This post and giveaway were made possible by iConnect and Dreft. I was compensated for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions are 100% mine.
One of the first things you learn as a new mom is that life gets messy. It starts with spit up and diaper explosions and just gets worse from there. Nothing is safe from the little mess making machines we call babies.
I tried hard to think of the messiest moment I’ve had so far with my kids. One of the most memorable times was definitely when I was feeding the baby while the 2 year old spooned applesauce into the back pocket of my jeans. There was nothing to do but laugh because the kids were literally immersing me in their messes.
Sometimes, baby food can transform into finger paint in the space of a few seconds.
As a new mom, I always felt guilty about the messes. If my house or my child wasn’t pristine, I thought that somehow meant I wasn’t doing my job correctly. As my babies grew into kids, I realized that some of our very best memories were from our messiest days together.
The day we played outside, splashing in the puddles, I was expecting to be washing some wet, but still clean clothes. Then my son decided to bend over and dip his head in the muddiest of puddles. As I watched the icky water drip down his neck and clothes I knew this would be a mess to remember!
It’s like babies are just attracted to messes! Science has now even confirmed it… playing in the dirt actually helps soothe and relax kids.
Dreft did a survey with Wakefield that showed 87 percent of moms encourage their kids to choose to do things that won’t get them messy, even though most moms agree that kids are learning and even happier when they are getting messy and dirty!
When I realized that my mom-guilt was eating away and stealing these fun mess-making memories from me, I came across a fun quote and decided to make a piece of toddler art with it for our living room. Please excuse the mess, the children are making memories became a perfect reminder for me to slow down, and just love every messy moment with my kids.
And yes, my son got REALLY messy making this painting. We used photo paper and letter stickers to make it happen, and it still hangs above our craft table today!
One thing that makes messes a lot easier to handle is knowing what to do with them. Dreft is a great way to tackle the messes babies and toddlers make on their clothing. You can let them get dirty and have fun knowing that it will all come out in the wash. Dreft is the #1 baby laundry detergent choice of pediatricians and it has been a trust brand for over 80 years. Dreft really meets the needs of a growing family, since we can rely on Dreft Active Baby detergent to help remove 99 percent of baby food stains and other messes while still being gentle and hypoallergenic for baby’s soft skin!
Dreft is so confident they’ve launched the Dreft America’s Messiest Baby Contest which allows you to submit photos of your funniest messy baby moments as entries to win prizes…including the cover of Parents Magazine in May! (You can enter the contest here) I love this contest because not only are the pictures ADORABLE to look through, but it’s also a great reminder that ALL kids get messy and that we need to remember to embrace that with them.
Dreft has partnered with Dr Hes and she has shared a few ways to make messes less stress and more fun for mom and baby… She says that loading up on bibs is a great way to capture the messy food moments. We stored ours in a laundry bag behind the high chair so we were never without a bib, even if baby just needed a quick snack.
Also keep in mind what clothes you are putting baby in to play. Make sure you use fabrics like cotton that can easily be washed so baby can play without you worrying!
Molly Sims was at the Messiest Baby event in New York City this past October 25th. She’ll be hosting a twitter party with Dreft on November 14th from 9pm-10pm EST. You can RSVP to the twitter party here. It will be tons of fun and there are lots of great prizes you could win like an iRobot Roomba!
Today, you can enter the Dreft giveaway below. They’ll be sending the winner a $50 amex gift card and a prize package of Dreft.
What is your messiest moment of parenting so far? Share with us in the comments!
shelly peterson says
One of my messiest moments was with my grandsons and his birthday smash cake. He had blue frosting and cake every where.
Maria Beas says
One of the messiest moment was with my daughter. We were on the bus when she poured all the milk on her head then she laughed and all the people just looked at us. I remember this moment almost every day. I smile and if my children are happy, I am happy too. Thanks for the chance to win such an amazing giveaway.
Mary Cloud says
I think my messiest moments is when my poor babies both used to get car sick – happened every time we got in the car
Jessica N says
My messiest moment was when my twins had used a whole tub of Destin (the purple one) to paint their walls in the room! It was so funny! Hand prints everywhere!
Elena says
My son ate his chocolate birthday cake and had chocolate all over his face
HS says
One of my kids’ messiest moments was playing with flour while I was busy in baking. They got creative for making their own version of birthday cake with fruit and flour.
Kelly D says
My messiest parenting moment is when I let the kids enjoy an ice cream cone in the warmer months.
Laurajj says
Oh I have to say our messiest was his 1st birthday! Grandma brought the single cake just for him…with bright royal blue frosting! Oh my! It was everywhere and did not want to come out of anything! Now…we get so messy pudding painting…but we have so much fun doing it!
Lisa Brown says
messiest moment is always when sauce is served for dinner, no big deal.
Em Mahr says
Recently, we had a huge mess when my little one helped carve pumpkins. He had orange slime and pumpkin seeds everywhere! So messy, but so cute!
Amy Orvin says
The messiest moment was when my daughter put mashed potatoes in her hair and rubbed them in. Ehhh, that was a mess! and, very hard to get out. Lol!
Angela Saver says
Our messiest moment was when our daughter was eating spaghetti & she played with her hair with her messy hands! It was a mess, for sure!
Laura says
I’m not a mom yet but I’m looking forward to all of those fun and messy moments!