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Necessity was the mother, and father, of this invention

By LISA BUIE
Published October 9, 2006

I know, I know, babies are messy.

No one had to tell me that last year when I learned I was pregnant with my now 3¹/₂-month-old son. I expected to be cleaning up poop and sometimes a little spit-up, and I "oohed" and "aahed" over the gifts of adorable little bibs with matching little burp cloths.

Little did I know I was about to give birth to the Duke of Hurl.

After early days of five outfit changes a day for both me and my son as well as panicked after-hours calls to the pediatrician, my husband and I learned that our son, Dylan, has gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Most people know it as infant reflux.

Silly nicknames aside, the condition can have serious consequences. Dylan apparently was born with an immature lower esophageal sphincter. When working properly, it squeezes shut after food passes from the esophagus to the stomach. When the sphincter is underdeveloped, it doesn't stay tightened, or relaxes at times it isn't supposed to, sending milk and stomach acid back up the esophagus and sometimes to the back of the throat as spit-up. Left untreated, it can damage a baby's esophagus and cause him or her to refuse milk and fail to thrive.

The condition is fairly common in infants, and Dr. Salil Jacob and the other fine professionals at the Wesley Chapel office of Pediatric Health Care Alliance assure me he probably will outgrow it when most babies do - about age 6 months, when they start eating baby food and start sitting up on their own.

For a breast-feeding working mom, six months sounds like an eternity.

What to do until then?

Not much.

The only cure for the spit-ups is time. Meanwhile, we prop him up for a half hour after every feeding yes, even the early morning ones, raise the head of his crib mattress and give him Prevacid to neutralize the acid.

Thanks to the medicine, he's now what doctors call a "happy spitter."

And though my husband and I are happy about that, we aren't thrilled about having to change clothes multiple times (ours and his), mop up upholstery and run our washer and dryer 24/7. I have literally had to nurse this baby in my underwear, and dress right before leaving the house just so I can avoid spit-up episodes that make that little girl in The Exorcist look tame.

Little did I know help was just a county away.

One day while desperately scouring the Internet for information about reflux, I ran across the Mommy Bib. The company is based in Spring Hill and was born as the result of another couple's battle with spit-up and drool. I ordered a bib in "casual khaki" and decided to swap spit-up stories with the inventors, Michael and Connie Poindexter.

Michael, 36, an accountant for Switch and Data, felt my pain. He had to change shirts when his infant son, Alex, would spit up on him before Michael walked out the door to work each morning.

He searched to see if there was something to protect his clothes but found nothing on the market. With each shirt change, he was convinced there was a need for a product to provide relief. He came up with the idea of a bib - not for the baby but for the parent to wear while holding their little spitters and droolers.

"One night while my wife, mother and I were sitting around talking, I asked if they wanted to invent a product and try and market it ourselves," he said. "I had a clear vision of how it should look and function and was excited to get started."

They put a regular shirt on Connie, took a marker and outlined the bib's original shape. The Mommy Bib was born.

Michael's mother, Gladys, began cutting patterns for sewing. About 40 versions later, the three came up with the current bib design.

The bibs come in various colors, from traditional Pretty Pink and Baby Blue to leopard and bug prints. There is even a camouflage bib.

The bib, which actually looks more like a vest, has a front center Velcro closing and covers the parent from the shirt collar down past the chest. It also has short sleeves and is open on the sides because it makes it easier to grab bottles or change the baby's position, Michael says.

The couple realized they were on to something and set up a company. They hired an accountant and a patent attorney. Michael's mother got to work sewing bibs. The couple ran ads on Bright House Networks and in 2005 wrapped both their cars in ads for the Mommy Bib. They also set up a Web site: www.mommybib.com.

"The patent process almost bankrupted us, but I really felt it was needed, so we pushed it through," Michael said. "We've mortgaged our home, savings and credit cards to bring this product to market."

The result was U.S. Patent No. 7082617, issued Aug. 1.

The Poindexters also have showed off their bibs at several trade shows and have racked up awards from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association and Iparenting Media.

They since have outsourced bib production to two firms, one in Tampa and one in Minneapolis. New designs are in the works; the couple is hashing out a possible deal with the NCAA to sell bibs with college team colors and logos.

Their dream is to make the Mommy Bib as well-known and indispensable as the disposable diaper.

To make this a reality, they show off their invention at monthly baby fest events locally and attend various trade shows.

"Starting a grass roots business has been one of the most difficult opportunities my wife and I have faced to date, and we owe it all to the birth of our son," Michael said.

I tried one of the bibs while feeding my messy son. He hosed it after just one feeding. Michael says his bib is designed more for normal spitters, but they may have to create Mommy Bib: the Reflux Version just for parents like me who need extra coverage for their super spitters.

Meanwhile, my husband and I cope by making up more nicknames for our spewing son. In addition to the Duke of Hurl, we've come up with Count Yakula and McBelch.

I wish I had as much business savvy as the Poindexters, but I am having trouble just staying on top of the laundry. I have a sneaking suspicion the Maytag repairman is about to get a lot less lonely.

Lisa Buie is the central/east Pasco editor of the St. Petersburg Times. She can be reached at (727) 992-8664. Her e-mail address is buie@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 9, 2006, 01:03:12]