One of the most common gifts you may get when you have a baby shower would be baby bibs. These are something used by almost all parents, and they can be used for quite some time before your baby outgrows them. Bibs are going to be used longer than bottles, bouncy chairs, and even changing tables. Bibs are inexpensive and even come in a disposable variety. These are useful for many things and easy to care for if you just take a few moments to make sure stains do not set in after feeding.
Newborn babies may have a need for baby bibs when they are eating from the breast or from the bottle. Some parents put them on, but others lay them on baby as a readily available wipe for when they dribble while eating. Infants should never sleep with baby bibs on, as it can cause a choking or strangulation hazard when baby is asleep. Since so many newborns fall asleep after feedings, parents chance waking them to remove the bib. This is why they never really put it on them during early feedings.
As baby gets older, they may stay awake longer after they eat, making it much easier for parents to remove baby bibs once they are done eating. Around the same time, baby may be starting on solid foods, which usually include rice and oatmeal cereal along with early fruits and vegetables. Baby bibs are going to be most useful at this time. These bibs are going to be messy once you are done. Use them to get most food off of baby, but use soft wipes for the rest as to not irritate baby's skin. Give them a rinse right away to remove foods that may stain. Your bibs will look good much longer if you do.
Baby bibs are very useful when your baby is teething. Teething usually brings on a lot of drooling. Your baby can soak through many outfits if you do not have a bib on them to catch what is coming out of their mouths. This also allows the drool to be soaked up before it has a chance to sit on the chin for too long, which can very easily lead to rash on the sensitive skin of your baby. Just remember to take these baby bibs off before nap or bedtime, as they are still a strangulation hazard for your baby at any age.
If you go out of the house a lot, or want to cut down on how much laundry you have to do for baby each week, you can always find disposable baby bibs to use. These are thrown away after each use or each feeding, depending on what you are using them for. The come in easy to transport packages and are relatively cheap to buy. They may not be a favorite choice if you are worried about how much trash you are putting landfills, but they are certainly a good option when you are on the go.