Hellobee

Because of the way our apartment is laid out, Charlie is pretty safe roaming around on an entire floor, but we also did a fair amount of babyproofing once he started standing and cruising.   Check out our babyproofing checklist and we’ll go into more detail explaining each item below!

1. bath spout cover – We have the ubiquitous Skip Hop Moby Bath Spout Cover and it’s worked out great.  Bathtubs are slippery and Charlie did hit his cheek on the side of the tub a couple of times when he was younger, but we’ve never had to worry about him injuring himself on the bath spout cover.

2. nonslip bath mat – Once Charlie started standing, his little baby bathtub couldn’t contain him so we switched to a nonslip bath mat.  We have the Ginsey Aquatouch Eco Friendly Mat and so far so good.  Just be sure to hang it up to dry after every bath or it gets yucky and moldy!

3. toilet lock – We bought a toilet lock because Charlie started putting his hands in the toilet water – yuck!   We never got around to installing it, but luckily Charlie never touches the toilet water anymore.  He knows that pee pee and poo poo are dirty.  In fact whenever we don’t want him to touch something (like a fire hydrant), we tell him doggy pee pee and he understands he’s not supposed to touch it.

4. corner guards for sharp edged furniture – I think these are a must, especially if you have a coffee table with sharp edges.  Last year more than a quarter of emergency visits were a result of coffee table injuries! (source) Our coffee table is a leather ottoman with soft corners and our dining table has rounded corners as well, so we didn’t have to worry about babyproofing them.

5.  outlet plugs and/or sliding outlet plates – We put these on most of our outlets, but found that Charlie hasn’t been too interested in the outlets.

6. power strip covers – We have power strips galore in our bedroom/office, but Charlie doesn’t have access so we didn’t have to worry about babyproofing those rooms.

7. cabinet locks – We put these cabinet locks on the kitchen cabinet and bathroom cabinets that hold cleaning supplies.

8. drawer locks – Charlie can’t open the kitchen drawers by himself so we don’t have locks on them, but nothing in them is off limits.

9. safety gates for off limits rooms and tops and bottoms of stairs – We had the First Years Hands Free Gate blocking the kitchen doorway at our old apartment, and it was easy to install and so easy to use.  Even our 6 year old niece couldn’t open it by herself.  But we needed a different type of gate for the top of the stairs at our current apartment, so we opted for the Kidco Safeway Gate with the Gate Installation Kit which enabled us to install it without drilling into the banister.

10. secure furniture that can topple to the wall – We had a handyman come and install anti-tipping straps on our bookshelves.  He also installed the safety gate at the top of the stairs for us.

12. anti-tip straps for flat screen tvs – Our tv is in our bedroom where Charlie doesn’t have access, otherwise we would have needed this.

13. cord shorteners for blinds and curtains – This is another important one because children can strangle themselves in the cords.  None of our curtains currently have cords.

14. window locks – There is no way Charlie could ever open our super hard to open windows by himself.  But babies falling out of windows is actually a very common accident!

15. door locks/door knob covers for off limits rooms and doors – an easier alternative to the safety gate, perhaps for a bathroom or a door to the backyard.

17. oven latch – I bought one of these but never installed it because I never use the oven!

18. oven knob covers – These are a definite must.  One day Charlie had turned the gas on and I didn’t know!  Now we have these oven knob covers closed at all times.

19. adjust water heater to 120 max to prevent burns – We live in an apartment so we haven’t done this, and the handles in the bathtub are still too high for Charlie to reach.  But if we lived in our own home, I would definitely adjust the temperature because it’s so easy for a child to burn themselves.

20. & 21. carbon monoxide/smoke detectors – After having a carbon monoxide leak and a gas leak at our last apartment, we don’t take any chances.  We have an extra carbon monoxide detector in Charlie’s room!

22. anti-slip treads/carpeting on stairs – Mr. Bee broke his toe after slipping on our stairs, so we applied this anti-slip tape to each step.  Charlie isn’t allowed to go downstairs by himself, but we do let him climb up the stairs when we’re standing behind him.  With this anti-slip tape on our stairs, we’ve never slipped again!

I thought that we did the bare minimum when it came to babyproofing, but looking at this list I guess we did a fair amount!  All the stuff Charlie isn’t supposed to touch (computers, tv, cords galore) is downstairs, so we didn’t have to worry about babyproofing electronics.  We’re obsessive about always having the gate at the top of the stairs closed, so he’s pretty safe on the second floor where we have the living room, dining room, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, Charlie’s room, and baby bee’s nursery.

How hardcore were you when it came to babyproofing?