TTM About Baby Proofing

Meghan14 · July 2014

Sorry if this has been discussed. I did a quick search but didn't see it in Feb 14. I suppose I could see what other BMBs have to say, but I like you ladies.

I think we have to baby proof this weekend. Tell me EVERYTHING!!! (or if it was already discussed, please post the link).

Thanks girls!

p2k2c4bk2p2 · July 2014

Covering the outlets is obvious. That is one of the must dos in my opinion (and I don't do a ton of baby proofing.)

Consider securing furniture to the wall and doing something to reduce the strangulation hazard of blinds.

Meghan14 · July 2014

anji1820 said:

This thread has some thoughts: https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12390215/ttm-about-baby-proofing But I think it's good to ask for more suggestions/help, too!
Beat me to it. I was going to say I asked this awhile back, but didn't get a whole lot of feedback so maybe we'll get more ideas.

Maybe now that we're closer to needing it, people will have more ideas. 2 separate people told me yesterday LO looked ready to crawl. I was like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I really wanted to get Feb 14's input because I know who I can trust for advice and who might suggest goat's milk.

Blinds are at the top of my list. DH has his super overprotective list, I want to make sure we aren't missing anything, so all suggestions are helpful.

ras26 · July 2014

We were pretty minimal baby-proofers, but like @dreamingbabies, we did outlet covers, gate at the top of the stairs on the main level, cabinet locks with anything dangerous/breakable. DD1 wasn't/isn't much of a climber. If she was, there are a couple of tall bookshelves that would have needed to be anchored by now. For the blinds, I just drape the cord from one of the higher slats. We did also move the dog's food/water into his crate so it was less accessible to her. All magazines/books were moved off of the coffee table lest they became mere shreds of paper.

sdlaura · July 2014

We didn't baby proof all at once but instead did it when things became an issue. So once baby started crawling, we installed a gate at the top of the stairs. Once she started to climb stairs, we added one at the bottom of the stairs. It wasn't until recently that she was tall enough to open some taller cabinet doors, so at that point we added child proofing stuff around those door handles.

We started out with outlet covers but have been pretty lax about keeping them on. DD has shown zero interest in sticking anything in them. I know that's a common baby proofing item, but I think the chances of her finding something small, thin, and metal and sticking it in an outlet are low.

AKAP2010 · July 2014

Baby gate at top and bottom. My son used to try to climb up and fell once. Right after that we installed top and bottom gates.

p2k2c4bk2p2 · July 2014

Yeah we hung our tv once my first was old enough to start trying to pull on it.

dunvilles · July 2014

All good suggestions. We covered the basics mentioned here. @sdlaura‌ my son is the same way. Showed zero interest in outlets etc. I will say we were and are glad that we went ahead and baby proofed bc other kids visit our house. Some of ds' s friends and cousins need the added precautions.

RedSoxGirl10 · July 2014

We have started to do this because we are both teachers, therefore have time now and in a month will not. We got the outlets that move to the side on Amazon because the ones where you have to pull something out make me crazy. https://www.amazon.com/Safe-Plate-Electric-Outlet-Single/dp/B000WXXUWK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406762654&sr=8-1&keywords=safe+outlet+cover

We put a little hook latch up high on our door to the basement (because it's right in the middle of the kitchen). We got those magnet key things for the cabinet under the sink (cleaning supplies).

We still need to mount our kitchen TV (currently on a stand as others have mentioned), put a gate at the top of the stairs (maybe later we will do the bottom), and gate LO's play area from our main kitchen area. We also are going to attach the bookshelf in LO's room to the wall because it's pretty tall and heavy. Also DH needs to move this table of plants he has in LO's play area.

Any recommendations for gates?

sdlaura · July 2014

@RedSoxGirl10‌ I would make sure to get a gate for the top of the stairs that's designed for the top of the stairs (no bottom bar to trip over). Ours is bolted to the wall and swings open completely, and latches on the other side.

inluv4life2 · July 2014

OMG, my DH is the baby proofing maniac. Our entire house was covered in foam corner protectors when DD started crawling. And he put locks on the toilets. I peed my pants once because I couldn't figure out how to unlock the lid. It's ridic. I am not looking forward to that again!

