Upon finding out that I had a grandchild on the way, I started stockpiling baby things that I knew she would eventually need. Buying early means you get to shop and find better deals. One of the things that made it onto my ultimate list of a baby’s many needs for their first year was bibs.
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How Many Bibs Do I Need: Things To Consider
When I calculated how many bibs was needed, I took several things into consideration, such as whether we were using burp cloths in the beginning. There are quite a few things that will impact the answer to how many bibs do I need.
Burp Cloths
Consider whether you will be using burp cloths or bibs in the beginning. If you plan to burp your baby while he’s wearing a bib, you will more than likely go through one bib each feeding.
Newborns eat every two hours, so that is 12 bibs per day. If you plan to use burp cloths, you will need more of those in the beginning and fewer bibs.
Do You Have A Washer?
I live in an apartment building. It’s very spacious, but the one thing that I am not a fan of is the absence of a washer or dryer. We are not allowed to get an apartment-style one, and there are no laundry facilities on the grounds. This means we need to visit the laundromat once a week.
Because of this, we needed enough bibs/burp cloths to get us through that week. We have a combination of over 40 bibs/burp cloths. Luckily, the baby doesn’t spit up very much so we’re pretty well stocked right now.
If you have a washer/dryer and do a load every night, you can stock up on laundry soap and get by with significantly fewer bibs. Twenty will be more than enough. Simply toss them in the washer when you’re done and wash them with the next load of laundry.
If you don’t have a washer/dryer, think about how much you do laundry now. If you’re only heading to the laundromat once a week, that means you’re going to need 40-50. If you go three times a week, you’ll only need about 20.
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How Often You Want To Buy Bibs
If you want to buy enough bibs to get you started, you’re going to need about 10-20. However, as your baby gets older, you’re going to need a lot more. Babies will need to wear them constantly when they start teething because they drool non-stop.
Feeding them baby food instantly calls for a new bib for each feeding. As you can see, you’re going to wind up buying more as you need them if you only start off with a few bibs. You can go that route, or you can buy a plethora of them on sale in the beginning.
Type Of Bib
Consider what type of bibs you’re buying. Some will need to be changed more frequently, and others are ideal if you want to save money or not have to buy 50 bibs.
Cloth Bibs
Cloth bibs are usually available in cuter patterns than other varieties, and these come with outfits so your baby can coordinate perfectly. However, they also have their downsides. Cloth bibs can get soaked with drool during teething episodes pretty easily so they need changing more often. Also, these bibs tend to stain easier.
Plastic Backing
Next up on the durability list are bibs with plastic backing. These bibs have a cloth-like part on the front with plastic on the back. Because of this, drool or food will never soak through the bib to the baby. The front can only hold so much though, so these will still need to be changed.
On the downside, these bibs aren’t usually included with cute coordinating outfits. They are not as absorbent as cloth bibs either. Because of this, they don’t soak up as much drool, less than ideal for baby puke, and usually used for feeding baby food instead. Solid food will fall right off of them.
Bumkin Bibs
Bumkin bibs are plastic bibs that have a pocket in front. Both baby food and solid food will fall into the pocket. After feeding, all you have to do is rinse them off and hang them up to dry. These are not ideal for teething or baby spit-up but are perfect for when your little one starts eating food.
Keep in mind that these bibs are available in different styles. Some simply strap around the neck like other bibs, but others come with sleeves to protect the baby’s clothes while they are eating. The ones with sleeves are great for older babies and messy eaters.
- FITS 6 TO 24 MOS – The SuperBib attaches over the back of the shoulder with hook and loop for a quick, adjustable and tug-proof fit. With a handy crumb catcher / catch-all pocket for containing spills. Measures approximately 10” across and 9” from neck down. Wipeable and machine washable for easy cleaning so you can use it over and over again!
- SAVING YOU FROM MESSES – Made from Bumkins lightweight, waterproof, easy-wipe, stain and odor resistant fabric. Single-ply construction means no worrying about icky stuff growing between layers of fabric. Without a cotton layer, stains and smells dont stick.
- SOFT YET STRONG – Our signature fabric is both durable and soft, our bibs stand up to messes, yet are lightweight and comfortable.
- LAB TESTED SAFE – At Bumkins, we take pride in our rigorous product testing to ensure you have the safest possible products. Our bibs are BPA-free, PVC-free, vinyl-free, phthalate-free and lead-free.
- EASY-TO-CLEAN – Machine washable. Turn pocket inside-out to wash. To extend the life of our bibs, we recommend hang drying our quick-dry fabric.
- ABOUT OUR FABRIC – 100% polyester, lightweight and breathable with embedded TPU for waterproofing
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How Many Bibs Do I Need?
Overall, you’ll need to start out with about 10 cloth bibs or burp cloths. These are more absorbent and perfect for soaking up baby puke so it doesn’t get all over you or the baby.
You’ll also need at least 10 bibs with plastic backing. Use these for baby food. Keep the cloth ones for formula feedings and teething episodes.
Last is the plastic bibs like Bumkins Bibs. Pick up three to four of these. They don’t need to be washed and do not take long to dry so you won’t need a lot of them. Making sure that you have four will guarantee that you have one already dry every time that you are ready to feed the baby.
You can pick these up before the baby is born and know that you’re set. Start off with a few cloth bibs and add to the collection as your baby gets older. If you start early though, you can find them on sale to save money. That is one of the biggest perks of shopping early.
