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December 2010 Moms
kat81again2
member
safe places to put baby down
kat81again2
member
Hi all,
I'm just curious about your thoughts on where you put the baby if you are doing things like showering (and other activities). Specifically I'm curious about your thoughts on an exersaucer, because we just bought one.
So my question -- what activities do you consider "safe" when the baby is a) in the playpen, b) in an exersaucer, and c) in the crib? Feel free to consider other options if you have other equipment (like a bumbo).
Possible activities to think about -- showering, drying hair, folding laundry, going to another part of the house/apt/building to do the laundry, getting ready for work (i.e. packing bag and pump stuff--walking around the house), food prep/dishes, using your computer for work or for play (e.g. bumping).
I'm just curious as to what your comfort levels are. Personally, I will not do laundry (which is two flights down) unless I bring DS or he is asleep. I will wander around the house getting ready for work if he's in his pen, and I might do computer stuff if he is. But we have hardwood floors, so he sometimes hurts himself in there (although now he's REALLY good at falling and this rarely happens). I will do any and all kitchen stuff if he's in the room in his highchair. For showering I'm less sure and that's where I could use advice, especially because we just bought an exersaucer.
ETA: DS is crawling, but we do have a play yard. But no foam mat yet. But as I said, he usually doesn't fall; he knows how to get in and out of sitting from crawling...though I know once he starts pulling up to standing we'll have another set of concerns.
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Re: safe places to put baby down
Dx MTHFR (C677T & A1298C, Compound Heterozygous)
I'm pretty lax about this. If I need to do something I plunk her somewhere, whether that's her crib with a few toys so I can shower or in her jumperoo so I can prep dinner or put a load of wash in or go to the bathroom, etc. I often stick her in her high chair so I can pick up the kitchen/family room area. To just check my email or something I put her on her foam mat/play area since my computer is right there and I can keep an eye on her roaming around.
We have hard wood floors as well and I bought one of those foam ABC puzzle mat things for the family room so she can roll and tumble around while playing without conking her head when she inevitably lunges for something and topples over.
BFP #2 4/13/10. Bridget born 12/28/10
BFP #3 Finn born 8/11/15
[url=http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers][img]http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1cb8c4.aspx[/img][/url]
We use the exersaucer when we need somewhere to put him. I don't leave him in the bumbo if I leave the room because he can fall out of it easily.
If he is content in his crib with a toy or his crib soother on, then I'll leave him in there. I try not to leave him on the floor too long when I'm not in there because he's starting to get into stuff alot.
I also try to do things while he's sleeping if I can.
If I'm wandering around generally cleaning, etc, I'll put him on his blanket on the floor...he's not mobile yet.
I shower when he is napping in his crib.
If I need to cook dinner, I either put him in his high chair in the kitchen with me or in his exersaucer.
If I need to do laundry or generally be in a another room, he can stay in the exersaucer, or in his pack n play. But I also try to get lots done while he naps.
Sometimes (gasp!) I even go on my back deck to let the dog out while he's inside the house.
like pp, i have a small house and hes not mobile yet (except for rolling around everywhere) so sometimes i just leave him in the living room on his playmat with toys if im in the kitchen cooking.
i wait for DH to get home to shower. if i need to shower and hes not home then i put griff in his exersaucer and infront of the bathroom doorway. if im getting his bottle ready ill set him down in his crib or PnP. hes also in his walker alot if im cooking or cleaning.
when griff starts to crawl im not sure what i'll do. we have baby gates up already for the dogs so im not worried about him falling down the stairs but i dont want him crawling to the dogs food bowls or licking up dust balls or something like that.
I love, love, love your new picture!! She is such a doll.
Ginny DX 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Charlie DX Specific Antibody Deficiency & ASD
For the most part, I bring her from room to room with me these days. I only shower when she's asleep - she's never been patient enough to sit down on the bathroom floor and play long enough for me to take a good one. If I'm sweaty and really need to, I just put her in the bathtub with me and rinse off.
Our living room/kitchen/informal dining are all one large space, so I can see her from the kitchen. For meal prep, I'll put her in the living room with some toys, and if she starts crawling off, I follow and put her back or bring her into the kitchen and put her in the high chair. She will rarely sit in her jumperoo anymore.
I can tell you that it is no longer safe to sit ds on our bed with pillows on either side of him b/c I did that this morning so I could go pee & he fell off the bed. It took literally 10 seconds for it to happen. It was the worst thing ever. He has 2 welts on his forehead. I feel so sick about it.
I will usually put him in his pack n play or high chair or exersaucer if I need to go do something. But I check him like every minute.
I usually shower at night when DH is at home or while DS is taking a nap. I used to put him in the bouncer seat in the bathroom when I showered. But, since he's outgrown that seat, I've changed my showering times.
