How exactly does one baby-proof a room, much less an entire house?
And I mean really baby proof. Not just plug the outlets (oh, how naive I used to be).
Clara is a wonderfully explorative little girl. I love that she wants to be everywhere and see everything. She's not content with her toys, on the safe confines of our living room rug, and while that can be cute, it also makes me extremely nervous.
It's fine for now. It simply requires me watching her, grabbing her, and putting her back safely where she should be. But in a few months we'll be adding a newborn to the mix, and I just have this mental image of me, alone with the two babes, breastfeeding one while the other "explores."
I'd love to not constantly worry whether I've thought of every possible way she could get hurt. I'd love to not have to pull her away from the brick near our fireplace (which she tries to suck on) or every cord in the room all day long.
We plan to tackle those problems this weekend, but it's the bigger ones I'm clueless about. Like, how do I prevent her from pulling herself up on our TV stand and the TV falling over on her (besides the obvious of sitting on the floor with her and physically stopping her from doing it)? Or what about the storage unit in our kitchen where I put all the baking pans and casserole dishes that don't fit in my cupboards (it's just metal shelving so the items are exposed at a little one's level and the unit itself could fall over if she really yanked on it)?
Do people get rid of actual furniture that could be dangerous (which I'm not opposed to) or am I missing something?
We're going to try making an enclosed area in our living room using this thing with linked-sides we used to keep Sophie in (sorry, I can't think of a better way to describe it at the moment, but it's not only for a dog and it's not covered, just sides that link together), but I'm not sure how that'll go over. She already, for the most part, hates being in her pack-n-play to "play." She definitely likes her freedom. And she prefers bricks, cords, shoes and the TV stand to her toys. Go figure.
Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice anyone has on this. I just know there must be something we can do... right??? Other than living in a padded room?
I have no advice, just well wishes!
ReplyDeleteWe went the route of getting rid of furniture that wasn't child-friendly and getting new items (well used, on Craigslist). We found it was going to be too hard to feel safe with what we had and it was very important, since I was working from home and couldn't be within arm's reach of the baby every moment, that we do everything we possibly could to make any room that we couldn't shut a door to as safe as possible. It does take a lot of effort and planning and rearranging as time goes on, but it's worth it. We just moved and are now figuring out what works and what doesn't in the new house--it's a whole different situation in a new place. But since you're going to be home with two (yay!) little ones, I think that the peace of mind is worth the hassle of getting rid of old things and finding new and rearranging and all the rest. You have to feel comfortable in your home. Also, we have pretty much no photos or nick nacks anywhere. Once upon a time, yes, but now, no. Phones are all up high, shoes are all in closets, bathroom doors are ALWAYS closed, etc. Soon you won't remember that your house was ever any other way!
ReplyDeleteWith M we mostly stayed in one room and put gates up, and made sure there was nothing dangerous. They have these straps that you can strap furniture to the wall so they can't pull them on themselves. I'm going to do this in M's room pretty soon when we move her new dresser and bookcase in there. (She's a climber.) But when JP came along, I couldn't just keep us in this one room because M had to get to the bathroom when she needed to, so I have pretty much babyproofed the entire lower level of the house. I block off the stairs but otherwise they have free run of the family room, dining room, kitchen, and playroom. I also always close the bathroom door down here and M knows to close it too. (He likes to play in the toilet - EW.) There are a few things we weren't able to babyproof and we have blocked them off. It's not pretty but it works. of course now he stands on the toybox and couches and tries to climb on the table. Not sure what to do about that.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kelly and Beth, that does help. It seems so overwhelming but it'll be so nice once I can feel comfortable again in my own home!
ReplyDeleteAnd Beth, I know what you mean about the things you can't really baby-proof, like climbing on the couch. I'm constantly stopping Clara from crawling under her pack-n-play and into the bottom part of her exersaucer. How do you baby-proof things meant for a baby? Haha..
My daughter, and indeed I think most babies, think that household items are way more fun than toys. At 18 months Maria likes baby dolls and Duplos, but there were a few months between 12 & 15 months or so when she'd go days without emptying her toy box once. There were way more exciting things to do.
ReplyDeleteRubber bands on cabinets in the kitchen, or those cabinet locks. I ended up removing any electric cords that were not regularly used, and just watching the rest of them. Babyproofing changes with each age, I've found. Things in our house keep going higher and higher as Maria finds ways to reach more surfaces. At this point, tabletops and even the mantlepiece and piano top are not safe any more because she has learned to push chairs. She's a climber and she's a pretty resourceful kid. I hope Clara does not end up that bad for you. Babyproofing is hard. You don't want to empty everything out of your house- you need some stuff to live. But you don't want hazards to your little one. It's frustrating. Some things, like your bricks, you will just have to repeatedly reinforce that it's a no no. It may take weeks but she will learn to ignore them. Some things, we end up letting her play with and give up the battle as long as it's not dangerous-it may just have been something that we prefered to keep her out of. You have to take things one day at a time and one room at a time- even now our whole house is definitely not Maria proof. Rooms we spend less time in such as bedrooms, we just watch her. And as Clara gets older she will be more receptive of being told no. Good luck!
Bolt everything to the walls! Shelves, TV's, anything heavy needs to be fastened so it can't be pulled over. Those are extremely dangerous! The bricks on the other hand....she might fall and hurt herself once or twice, but I think it's just something she'll have to learn to stay away from. Or you could fasten a runner (rug) over the bricks with some double-sided tape or something like that until she gets a little older? There might be something commercially available like that...I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as pots and pans - those were my nephews favorite toys when he visited his grandmother. She'd let him pull them all out of the cabinet and he'd play for hours - she'd give him a wooden spoon to bang on them with :).
I agree with what Beth said about the fasteners to secure the furniture to the wall.
