I was recently told by a stranger in a restaurant that my baby is the messiest eater she has seen in her entire life. As Maia’s mother I was of course slightly annoyed by this comment, but there’s no denying that the mess Maia creates while eating is incredible. I don’t know if Maia is any messier than the “average baby” but Baby-led weaning (BLW, see my post about weaning) is about the child exploring the food on their own and so inevitably it is messy!
I was expecting messy mealtimes and while it’s totally ok and normal for a baby learning to eat solid food to make a mess, someone needs to clean it up three times a day… And that someone is me. Over and over again, Monday to Sunday. Not fun.
So pretty soon after introducing solids to Maia I started looking for tips and bibs to deal with my new reality. When I was offered the opportunity to test a new kind of coverall which straps onto the highchair called BIBaDO, I jumped on the opportunity.
The BIBaDO covers not just the baby and her clothes but also the highchair and the tray (if you’ve got one), which is great because the food just gets everywhere. We don’t have a tray at home but the long bib with its Velcro strap helps to protect the highchair. Maia’s Stokke Tripp Trapp chair is white-painted wood but the baby insert is plastic and I quickly came to realise foods like tomato sauce stain it – yikes! Also scraping off dried porridge and whatnot is a real pain in the backside. Never mind the endless laundry! So indeed, a coverall is a good shout.
The BIBaDO is one size with adjustable neck and sleeve length which work well. Maia was quite small at 6-months and I used the poppers on the sleeves to shorten them for her. The other long-sleeved bibs I had found were too big for her (still are). The elasticated cuffs of the BIBaDO are very snug to protect the clothes underneath but in my opinion they make the bib a bit tricky to get on my baby. Maia is going through a phase where getting dressed is really not her favourite thing. Initially I struggled to get her into the BIBaDO without a fight which wasn’t a good way to start a meal… But then I realised that I could solve the problem by putting my own hand through the other way to grab her little fist and pull it through the cuff. My husband still struggles though, but in fairness he struggles with most baby clothes!
After a meal I open the BIBaDO and pull it off Maia so that all of the food gets trapped inside. And voila, clean clothes and chair! The easiest and quickest way to clean the BIBaDO is to simply rinse it under the tap. The downside of this is that it won’t be dry by the next meal, so a wipe down is the way to go if you, like me, only have one BIBaDO. I think I’m just going to save myself the trouble and get a second one! It also has an internal pocket to fold it in so it can be easily popped into the nappy bag without getting the bag dirty in case of (daring!) lunch dates out.
If only the BIBaDO had a hood to cover Maia’s hair. 😃 One day she managed to glue her fringe to her eyebrow with porridge…
Thinking to buy a BIBaDO? Save 10% with my discount code FITCITYMUM10 – you’re welcome! 😊
xoxoxo,
Sini
Ps. Bibado is BPA, Pthalate and Azo dye free