I’m not one to boast but my baby boy can dribble for England. Nay, let’s go bigger – if there were a dribble Olympics he’d be banned from taking part to give others a chance. Now he’s nearly 5 months’ old we’re expecting the onset of teething and the additional dribbling (could there possibly be MORE?) that this will bring. Aside from building an ark, I’ve therefore been looking for ways to avoid the endless soaked bibs, changes of clothes and dribble filled neck creases.
I’ve seen the bandana style ‘dribble’ bibs around but have never bought them because (a) they can be expensive for something that will get covered in sick and dribble, and (b) I thought they were just for making your kid look cool (like a dog in a neckerchief). When Funky Giraffe Bibs put out a call for reviewers I jumped at the chance to try a product I admit I felt sceptical about.
Three bibs arrived (see photo) and on first feel I wondered how they could possibly be any more absorbent than an ‘ordinary’ bib. The bibs have soft cotton fronts (super colours and designs – see the website for the vast choice available) with fleecy backs – hardly the industrial strength sail material I’d been expecting! Surely these couldn’t work?
Well, as they say, the proof is in the pudding, so I wasted no time in attaching one round the many chins of my boy. I was pleased to find that they fasten with poppers (and helpfully two sets so that the neck can be expanded as your baby grows) – what possesses anyone to use Velcro on baby products I don’t know; there are few things less noisy when trying not to wake a sleeping baby!
It wasn’t long before the cotton top layer was soaked through with dribble, but to my surprise the fleecy back on the bib stopped any soaking through onto my son’s clothes. Even though the top layer was saturated I felt comfortable leaving him in the bib as I knew the poor lad wasn’t getting a cold, damp chest. Having put the bib on first thing in the morning, it wasn’t until lunchtime that I felt it was necessary to change it. Switching from five or six normal bibs a day to two of these was a revelation! And as a green and ethical company I’m sure Funky Giraffe Bibs would approve of the need to put the washing machine on less often. (Talking of which, the bibs wash up well so are likely to last and retain their good looks.)
So, any criticisms of these little wonders? They could be slightly larger, although I believe that Funky Giraffe do stock a larger version. However, there are bonuses in keeping the bib small – I actually get to see what my boy’s wearing! Also, even though the bib is shaped to fit neatly under the chin, some damp does still get through to the neckline – I don’t know if any bib could truly stop this though. And we know that babies’ neck creases are meant to be damp or how else would they retain so much household dust, fluff and hair?
I can’t get it out of my head that these bibs are too nice to wear around the house and get grubby! (I probably just need to buy more and at £8.50 for four that’s not something I’d baulk at.) I’ll probably still use large, cheap plastic backed bibs (eugh, sweaty not funky!) when we’re slobbing around at home, but when we go out or have visitors, well, we now pop on a Funky Giraffe bib. Perhaps there is something in me just wanting my boy to look the coolest dribbler on the baby block.
He’s a happy and dribbly chap!
Thank you to the lovely people at Funky Giraffe Bibs who sent these bibs free of charge and expected nothing in return other than an objective review. This is what I’ve endeavoured to do and I hope mamas and papas of dribblers and droolers find it useful.
