Antes de comer, le pongo el babero y la siento en la trona con mucho cuidado.

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Breakdown of Antes de comer, le pongo el babero y la siento en la trona con mucho cuidado.

• comer: to eat
• en: in
• con: with

Questions & Answers about Antes de comer, le pongo el babero y la siento en la trona con mucho cuidado.

Why does it say antes de comer and not antes de que comer?

Because after antes de, Spanish normally uses an infinitive when there is no new subject introduced.

• antes de comer = before eating / before the meal
• antes de salir = before leaving

You use antes de que + subjunctive when a different subject is involved or when you want to make the clause fully explicit:

• Antes de que ella coma, le pongo el babero.
  = Before she eats, I put her bib on.

So in your sentence, antes de comer is the natural compact way to say it.

What exactly does antes de comer mean here: before eating or before lunch?

It can mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence, because we are talking about putting a bib on a child and seating her in a high chair, it most naturally means:

• before she eats
• or more loosely, before mealtime

Spanish often leaves this slightly open when the context makes it obvious.

Why is there a le in le pongo el babero?