Featured Mom Business *Ritzy Bitzy*

*Spotlight on Monica*
Ritzy Bitzy
Home of the Bunchees Baby Bottle Bibs!

Who knew that a dribbly bottle-feeder and a stretchy hair accessory would inspire me so much!

My baby boys were so messy that every time they ate from their baby bottle, their bib would became so soaked that I had to literally change their outfit after each feeding. The messy bottle feeding not only left them soaked but myself as well. My oldest son's cheeks and chin became red and chapped from the wetness and constant dribble coming out of the corners of his mouth while he ate that would run down his cheeks, chin and down into his neck. At bathtime, it was a chore to wash his neck folds, where formula and messy dribble would collect and become crusty--ick! Having had enough, I decided to search for a solution--so off I went to Babies R Us, where there was nothing available for this specific problem. I then went to Target, Wal Mart, Baby Depot and all the other big-name baby stores but to no avail, there was nothing on the market for this.

I began using pricey but better quality bibs to help absorb the dribble, but then my baby became quite good at pulling his bibs off while I fed him and they didn't absorb the gap in between the neck and bib opening. And so I was destined to deal with it until he was off the bottle for good. Fast forward three years later, when I had my second baby who began having the same issues with bottle-feeding, I became determined to find a solution this time, but how? He was only a few weeks old when I was feeding him and happened to notice my scrunchie on my end table. I was having trouble with a leaky baby bottle at the moment and for some reason, I wondered if I slipped the scrunchie underneath the bottle cap, would it be able to help with the leakage? And so I tried it, feeling a little silly and then not so silly after all! It worked like a charm, soaking up most of the bottle leaks and I officially had what Oprah calls the "a-ha" moment. Another huge a-ha moment was when I held the edge of the scrunchie underneath his lip, it caught the dribble running out of the sides of his mouth! I decided to make a much more absorbent version out of a microfiber kitchen towel and added three mini-bibs to extend and absorb what was coming out of his mouth. Along with my baby, I enlisted my friends and family members who had just had babies to try them out, and they all thought it was ingenious and one of the coolest baby products ever.

Hoping to help other moms and dads who had this problem with their messy babies, we launched Baby Bottle Bibs on our website in February of 2008. We have received worldwide acceptance and very positive feedback from those who have used our product. We even won a prestigious award from iParenting Excellent Baby Products for 2008! I have my baby boys to thank, they (along with my "vintage" scrunchie) were what sparked my creativity and allowed me to invent this great product. My boys continue to inspire me and I find myself thinking of more and more ways to help our lives a little more fun and easier for us all!

Happy Parenting,
Monica :)

Check out Ritzy Bitzy online at www.ritzybitzy.com and on Facebook!