Reasonable things we did and will do again: We have a gate at the top of the stairs and since our stairs open wide at the bottom, we can't gate there so we just gated off access to that room. We did outlet protectors which I am adamant about since I saw my brother stick a key in a socket when he was two and he was blown back 10 feet. I tried to stop him but was only 7 and couldn't get there fast enough. Also, we do the knob things on the door to the garage but not the front door since it is in the gated off room.

The foam corners on the entertainment center probably saved a couple of noggin bonks.

SuzyQq02 · July 2014

We actually need to buy a new TV Stand, ours is glass and had stair step shelves... so many climbing and bonking hazards!

We also store all our board games in our coffee table... those have to move. I think we're going to get more baskets and just put her toys in them so whatever she pulls out is nbd. It's rectangular, so we'll get foam corners too.

Any thoughts on what to do with am open fireplace? Right now we have a folding screen, she's going to pull that down in a hot second once she can get onto the hearth...

versed · July 2014

Our baby-proofing was minimal with DS1. We picked two rooms: living room and his bedroom and baby-proofed them: Mounted furniture and made sure anything in his reach was appropriate for him to pull out or climb. The electrician in DH was very blasé about outlet covers since it's "extremely difficult to accidentally electrocute yourself with a socket." We gated the living room and the bedroom had a door - and those were the only two rooms DS could be in alone. Outside those rooms, we just put cabinet locks on the kitchen and bathroom sinks.

@SuzyQq02‌ - from my research, the heat of a lit fire will be enough to keep LO away from a fireplace in use. A screen is really all you need to prevent accidents like falling into fire or toys being thrown in. If you're worried about the safety of the gate falling on her, you could look into a gate to go around the hearth.

djtippietoes · July 2014

I'm glad a flat-screen tv that's not mounted to the wall was mentioned because I have one and probably wouldn't have thought of that.

Meghan14 · July 2014

@SuzyQq02 : My friends just have a baby gate across their's. They don't really use theirs. I think we'll do the same. If you plan to use your's you might have to put more though into it.

Thanks so much ladies for all the advice.

One more question. Our TV stand has glass doors. I don't think LO would be strong enough to break them. DH is worried. Thoughts?

SuzyQq02 · July 2014

We don't use our fireplace currently... we're hoping to get a gas insert which will make this a non-issue, but it likely won't be til next winter (ie, MH's next bonus payout), so we need a solution for the year and a half til then. We'll look into a baby gate that fits, thanks!

JackieP1023 · July 2014

We just started to think about this. We have a gate mounted at the top of our steps, but since it is an open staircase (and the balusters are way too far apart), we need to come up with a solution for that. We need to get on top of this stuff... DD will be into things before we know it!

sdlaura · July 2014

SuzyQq02 said:

We actually need to buy a new TV Stand, ours is glass and had stair step shelves... so many climbing and bonking hazards! We also store all our board games in our coffee table... those have to move. I think we're going to get more baskets and just put her toys in them so whatever she pulls out is nbd. It's rectangular, so we'll get foam corners too. Any thoughts on what to do with am open fireplace? Right now we have a folding screen, she's going to pull that down in a hot second once she can get onto the hearth...

We don't use our two fireplaces often, but because they're gas fireplaces and have fake logs and some fake ash stuff, we didn't want kids messing with the stuff in there. So we put up dog gates in the fireplaces We used the cheapies like this one:

sdlaura · July 2014

Agh! I can't get a link to post....trying it again....

www.lovelogicandlaughter.com/2013/03/baby-proofing-fire-places.html

Flyingtoast · July 2014

We mounted (u brackets and screws) fireplace panels. It's not great to look at, but it's safe. We have pot bellies, we we had to protect all sides, because it's not in a wall. Just make sure to mount them so you can still access and open any doors , load wood ect. I may have learnt that the hard way #-o

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