.

Jayden can sit up straight in his highchair during feeds and we have no problems with him slipping about at all, we have purchased a cushion for his highchair which covers the back and sides and when he is not eating in his chair and is just sitting in it he will lean casually on the sides and watch the TV or what is going on around him.
I sometime put Jayden in his highchair in the kitchen with me so he can sit and watch what is happening and he loves it, he seems to enjoy being up high and being able to see more and he will sit smiling and kicking his legs.

I have used the table and chair separately as well and he enjoys having his toys on the table while he sits in the chair and plays with them. When we have the chair and table separately the table is a little bit on the high side for him, however not so high that he cannot use it like this, but it does mean that he has room to grow.

The whole structure whether it is in the form of a highchair or the separate table and chair is extremely stable and sturdy, the whole thing is very well made and is extremely strong, I can confidently sit Jayden in this and know he is safe, although I would never leave him unattended in the highchair just to be on the safe side.

I did notice that when we first put Jayden in the highchair he was fascinated by the fact that he was so high up compared to how he normally sits and would lean over the safety bar on the front and look over the edge, there was no way he could fall out but I would not risk leaving him alone just in case he decided to have a look over the edge and something did happen.

The Pine Cube Highchair is excellent value for money and I really did expect it to be more expensive that what it was, in my opinion this was well worth the money, especially as Jayden is so pleased with it, he can now sit at the table with us during our meal times and it makes feeding him so much easier. I would highly recommend this item to anyone and it has been well worth the money.