Saving Baby Clothing… from Stains?
Okay, so tying this one into preparedness is a bit of a stretch, but I am so excited about these smocks that I wanted to share anyway.
The Problem
Introducing Baby to solid foods was exciting… until I had to change her outfit after every meal and my favorite baby clothes were coming out of the wash stained. No matter how many times I rolled up her sleeves, they kept sliding back down or the mess would creep up. No matter if I doubled up on the bibs, food still found its way onto shirt collars.
I could have stuck with whitish foods that would not stain (boring!) or fed her myself with a hand under her chin (also boring!), but it was important to me that she experience a variety of flavors and learn to feed herself (including drinking from a cup).
The Solution
Enter the Tiny Twinkle Mess Proof Baby Bib smocks on Amazon. Food time is the joyful, messy experience that first foods should be without actually being a mess. Big, light sleeves with a cinched wrist and velcro in the back, they are easy to put on even when Baby is not feeling patient. The BPA and PFAS free material means not having to worry about Baby tasting the sleeves or licking food off of them. During mealtime, Baby’s clothes are covered from collar to wrist to lap so there are no post-meal wardrobe changes or baths and they even have a pouch to catch puddles of puree and dribbles of drool. When mealtime is done, I can peel off the smock to contain the mess on the inside. While they are machine washable, I rinse them under the faucet for a minute (sometimes with a dab of soap) and food slides right off.
Now Baby can smear carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin up to her elbows; she can spoon beets into her mouth; and do whatever she does that gets spinach on her neck. When Baby is all done (and sometimes this happens quite abruptly), we can transition from mealtime to playtime with a quick wipe of the hands and face.
I will admit that we often double up and add one of these PandaEar Silicone Baby Bibs (Amazon) on top of the smock. While the Tiny Twinkle Mess Proof Baby Bib smock (Amazon) is waterproof and great at catching food, I am teaching our eight month old to drink water from a cup which can lead to some big spills. The larger and stiffer pouch of this bib is much better at catching the downpour. Just remember not to squeeze, fold, or lay it down on the counter before you’ve had a chance to dump the water!
Some other kitchen baby essentials from Amazon
NumNum baby spoons: Babies have a hard time scooping with a traditional spoon and with keeping it right side up.. These “spoons” by NumNum are designed to hold on to food for fun baby led weaning.
Haakaa baby food feeder: I love this thing. It’s basically a pacifier that you put food into!
Tooth brush: Milk, formula, and fruit all have lots of sugar so once that first tooth comes in, it is time to start brushing. There are quite a few on the market and I’m in the process of trying a bunch. Currently, my favorites are Baby Banana because it has soft silicone bristles and is easy for Baby to hold and Dr. Brown’s training toothbrush because it looks like an adult brush and Baby copy us when we are brushing.
PandaEar baby cup: Yes, babies can learn to drink from a real cup! I started with a stainless steel cup but was worried about Baby crunching her teeth against the metal.
High chair or Montessori table: We were gifted a Tripp Trapp High Chair by Stokke and it’s been really nice. The chair has an attachment for newborns that we swapped out for the high chair when Baby learned to sit up. Once Baby is out of the high chair, this convertible design can be used as a regular chair for anyone up to 300 pounds.
