Messy Me Splash Mat and Bib Review

*Gifted Products

Weaning has begun in our household and it’s messy! My first child, Jake, was a fusspot from day one. He only liked pureed food, he would even turn his nose up at some of those flavours and he was a choker… sigh, how does a baby choke on puree?! William, however, has proved he is the complete opposite from day one. He showed us he wanted food and he has certainly made it clear that pureed is ok but proper food is brilliant! He chomps away on anything and so far hasn’t shown any dislike for tastes or textures. The only downside is the extra mess I’ve been experiencing all over the floor, highchair and on him! So, when Messy Me asked me to review a splash mat and bib, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Who are Messy Me?

Messy Me is an award-winning family run business in Farnham, Surrey (not too far from me- I love supporting local!) They design and sell stylish weaning products to help with those messy times and the busy Mum who doesn’t want to be cleaning more than she has to. Helen, the lady behind the concept says:

“I searched for products to help with the clearing up process but struggled to find anything I really liked – most of the products either looked (and often were) cheap and poor quality, featured designs chosen to appeal to young children (brightly coloured cartoon animals etc) or just didn’t feel practical (a cushion with a fabric cover which had to be taken off to be washed).  With my little ones making a mess EVERY DAY, I wanted products which would look good in my kitchen and make my life easier – not add to the workload.”

And she has certainly achieved this.

First Impressions

My First impression of the grey star design splash mat and bib was that they were both gorgeous. I had already spotted them over on the website so was over the moon that these were offered to me for review. The mat is so much larger than I had imagined it would be. I can see that once weaning is over it will come in very handy for messy play, painting, picnics, water play etc for both of my boys. You can also feel that it is very good quality. Most mats like these crinkle easily or rip, especially with a highchair being moved across them but this one is thick and flexible as it is made from oilcloth sourced from Denmark and a cotton base. The bib is also large and covers most of William’s little body! (he is prem so he is small anyway) It is made from the same materials so it moves with him and isn’t at all rigid. It is also BPA and phthalate free meaning it is chemical-free and completely safe for your little ones.

 

In Use

We immediately put both the items to use. Even though our kitchen floor has seen better days it still saves me the extra job of mopping after meals and when we finally get around to replacing it I will definitely want to keep the new flooring at it’s best. 

As I mentioned before, I didn’t expect the mat to be quite so large so it covers a wide area of the floor which allows for splashing distance but it can easily be folded under if you don’t need so much out.

William wasn’t fazed about having a bib on (we haven’t been using any so far) and I loved the fact that the bits of food he was dropping were being caught in the pocket on the front.

Care of the products

So far all we have had to do is simply wipe away any marks or food using a soft, wet cloth. I recently swapped to reusable wipes and these work wonders on both of these products and don’t leave a streaky residue like regular wipes do. The instructions do say to wipe straight away especially if the food is known to stain easily i.e. raspberries, blueberries, tomato but you can also pop them into the washing machine (occasionally) at 30° to get a deep-down clean.

Or, if you are like me, just use your dog!! Little scavenger.

Storing

The splash mat folds up very easily and is very lightweight so I have been popping it into the mesh basket under the high chair. It would just as easily go into a drawer too. If you are worried about the creases you can actually iron it by turning it over. 

This product gets a big thumbs up from us because it is not only useful, it is stylish and will be used every single day and for future activities.

*I received these items in exchange for an honest review. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.

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