Monday, January 3, 2011

Baby Proofing...

Well I am working today on task #2 from yesterday's To Do list. Baby Proofing. This is especially important right now as Ava is really starting to crawl fast and is a very curious baby! I know that they say you can't baby proof everything, but I am going to try! And I am going to try to do it without making my house look like a daycare. Wish me luck!!!

So here is my plan of attack. I have ordered this storage ottoman to replace the coffee table. It will help hide toys and be soft if little bit hits her noggin!!! :)

I have also ordered one of these to cover our fireplace hearth. It is curved and not a usual shape, so a standard cover or edge guard wouldn't work. This is a pricey item, but I think worth the cost. I hope it is. I will review it later for you....

This is what I am working on today. I love UGlu. It is one "As Seen on TV" item that really works. Now I don't think I will be hanging any heavy pictures with it. But I got it in the As Seen on TV aisle at walmart to hold down my bathroom rug. And I have started using it under lamps and things in the living room. It really holds well! As long as you don't have to repeatedly stick and unstick, I think it will do the trick!




A flatscreen TV guard. We have two flatscreen TVs here at the Brewer's. (not counting the flip-down one in the kitchen). One is in our bedroom, mounted to the wall. The other is in the living room. We have it in a tall armoire. But I am still going to lock it to the wall. Too many children die every year from heavy flat screens falling on them! People- LOCK YOUR TV TO THE WALL!!!!! Locks are available online or in Babies R Us stores!


Outlet covers. Ugh. the cheap ones don't work well, and the good ones are WAY expensive! SO my solution- I have a mid-range one for the outlets I don't use often. And I have easy (but $$$) for my outlets I use on a regular basis. We all have our "go to" outlets, don't we?!?!


This is the power strip cover that I have over the strip in Ava's room. I need to get a second for the one in our bedroom. It is great! Super easy and fast to install, and not too difficult to take off to plug or unplug things.



Ava hasn't started standing in her crib yet, but I know the time is close. And I also know that she will chew on her crib as she does everything else. The plastic guards are not always right for the different cribs. Ava's bed has thick (like 2-3") rails on the top, and the sides are curved so the traditional guards won't really work well. But check this out! They make them for the sides too. And they come in all sorts of fun colors and patterns. And if you are crafty and can sew, how easy would this be to make!? You could even use your bedding fabric (if you had your bedding made) or get an extra matching quilt for your store-bought bedding, and make one! EASY and practical. And cute. My kind of combination!!!
I bought these and the flat side pieces that match for our side table in the living room. We will see how they do.....

This is a new type of cabinet lock that I just bought today. Now they are expensive. But they are NO DRILL!!! That is HUGE for me because we just redid our kitchen and I was a nervous wreck putting on the hardware! I don't want to drill into them again! It works with a magnet. That is really all I know about the mechanics. But this is really important to me. Because while I do believe in teaching children where they are and are not allowed to play, I also believe in taking precautions. A family member (who is of the opinion that you should teach kids to stay out of cabinets and not lock them) had his toddler grandson drink toilet bowl cleaner! Hello!?!?

So those are my baby proofing strides thus far. What are your best baby proofing tips???? Help a new momma out! LOL!!!





2 comments:

Lauren said...

Please tell us how you like those cabinet locks! Our kitchen cabinets are mdf, so I am terrified to drill into them as well (because I think they're just going to disintegrate!)
We have round door knobs on our doors, and I really like the plastic covers that keep kids from being able to turn it to make it open.
I've used a lot of these, and they've been great except for on the lazy susan (which makes sense, when you think about it--but I had to try). I like them best for drawers that are low and heavy (easy to open, but easy to slam your fingers in). http://www.diapers.com/product/productdetail.aspx?productid=8507
I'm afraid that's all of my great "tips"--I basically didn't do much decorating pre-child that I knew I'd have change post-child. Too complicated for me! =)

Ashley Davis said...

Rachel, These sound like awesome products. I have to admit that the thing that worked better on our cabinets than any of the store products were hair rubberbands. It's redneck, I know, but Allie figured out early how to open the child proof cabinet locks so we had to get creative.