The first day that Avery started crawling, she made sure to explore every single nook and cranny of our apartment. It had been a while since I went around the place to make sure everything was out of reach for a baby. I was so used to having my toddler around who knew what she was supposed to touch and what she wasn?t.
Avery was crawling a lot earlier than I ever expected her to, so I kept putting off baby proofing our apartment. But after that initial day of her moving around everywhere, I knew that it needed to be done and it needed to be done right away. In order to know the proper places that needed most of the attention, I made sure to follow Avery around to find the things that most interest her. I quickly found the places that she liked to hang out and the potentially dangerous things that she was interested in.
After following her around and spying on her moves, I created a list of areas in our apartment that needed attention the most. Some areas surprised me, others did not. Check out the five areas that I made sure were safe for her after the jump!
1. Bookshelves and TV Stands- The first place that Avery went when she crawled was over to the open bookshelf on the wall and began to pull herself up. Although the shelves are strong and sturdy, it absolutely terrified me that she was going to exert too much pressure and it was going to fall on top of her. I immediately went and bought the straps to attach to the back of the bookshelf and then you nail to the wall. I did it to every bookshelf and the TV unit in our apartment.
2. Electrical Outlets-This seems to be a no brainer, as it is usually the first item that parents baby proof in their house. Although you may think that you don?t have to do every single outlet in your house, I would recommend that you do. Sooner or later your baby will soon become a toddler that loves to climb on top of furniture and the counters to try to touch things. One of those things will be the electrical outlets that are up high. I know this because my toddler is in love with going into the bathroom and trying to touch the outlet that is up high on the wall.??Along with the outlets, Avery also loves the random cords around the house that she can get her hands on. She loved my computer cord and my phone charger cords. I found an outlet cover with a cord shortener that helps keep them out of reach.
3. Windows- We have a lot of windows in our apartment that have blinds on them. We keep the blinds open almost all day everyday. When we do that the cord from the blinds hangs down on the ground. Avery loves to crawl over and try to grab it. When I saw her do this the first time I knew that it could be a potential strangle and chocking hazard. I immediately bought the window blind cord roll ups that conveniently hold the cords for you.
4. Medicine Cabinet- My oldest daughter loves the taste of medicine. There are even times when she pretends she is sick just so she can have a little taste of the syrup. I don?t understand her fascination with it, but I do see it as a potential red flag. I have taken our entire medicine cabinet and locked it up out of reach of both her and Avery. I know that Avery doesn?t mind the taste of medicine and although she is too young to go out on the hunt for it, I don?t want it to be in an area that she can get her hands on it. Only my husband and I know where the medicine is and we inform sitters of it when need be. This way I know that neither of my daughters will be able to get their hands on it.
5. Kitchen- Avery loves going into the kitchen. I don?t know if it?s the cold tiles or the fact that there is so much she can get into in the kitchen.?In the kitchen we have the oven, the cabinets with all of my cleaning supplies, and all of the sharp objects, such as knives. ?There are way too many things that are potentially dangerous to her. When I saw how much she loved it, the first thing I did was get a gate to block her from coming in. I?d rather not have to worry about her being in there when I am not looking. The next step I did was baby proof all of the cabinets with a latch so that she couldn?t get in them. It can sometimes be a pain to have to open the cabinets with the latch, but it is worth it for the safety of my children.
6. Bathroom-This is another area that she loves. She might love it because she loves taking a bath and might be trying to hint to me that she wants to take one. ? In the bathroom I have cleaning supplies and small objects like bobby pins. I always make sure to keep the door to the bathroom open at all times. It?s tough because my toddler who is potty trained can?t open the door to the bathroom, so I am constantly going in there to open the door for her, but I don?t mind it if it keeps them safe. I have also locked the cabinets so that neither child can get in.
I am so happy that I?ve found the areas in the apartment that Avery likes to hang out in the most so that I can be sure to make them as safe as possible.
What areas of the home do you make sure you have baby proofed right away?
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