High chair, low price

As baby D gets closer to her half birthday, we've been slowly preparing for her to start on solids. We received a lot of the things we need as gifts (spoons, dishes, bib, as shown in photo) and freebies (rice cereal from a Nestle giveaway I signed up for when I was pregnant), and we've had a lot of good advice from friends (make your own baby food, from grain cereals to vegetable purees) and one registered dietician (breastfeed until baby is 6 months old to ensure full GI tract development). The big-ticket item we still needed was a high chair.

Over the past few months, when we need something for D or for us, I try to check out lots of options that don't involve actually buying new. After establishing what we want/need specifically, I look to online classifieds and thrift stores first of all. I've had a lot of luck with Used Ottawa (like Kijiji, but I find it more user-friendly): I've found a food processor for 15$ (and I use it almost daily), a breadmaker for 40$ (and I use it two or three times a week), a gently used solid wood crib and change table for 250$ (D uses those pretty frequently). I also glance at discount department store flyers (Zellers, Walmart) to see how they compare to higher-priced retailers (Toys R Us). I think we've saved a fair bit so far by taking these simple steps.

For D's high chair, I wanted something solid wood, which was just my personal preference; I find plastic high chairs look too fussy and hard to clean. Wood is a classic, as even I had a wooden high chair growing up (which my parents still have, and which they are fixing up to use when D's at their house). The used ones I saw online were around 100$, which was significantly more than I wanted to spend. As for new, Graco makes one for 200$ and Carter's has one for 180$. Wow, what a steal. On the way home from Bible study yesterday, I stopped by a thrift store that I've driven past for ages, but never stopped in. A friend of mine had told me to check it out, as she had found some great baby stuff there. I walked into the baby section, and right away I spotted it. A solid wood high chair, painted bright yellow. The tag read 15$. I bought it and now it's in my garage, awaiting a few touch-ups, like a paint job (although really, who doesn't love a good circus tiger) and a new clip belt.