Confession: my 5-month-old daughter is a drooler. We knew she probably would be before she was born because my husband was a drooler (when he was a baby). As such, I'd purchased lots and lots of bibs before my baby was born. It's not that I don't love my baby and all her messiness, but I'm just not a body fluids person. Also, I hate wet clothes, I hate chunks of food sticking to clothes, and I hate having to change outfits all the time because food and drool get all over them. I hate these things for myself and for my baby. Now, once my baby was born, I learned a lot about bibs that I didn't know when I was scooping up every bib I could get my hands on before she was born... First, I learned that size matters. Large bibs get cumbersome. Bibs that wrap all around the baby (like those fabulous Aden and Anais bib/burb cloth devices), are just too much when I need to put a bib on my baby when she's in the carseat, for example. Bibs that are too small tend to not provide enough coverage when my daughter turns her head and spits up or when she pulls her cute little fists to her face and knocks the bib aside. These bibs are the perfect size. Perfect. Secondly, I learned that the clasp can make the difference between tears and laughter--mine and my daughters. Some bibs have Velcro closures that are just so, so awful...the edge of the Velcro pulls up away from the fabric and scratches my daughter on the neck. Other bibs have cheap Velcro that is not name brand and that does not actually hold the bib closed. Still, other bibs are made with snaps, which always stay shut and never scratch a sensitive area--but they have be tremendously difficult to get closed--particularly if you're trying to do it with one hand, as I often am while holding my daughter. These bibs have just the right Velcro (not sure if it's name brand--and don't care). It provides full coverage without being scratchy--and I can secure the closure with just one hand. Finally, for the purposes of keeping this review short, material. I have plastic bibs, rubber bibs, terrycloth bibs, and every other material you can image. I'm serious--I went bib crazy. I've found that some bibs--like the muslin bibs from Aden and Anais--are just fabulous at absorbing spit and wiping a cute little face clean. However, they do nothing for spit-up chunks and food dribble--it just pools and puddles and gets caked in. Plastic bibs are great for feeding time when you can take it over to the sink and clean it immediately after--or as soon as your baby is done rubbing her hands all in the dribbled food that's all over the bib. These bibs are great for catching spit-up, chunky stuff, and food--as long as you clean them in a washer right after. Plus, they are soft so if you find a clean corner when your baby is done eating or drooling or whatever, you can wipe her face clean! All in all, the only thing I would change about these bibs is that I would make them odor resistant. Like with my daughters little outfits, if I don't change these bibs soon after she's spit up, they (the bib and the baby) very quickly smell like spoiled milk and I find that odor repugnant. As soon as you remove the bib, the baby goes back to smelling sweet and delicious. So--it's a good thing there are so many of these in a pack. Plus--you can find one to match any outfit--yours and your baby's!