ReplyDeleteAs for the cords, I know they make cord keepers with some of the outlet covers, or you could tape the cords to the baseboards.
And with the brick, are you concerned about the sharp edges? I know they make foam bumpers designed for this sort of thing.
I'm also a big fan of baby gates, but that works really well in our house since we don't have an open concept floor plan.
Good luck! Baby proofing is not easy!
Yes, they do make foam bumpers that attach to brick along the edges to soften the edges. My friend has some and they were bought at Lowes. It doesn't make the entire surface soft, though. Lots of luck to you and the Clara-proofing project.
ReplyDeleteFor some comic relief, here is my facebook status from yesterday:
ReplyDelete"Found a a small checker piece in baby Claire's diaper. It's amazing she didn't choke on it. Just checked and three more pieces are unaccounted for... today is not exactly a high point of my life as a mother."
But life goes on. Stuff happens. Do what you can, and say some prayers to her guardian angel for the things you can't baby proof (like those bricks!)
Yeah we're getting rid of some furniture. Also if you have sharp corners on tables I think they seel foam pads that you can attach to the corners. we'll have to do that for the brick on our fireplace. We also have baby gates so we'll see what happens.
ReplyDeleteWe have those gates you have for Sophie that we've used to block off the tv area in the living room. (We had already gotten rid of our coffee table in the living room since it's a small room.) You could just use the gates to make a big corral for those times after the new baby arrives and you've got your hands full.
ReplyDeleteI also use some gates in the kitchen so I can block D. in while I'm in there doing dishes, etc... I dread the day he's too big or disinterested in his exersaucer and jumping thing (it's drawing very near already...).
He loves exploring, too, so I do try to give him as much freedom as possible, but within reason. I let him crawl around the house with me following or hiding around corners.
Oh, and my parents also got D. this awesome Fi.sher Pri.ce "house" with sounds and things to pull and push that he LOVES. (Lau.gh and Le.arn Lear.ning Ho.me it's called) It keeps him VERY occupied. It was about $80 but well spent. Our 3- year old neighbor likes playing with it, so it's a toy that will last.
Sorry for the length of this post. Didn't realize when I started!!
Just a lurker fm LFCA. About Clara trying to lick the brick...could she possibly have pica? Iron deficiency?My normal toddler neice was diagnosed with it as she wld just eat mud as soon as she was at arms length fm a caretaker.
ReplyDeletehttp://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/pica.html
Since that maybe the only thing she sees as being close to soil/clay? Also, the article talks abt how a nutritionally deficient pregnancy might affect the baby developing this. Sooo, pls dont take it personally, but since she has a different biological mom, I felt a very strong connection btn her trying to lick the brick and pica.
Abt baby proofing, we've to still do this for our 3y old boy. Throw a towel/ pretty cloth bit, over the top of your doors,and adjust them such that the doors dont fully close, but have just abt enough space btn the door and the frame to save precious little fingers.
I used to be a big fan of interior decor blogs and sites but once our boy began exploring, it really felt like most of those images were fm homes of ppl with no children or even pets. Cos seriously how can that lady say she has three cats and yet keep out this tall, beautiful,expensive porcelain lamp on the side-table or that fine, cut glass flower vase beside the tv. Kids and cats cats LOOVE tvs!!.
So, yeah,we have a very sterile set up, with just the basics(sofa, chairs, EMPTY tables) with most things going just up, up and up!But spice up/add color with colorful cushions, changing out sofa covers and paintings on the wall with the seasons.
But its still a trouble to rem'ber to put the knife and the scissors back to mag.strip as soon as Im done using it in the kitchen.
Bhavana
Oh my goodness, I am so excited to have found your beautiful blog. I am also a Catholic mother, I am also an adoptive mother and a biological mother, and I share your support for Dr. Hilgers and his work. If you decide to homeschool your kids someday, we'll really be kindred spirits. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe friends who recommended the agency through which we adopted our daughter (and through which they adopted their son) went through Dr. Hilgers.
God bless you and your family. I glanced at your Eucharistic Adoration site. I will likely purchase a video. Beautiful.
Your daughter is gorgeous, and am so happy to hear about your pregnancy.
I found you through Faith's blog (http://eidsonfamilyjourney.blogspot.com) . You know I'm going to have be a regular follower of your blog now...
Take care of those two little ones, and God bless,
Elizabeth
Must comment. The bricks on your fire place are VERY bad. Unfortunatly we know this. When your baby starts to walk, if she falls on any sharp jagged stone edges, face or forehead, you will need a ped plastic surgen and you must ask for one right away. Any stone will edge will make an uneven jagged cut and needs special stiches as to not scar so bad. We went to our Lowes or Home depot and got foam that insulates pipes(round foam tubes)sliced it long ways and stuck it on all stone edges.New walkers make me so nervous. Hope this helps. God Bless
ReplyDeleteHere is a fun website!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.babyproofingshop.com/baby-safety-products/category/all-0.html?gclid=CI6U7LX7z6MCFUcz5wodQQHXuQ
We went through just about everything you can imagine with childproofing for our little boy. We moved some furniture out of the room, we set up baby gates to make the living room one big play area, we put in special outlet covers, we used bungee cords to keep lamps upright, we used Tot Loks to secure cabinets, we used plastic covers to keep him from pushing buttons on the TV (until he broke it), we put chains on the doors for when he learns how to unlock the doors and open the doorknobs, and I'm sure that's just what I can remember offhand. One thing I've learned is that childproofing is something that will evolve as your child grows. Every child is different--some will never discover the outlets and others will spend days trying to stuff things in the holes. I knew that, once our second arrives (3 more weeks to go) I can't be chasing after our two-year-old to keep him safe.
ReplyDelete