Ever since I witnessed my son roll a few feet across the room last week, I have entered a new mindset. It feels just like “nesting” during the final weeks of pregnancy, but worse. Visions of my son plucking the unknown off the floor and eating it or choking on it have me stuck in fits of cleaning that pale in comparison to my nesting days. I’ve developed an acute perception of dirt and grime; every crumb on the floor seems to be waving a huge red flag in the corner of my eye. I’m always scanning the floor and the lower levels of the house for things that might pose a danger to my newly mobile son. I can detect dust bunnies from across the room. Considering my old attitude towards cleaning; this is shocking behavior for me. I’m cleaning. I’m de-cluttering. I’d baby-proofing like nobody’s business.
There is a show on TV that is making me even more paranoid than usual. It’s called “Your Kid Ate What?” and it’s on TLC. The show features real life stories of babies and children who swallowed various household items such as rat poison, batteries or sequins, and required emergency medical care as a result. This show has me searching under coffee tables for loose change and looking for other small items that my baby might decide to put in his mouth.
While baby-proofing my house, I’m following the toilet paper roll rule for deciding whether something is small enough to be put away or not. Anything that is small enough to fit inside a toilet paper roll is a choking hazard and should be stowed out of your baby’s reach. I’m also swapping our regular plastic outlet plugs with child-proof plug covers. Pretty soon I’ll be installing shelves in our laundry room to store all of our cleaning supplies and other hazards, since the room has a door. We plan on keeping the door shut and using a door knob cover to keep little hands from opening it. If it becomes necessary, we can always install a lock in the future.
What are some things you’ve done in your home to make it more safe for your baby?