Baby Bibs: Everything You Need to Know About

If there is anything a baby loves to do most, it is making a mess and getting his tiny beautiful clothes dirty during the meal time. Regardless of how delicious the meal is, he like a sensual king spills food on his clothes while feeding. Consequently, you’re required to wash his clothes after every meal and this is where Baby Bibs come in handy!

Bibs: What Actually They Are?

Bibs are essentially a kind of garment worn by children, especially infants, to protect their clothing from getting dirty with accidentally spilled food or drool. Usually made of extra soft and super absorbent fabric like cotton, they instantly soak up all kinds of spit-ups, drools and food messes and help you keep your little one neat and clean all the day long.

Creating a strong layer of protection between mouth and clothing, bibs not only keep your baby’s cloths clean and free of stains but also save you from washing stained clothes over and over again. They are indeed an absolute lifesaver for parents who have a teething baby or a messy eater.

Different Types of Baby Bibs

In the recent years, there has been a significant rise in the types of baby bibs to meet market demand. Since each type has its own benefits, it can sometimes be confusing for you to choose the perfect one for your little one. To help you out, below are a few of the most popular types of baby bibs available in the market today:

Feeding Bibs:

As the name itself suggests, Feeding Bibs are designed to use during the meal time to protect baby’s clothes from food residue and wetness. Usually made from an easy to clean, wipe-able material such as plastic or rubber, these bibs often come with a pocket or pouch at the bottom to catch all the bits of food that falls from your little one’s mouth. Since feeding is messiest of all activities, they are sometimes also called Messy Bibs.

Bandana Bibs:

Also referred to as Dribble Bibs, Bandana Bibs are designed specifically for teething babies who dribble a lot. Even though these bibs are smaller in size than Feeding Bibs, they are quite good at catching dribble. Unlike other types of bibs which are flat to the chest, these bibs when worn ruffle up like a bandana and absorb dribble immediately after it leaves the baby's mouth. Not only they are difficult for a baby to remove, but also they prevent dribble rashes to a great extent.

Coverall Bibs:

As you can guess from the name, Coverall Bibs are designed to cover all of the baby's upper body. Concretely, they are Feeding Bibs with the only difference that they have long sleeves to protect your baby's chest and arms during messy meal times and sloppy pursuits such as painting. These ultimate mess preventer bibs are perfect for toddlers who know how to feed themselves but don’t have an idea of how to keep their clothes clean.

Why Does Your Baby (And You) Need a Bib?

Baby bibs offer a multitude of benefits for both you and your little baby. If you're still not familiar with the awesomeness of baby bibs, here are some undeniable reasons why bibs are a staple piece in the baby's wardrobe:

Keeps Your Baby's Skin Rash-free:

You won't believe but the stuff spilled from your baby's mouth while feeding, burping or teething can sometimes cause him to have rashes around his mouth and chin. Since bibs soak up everything a baby spills from his mouth, they keep your little one's delicate skin clean and safe from all kinds of rashes, allergies and infections.

Prevents Clothes from Getting Heavily Stained:

Another reason to use bibs is that they prevent permanent stains from occurring on your child’s precious clothes. As not all stains are removable, using a bib to catch any accidental spillage seems a much wiser option. Being highly absorbent, bib itself gets dirty and thus keeps food and heavy stains out.

You Have a Less Frequent Washing Cycle:

Babies dirty themselves very frequently, which requires you to wash their messy clothes again and again. On the other hand, when you use a bib, you just need to clean the bib rather than frequently washing an entire set of stained clothes. Thus, bibs not only save a lot of your precious time and washing efforts but also help you maintain the condition of your baby’s clothing.

Helps Your Child Learn the Art of Cleanliness:

Most importantly, bibs give your child the sense of personal hygiene and cleanliness. Keeping your little one clean all the time, they eliminate his tendency of getting dirty over and over again and consequently minimize the chances of illness and infections caused by harmful germs developed through drooling and messing.

Things to Look for When Buying a Bib

Now that you have understood the importance of using baby bibs, let’s take a look at some practical things that you must keep in mind while buying baby bibs for your little one:

Soft and Absorbent Material:

Bibs come in a variety of materials, from cotton to rubber and plastic. Make sure the bib you’re buying is absorbent enough to catch all the spills and dribbles. While bibs made of rubber and plastic can be easily wiped clean with a rag, they also make it easy for messy stuff to slide down onto the clothing. For the reason, we recommend you buy bibs made of a soft and absorbent material like cotton, which doesn’t allow the mess to even touch your baby's clothes. However, you cannot wipe clean a cotton bib with a rag.

Comfort:

With every baby product you buy, what is required is comfort and bibs are no exception to this rule. If the bib is not comfortable, your little one will focus on removing the bib more than eating the food. Therefore, it becomes inevitable for you to make your baby feel comfortable around his neck while he is wearing the bib. A good bib is indeed the one that doesn’t cut off neck circulation and allows baby to breathe properly.

Size:

The next important thing to consider is size of the bib. Always buy a bib that is neither too large nor too small for your little one to wear. While the bib should be large enough to cover at least one-half of the length of your baby’s upper wear, it also needs to be small enough to form a nice snug fit. In case you don’t have an idea of how tall your child is, choose a bib according to his age.

Ease of Cleaning:

Since there is no doubt that your baby’s bib will get dirty and require cleaning very often, it would be better for you to know the ease of which the bib can best be cleaned. You can clean a bib using any one of these three methods - Wipe Down, Washing Machine and Dishwasher. So always prefer buying a bib that you can easily clean without any hassle.

Closure:

Babies are so naughty! When they find something new, they start doing experiments with it. For the reason, to prevent baby from removing the bib, it’s advisable to buy a bib that comes with a cotton tie, button or Velcro closure. Moreover, an adjustable closure makes the bib easy to put on and take off, which proves quite helpful for removing the bib after a big spill.

The Ability to Fold Up:

Believe it or not, Bibs are the second most used baby item after Diapers. Whether you're at home or out of the town, they prove quite useful for keeping your little one clean. Needless to say, they are one of the diaper bag must-haves. So you should always buy bibs with on the go convenience in mind. In other words, pick the one that can neatly fold up.

Color:

Colors play a vital role in hiding many types of stains. A light color, like white, is not able to hide its history of caught spills and therefore needs to be washed as soon as possible. Contrariwise, a bib with dark color can be used for a longer period of time because it reveals no stains. So it’s better to go with a dark colored bib, like black or blue.