If you’re pregnant or have a baby who just started to crawl, chances are that you are looking into baby proofing your home. When my son was little, we didn’t baby proof much. Once he started getting into things is when we realized that we probably needed to make some things off limits. If you haven’t seen my post on necessities for babies, check it out!
So what do you need to make safe for your baby? Get down on your hands and knees and think, “if I were a baby what would I go for.” Babies will get into anything and everything, but the answer isn’t always to put everything up high. Here is what we got to make sure our babies are safe.
Baby Gates
We got one of these for our entrance door as there is a flight of stairs on the other side. We got another one for our bathroom door to keep our son from getting into the cupboards, toilet, and trash. Now the second gate is on our hobby room door. There is definitely a learning curve with trying to open it, but once you know, it’s a piece of cake!
Outlet Plugs & Covers
Outlets are dangerous if a baby decides to stick something into them. We got a bunch of plastic plugs to stick in them. But we got something better for when you need to have something plugged in and you don’t want baby to unplug it. We got outlet covers! They replace the plastic outlet cover you have and they make it so baby can’t unplug it.
Cord Management
Chances are you will need to have cords all over your house, but cords are to babies as catnip is to cats. They go straight for them. We bought these cord covers that stick to the wall. You cut them down as you need and attach corners and connectors that come with the kit. They look great and they keep babies from getting into trouble or pulling a lamp on their head. But my babies are strong, and pulled some of these off the wall, so our solution is to remove the sticky material that they come with and instead put this on it. Unless your baby is Mr. Incredible, they shouldn’t be able to get it off.
Cupboard Locks
We started off letting our son into all the kitchen cupboards. But then he started getting stronger and he would grab glass items and we were concerned he would break them, so we bought cupboard locks. These are great! They’re magnetic and they use a key that you can store where your child can’t reach. My son now knows that they’re used to unlock cupboards, he just hasn’t figured out how yet. The locks are easy to install with 3m tape already attached to the device.
Safety Straps
We bought a couple of these for a couple of kitchen cupboards that the other baby locks would be hard to install.
Closet Lock
We have bifold closet doors in our children’s room and there are things in the closet that our children shouldn’t get into, so we put a closet lock on the door to keep them safe. It’s so easy to use!
Trash Cans
I find it to be a necessity to have trash cans with lids that lift with a foot pedal. We bought this one after a series of bad purchases and I love it! We bought a tiny one for our bathroom but unfortunately my daughter easily gets into it and it’s a pretty gross result.
Pinch Guard
We didn’t buy a real one, we cut a pool noodle down and cut a line up one side and we put that over the top of the door to stop our son from pinching our daughters fingers in the door.
T.V. Mount
If you have a T.V. that is sitting on a shelf, you need to attach it to the wall. Either use ancho straps or buy a T.V. mount to make sure your child doesn’t end up with a T.V. bump.
What We Didn’t Buy
Bath faucet cover– I don’t understand what this does, but the whale one looks cute.
Toilet lock– if you’re worried about your child getting into the toilet, shut the door and lock it if you can.
Wall anchors/ furniture straps– we don’t have large furniture that our kids could pull down on themselves. If you do, you should get these or use one that usually comes with the piece of furniture.
Corner and edge protectors/guards– we didn’t buy any of these and I don’t think they’re necessary. Your kid will learn from bumping themselves against a corner.
Door knob covers– we don’t have circular door knobs and the other ones that would work for our flat handles would be too easy for us to get locked into a room so we didn’t buy these.
Stove knob covers– our stove knobs are on the top of the stove so we didn’t need these. If your knobs are on the front above the oven door, you probably should get these because those knobs will be the most appealing thing for your baby to play with.
Oven door lock– our son doesn’t know how to open the oven still and this seems a little overkill. We also didn’t get refrigerator locks. My son still can’t open the fridge.
Related: What To Tell Your Babysitter
Related: 7 Things To Do When Pregnant
What We Might Get
Sliding glass door safety lock– once my son is strong enough to open the back door, it might be good to have a lock for this.
