If you’ve been reading any of my posts so far, particularly Helicopter Mommy, you know that I’m a nut job about keeping Eliana’s clothes clean in this whole adventure into solid foods. The truth is, I’ve been this way since the beginning. As soon as she began drinking from bottles, and not very neatly at that, I began to freak out about needing to have a bib and burp cloth for her at all times. (And yes, of course, they matched her clothes. Duh.) I was such a nut about it that I bet my poor husband heard me screeching, “Use a bib!!” even in his sleep. But now he has been well trained to always use one (for Eliana) so it is no longer a problem.

 

So, using a bib for babies isn’t a unique concept—I get that. But you want to hear what qualifies me as an OCD Super Spazz? I don’t just want to keep Eliana”s clothes clean. I want her bibs to be clean too. Believe me, I know it’s a bit crazy. I mean, it’s a BIB! A bib is made to get dirty. That’s. Its. Purpose. I repeat this to myself quite regularly. I’m such a crazy person about her bibs that a bib hierarchy exists in my home.

 

It is sort of a caste system for bibs.

 

(Are you wondering yet if I see a therapist for my issues?)

Here’s the breakdown of the bib hierarchy and I APOLOGIZE in advance if you gifted Eliana any of the bibs that fall into a less-than-desirable category. It’s not you. It’s me. ALL me.

 

 

Level 1s: The Vitamin Bibs

These are the bibs that I’m just not that into. Sure, some of them are sort of cute. But they aren’t my style and I’m not really a fan.  Therefore, these bibs have been deemed “Vitamin Bibs.”  Why Vitamin Bibs?  Well, each day Eliana gets her vitamins in a bottle. Her vitamins are a super stinky green liquid that stains. So, I use these bibs when she drinks from those bottles. Let them get stained. These are the bibs that fulfill their bib destiny. (I think by creating the term “bib destiny” I just ratcheted up the level of My Craziness!) This wasn’t a conscious decision I made. It just sort of happened this way. I realized that even though another bib was already pulled out to match her outfit, I would go and get one of these bibs from her drawer just to use with the vitamins. So now, that is their place in life. It’s okay. They’re cool with it.

 

As I said, some are cute. But, I’m just not into them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apples stain so she’s wearing a vitamin bib!

 

 

 

Level 2s: The Okays

These are the bibs that are “okay” in my mind. I don’t love them, but they do the job. Again, they are by no means ugly—they just aren’t particularly cute. I even bought some of them myself but they do not win any points for style or cuteness. (The exception is the “99 Problems But a Bib Ain’t One” bib. That one makes us laugh.) The “Okays” are the bibs that I pull out when the colors coordinate with Eliana’s outfit and there are no better options. And I don’t get bent all out of shape if they get stained or dirty. Well, okay, I get a little bent out of shape.

 

 

 

 

 

This post gave me a good excuse to dig through old photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level 3s: The Reliables

 

Plain, simple, white.  They go with everything. These are the reliable fall-backs when nothing else matches Eliana’s outfit. And yes, I did break down and buy white burp cloths too so that the bibs and burp cloths would match. Can you imagine how much longer it took to put Eliana’s outfit together when I had to coordinate the blanket of the day as well?

Plain, simple, white

 

 

Matches everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Level 4s: The Alphas

 

These bibs are my favorites. I love them. These are the bibs that have been hand-picked by me and unless under extreme circumstances, they will never, never be used with a vitamin bottle. They are super pretty and cute and I freak out if one goes into the wash dirty and I didn’t spray oxy-clean all over it. Oh, the horror! 

The other day I was giving Eliana a bottle before her nap. I looked down and noticed, aghast, that she was drinking a bottle with vitamins AND using one of her super cute Alpha bibs. Nooooooooo!! Normally, I would just turn the bib over so the back gets stained. But, these bibs are cute on both sides. Shoot! Or, I would have pulled the bottle out of her mouth, and dug a vitamin bib out of her drawer. But, the poor little lady was so calm and sleepy that I wasn’t going to disturb her. So, I slowly twisted the bib around to get to the tag on the back and used the tag to wipe up the bit of green mess. PHEW! Great save, MacGyver Mommy.

 

Sooo pretty!

 

 

Burp cloths and bibs in one.

 

 

Nothing that stains when she wears this one.

 

 

 

 

How can a bib from this amazing restaurant not be a favorite?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You may be shocked to learn there are times when Eliana is actually bib-less.Here’s proof:

This was great, until oatmeal fell onto her pjs. Oops.

 

 

 

It’s okay, Mommy. My clothes will survive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, before you breathe a sigh of relief that I’m getting over my issues, I need to come clean and confess that the only reason I could handle living on the edge without a bib was because of what she was eating. Egg whites and oatmeal won’t stain, right??

 

Now, these are the “bibs” that are just funny.

 

She’s cool with it!

 

 

 

 

Hey, Daddy has to eat too! (Yeah, Eliana is sleeping under there!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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