Child-Proofing

As almost anyone knows when you bring a little one into the world your whole life changes. You have to look at things in a COMPLETELY different perspective! One of the biggest things that I feel is important is safety. I want my/ our child(ren) to be and feel safe in their own home. So in order to accomplish this I have attempted to "child-proof" our home. This has definitely been a process. As Kaylee has gone through her stages I have had to advance the child-proofing.

It all started when she began to crawl, we had to make the big step in rearranging our living room. This was a really big deal for Marcus and a necessary evil for myself. I decided it would be best if we moved the coffee table away from its original home on the rug, to the corner of the living room where it can serve 2 purposes: blocking part of the rock around our fireplace and opening up a large area for Kaylee to roam.

I was scared to death of the jagged rock surrounding our fireplace and could come up with nothing better than a thick blanket folded over so it pads the rock as much as possible. It has seemed to do the trick thus far, and has helped avoid a few head injuries already.

Next came the outlet plugs. I had gotten the regular plastic ones you stick in the outlet for a gift, but after researching for a better solution I found these, and I LOVE them! They are such a great idea, you dont have to worry about removing the little plastic piece you just slide the plate over and push your plug in. So I decided to put these in my most frequently used areas.

Then when she began pulling up and developed her love of buttons I had to get more creative to find a way to "block" our media stand which houses all the electronic equipment. She had pressed so many buttons on the receiver that Marcus had trouble getting the settings right. So i decided to buy a piece of plexy glass and temporarily attach it to the front of the media stand, that way the remotes still worked but little fingers could not press anymore buttons.

Once those buttons were no longer available, she found the buttons on the TV. So I devised a cover for those as well.

Baby gates are a must when you have infants on the move, we have strategically placed 4 gates throughout the house and move them as necessary.

Then came the cabinet locks, we got the magnetic ones which we absoluetly LOVE!

Raising the blinds and tying up the cords came shortly after that

Recently she has learned how to open doors, so I figured it was time to get the door knob covers. I just purchased the regular ones that snap onto the door and you have to pinch the grips in order to open the door. Well they worked for about 5 days. She figured out if she just kept spinning the cover until she got the grip just right she could open the door. I guess i need to invent some that are "maniac proof" and not just plain ole "child proof!"

So what is next? I keep watching her everday to see what else she can get herself into. Her newest and greatest stunt is climbing on the kitchen chairs and then onto the table. We need to hurry up and finish the upstairs so we can put a gym up there for her.

I am sure there are many other child-proofing measures that I have taken that havent come to mind, but all you ladies who are about to have little ones of your own...................BE PREPARED!!!