If I'm downstairs and have to run to the bathroom really quick or make a meal in the kitchen, I'll put him in his jumperoo in the living room. If I have to do something upstairs, I'll put him in his crib with toys. He still sleeps in his PNP in our room, so I don't think he views the crib as a place to sleep. Not sure if I'll be able to put him in the crib to play anymore, once I transition him to sleeping in it next month.
We don't have an exersaucer or a jumperoo or anything. It's not that we're opposed to one, we just don't have one at the moment. As for a safe space--when we need one we use DS's crib or pack and play. He's a really easygoing kid so we can just put him in one of those places with some toys and he's content for a bit. If I'm in the kitchen, I let him play on the kitchen floor (we have these Fisher Price fridge magnets that he plays with on the fridge). Up until this past week, I'd lay him on a blanket in the middle of the living room to play. But now he's really rolling everywhere and gets to the DVD players/video game systems, the blinds, etc. so not so much anymore.
There are definitely times when I think, "We NEED an exersaucer to stick him in" but more often than not I'm glad we don't have one around just yet.
If I'm not working that day then I'll shower during his first nap. If I have to go to work then either DH will hang out with him in the living room or he's been in rocker chair type in thing in the bathroom while I shower.
Now that's he crawling and pulling up I'm not sure what we are going to do. I just let him crawl around the bathroom floor this morning while I showered and finished getting ready.
Our laundry is in the garage. So when I need to do laundy, go to the bathroom, etc I'll put him in his walker thing.
We also bought a baby gate this weekend (haven't put it up yet) that we want to put in his room so when we need to do stuff like laundry, etc we can just plop him in his room with his toys and leave him in there for 5 mins or so while we do something around the house really quickly. That's pretty much the only room that's 100% baby-proofed.
For us it used to be the bumbo until she learned how to get a foot up and flip herself out. She rolls so much now (though no crawling) that I can't trust her on the activity mat either.
So now we use the swing (upstairs), the jumperoo, or the PnP (downstairs). I don't use the crib because I'm usually not needing to do things in a room close to her nursery and I want to keep the crib associated with sleeping. I have a small house but I ususally try to plop her somewhere on the same level as me.
Lucky...DH and I both work but I am somehow always on baby duty all morning. DH has a more demanding job but it's annoying. I have figured out how to get ready while watching DS (except for showering...and maybe post-shower pumping) but DH hasn't so I do it all!
DS used to come in the bathroom with me in his bouncy seat but he has outgrown it; he can basically climb out so we can't use it anymore. That's why we got the exersaucer (not cleaned & set up yet, though). Unfortunately our bathroom is too small for the saucer to come inside, and even the hallway leading to it is a bit too small...but it won't have to be set up too far from the entrance. I think we will use it.
This used to be us. I only work 3 days a week and leave later than DH, but I basically had to tell him that it's much easier if he'll just watch him for 10-15 mins while I take a shower. Of course he said something like, "but I'm eating breakfast and making my lunch during that time - I can't watch him". I just had to explain to him - yes, you can. How do you think I eat my breakfast after you already leave for work? Just let him play on the floor in the living room/kitchen and keep an eye on him.
Men are just so clueless sometimes, especially when I comes to multi-tasking and the baby.
2 babies in heaven (mc)
Blog: ForLoveofCupcakes.com
I'm sure these have already been said but I usually put him in his jumperoo or walker or if I'm viewing distance to his room I'll let him play on his play mat or put him in his crib w/ some toys....he isn't crawling yet but once he does I have a "baby jail" as we call it that sections off a portion of our living room I'll just put him in that or still use the above options.
To answer your question about comfort levels, I'm starting to branch out & trust more. I work 2nd shift so basically I have all morning to get myself ready (which is nice) but I used to shower when he took his morning nap, well now that he's naps are spreading out I'm taking my shower after his morning bottle. I'll let his belly settle a little and either put him in his jumperoo watching cartoons or in his walker(he hasn't learned how to "walk" w/ it yet, just plays) then when I blowdry my hair I'll move him to the walker or playmat or crib w/ some toys (bathroom is next to his room). We have a 1 story 1200+ sq ft home so not to big but I'm starting to get comfortable leaving him in something to play while I run to another room
All of this, actually. I put him in the high chair with a sippy cup of water if I need to go to the bathroom and I think it might take a few minutes. Our laundry is in the garage, but if it's only for 1 minute or so, I will let him play on his playmat. He is mobile but we've babyproofed well enough that there's not much he can get into. Plus, he's not moving too too fast yet.
For showering, I just do it during his nap. The exersaucer is great for that as well, if you have a LO that is happy in there for 5-10 min stretches.