Baby Proofing 101

The house is a lot bigger these days with baby on the move.  We have been doing lots of baby proofing lately, and recently installed baby gates.  At first, Xavier was kind of weirded out by the gates.  He didn't know what to think of this obstruction in his path.  He just sat and stared at it!

But, now that he's used to them blocking his crawling, he tries to break through.

We bought 3 gates, placing a gate near each entry to the steps in our house.  If you decide to mount the gates to your banister, you can't use the tension style, you have to screw the gate in to your banister.  Or, get some wooden blocks to screw it into.  Then tie strap the block to your banister.  We decided to find other places to mount the gate so we'd have wall space on both sides, thus allowing us to mount the gate using tension.  

We like these Regalo Easy Step Through baby gates because they have a door that easily lets us walk through.  The gate doors are super easy to open and shut and that little red thing at the top is the lock feature for when kids get older and mimic how you open the gate.  We keep the gate doors open at night so we can walk around like normal.  

We put these outlet plug protectors in all the outlets X could get to.  He has yet to figure out how they work!  He is very curious but luckily these are almost impossible to get out!

These corner protectors are great for things like coffee tables and the dining room table.  I can imagine Xavier plowing into furniture any day now.  He already regularly bumps his head on corners of toys.

This hearth cover is amazing per friends who have it.  We don't have a hearth so won't be buying it.  I hear that even adults can slam their heads into this thing and come out of it without a single nick.

Lastly, we use this magnetic style system to keep kitchen cabinets and drawers closed and will never look back!  We did some research, and although these are more expensive than the alternative, they are worth it!  It's the only one toddlers can't figure out how to work, since the lock requires a special key to unlock.  It keeps the cabinets shut very tightly (keeping the babes from sticking their little fingers in) and THE BEST PART, there is a disable feature which is nice for when you are using the kitchen a lot and get annoyed by the locks.

It is suggested that you mount dressers to the wall to keep babies from pulling open the drawers, standing in the drawer, only find the dresser tipped over on top of you baby.  I'm trying to find an alternative to putting more holes in my walls!  Maybe, I'll be purchasing more magnetic style locks.