My 16-month-old toddler is getting at least four teeth right now, and she’s got the drool to prove it. In fact, her mouth pretty much is like a faucet with a constant drool flow that is soaking the tops of her shirts.
When she was still an infant, I put small bibs on her to catch her spit up and drool, help keep her dry and cut down on outfit changing and laundry, but she won’t let me put those bibs around her neck anymore. And as one mom recently pointed out on the message board of a San-Francisco mothers group, when tots can walk and talk, that kind of little bib “actually looks a little funny.”
So I began researching fashionable (and somewhat frugal) non-bib alternatives for dealing with toddler (and baby) drool, and the three best solutions I came across make up today’s hint.
A Wee Drool bib
1.) Use a top layer shirt as a bib, or opt for a bib that looks more like a tee. Wee Drool, for instance, sells $28 waterproof “T-bibs” that more resemble stylish tank tops than bibs. “I essentially wanted the baby to feel and look like the bib was part of their outfit,” says Kelly Yaep, Wee Drool founder and mom of droolers. The bibs also snap around the back so they aren’t so easy for little ones to rip off. Wee Drool is offering a giveaway and discount code for Hint Mama readers – more on that below.
2.) Use a bandana or a scarf, or a bib that resembles a bandana or scarf. You could use any old bandanna or scarf you have around the house. Or instead, you could opt for a bib designed to look like a bandana, like $15 ones from Tiny Curiosity or $20 “Bandit Bibs” from Whole Parenting Goods (enter to win these bandana bibs below), or a bib designed to look like a scarf, like these from Scabib, which makes an “all-in-one scarf + bib.” And these are just some of the baby and toddler scarf options available on Etsy. This, of course, is assuming your little one won’t rip of these stylish options.
A Tiny Curiosity Bib
A Bandit Bib from Whole Parenting Goods
3.) Layer. In other words, put a bib you already have under your child’s shirt, a great tip I read on the San Francisco moms message board. While this won’t prevent a top layer from getting wet, it will help keep the wetness away from your little one’s chest.
What are your tips for catching drool in style? Share them, and enter to win a Wee Drool t-shirt bib, a Whole Parenting Goods bandit bib and a Tiny Curiosity bib, below.
Wee Drool is offering a 20% discount to Hint Mama readers through 1/15/14 CODE: HINTMAMA20
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I’m a first time mom, but have babysat quite a bit. My tip would be to have a lot of them on hand. They seem to go so quickly!
I always keep a bib tucked into a tote bag and an emergency one in the trunk of the car!
I really like the bibs that have a plastic covering on them and a pocket! Then you can just wipe the mess away and the pocket covers anything that falls on your child’s lap!
They keep coming up with cuter and cuter designs. I wish I had little ones again. I would totally get this. Thanks for sharing it.
Put the bib on before your child is anywhere near food.
If you have more bibs than you think you possibly need, then you have enough!
My advise is to use the plastic bibs for eating food as they are easily washed off, the cloth bibs are good for teething babies.
always keep a few extras in your diaper bag
Haha! The shirt one is so cute!
Find some cute hand towels, fold in half (as you would if hanging on a towel bar), cut hole in the middle to go over head, and finish the edges with hemming tape or a stitch. Put cute towel over kid’s head like a poncho. Drool caught, and they can use it to wipe messy hands, too.
Hi
Thank you so much for adding us to your fashionable bib page!
We like to think that we are stylish and yet very functional!
Thank you plenty!
Therese
Sweedie Kids
Hi again,
I forgot to give you some good hints of making the perfect drool bib! Since I have probably made thousands of them by now I have learned a few things.
It’s all about the fabric you use. Jersey knit is the absolute best material to be the top layer. It soaks up much better than cotton however fun jersey knits are hard to find ( we import ours from Europe). If you use cotton as top layer a good idea is to use a middle layer to be able to soak up most drool.
Second, it’s very important how you sew your bib. On etsy most the bibs you find are made without folds in the neckline. Bad idea. That makes the bib very bulky and not having a smooth and flexible fit on your baby.
Third, snap buttons. Most bibs just have one button. Much better to make two so you can adjust the size around the neck.
Most people just look at the fabric pattern and the look of the bib without thinking about the functionality of it. I like my bib to be both stylish and comfy for the child that is wearing it.
Thanks again,
Therese
Sweedie Kids