I have an appointment with BooBoo Busters. I really think I can do what needs to be done myself but there is something to be said to have it all available and done in one day. My son just took out the cable box,X box and all the photo albums. It just surprised me that's all. He crawls pretty well and it seems each hour that goes by he improves. Of course my main concern is not the safety of out electronics, but the baby! Have any of you mommy's use a company, other then trying to get what you need as you need it? My husband installed a wooden "furniture gate" they call it, and let me tell you.... he and the gate had a battle. I must say it looks great though! We live in a tri level town house so I am prepared to have gates a go go. That's why I at least wanted one that looked nice. ( though it would be nice to teach the baby how to do down the stairs safely once his craweled to the gated top ) I also thought it might be a good idea to have some back up here when they tell me how my husband prized bronze pocahontas statue has got to go! I put away Persian rugs too because I was afraid if the baby tugged on the fringe enough time he could pull one out and put it in his mouth. He's still only five months, a young baby but he already used his bumper pad to give him a boost and almost came right out of the crib. So we lowered the mattress, it seems like every day I'm wondering what now? and Do I really need to change this or that.. my daughter didn't get into anything but picture frames. She called them prettys. I taught her to be gentle with them, and she was. She didn't even crawl until 10 months, she sat looking like a doll... asking me to get her things. " ma ma peaz mine... " fill in the blank. AND I got it for her! lol Boys, they freak me out. :-) Do I need plesky glass on the stair rail? O here is one good tip most people don't think of. Silk plants are dangerous!! I was a pre school teacher for years and you don't even want to know what happens when I piece of a silk plant sticks to a baby's esophagus. It took the doctors a long time to even figure out what was making the toddler sick. Scar tissue had grown right over it making it hard to see. Anyway... any tips or experiences with baby proofing companies or doing it on your own would greatly be appreciated.
So Boo Boo Busters came to our town house and put up four gates in like ten minutes. He put safety latches on every drawer and cabinet in the house, maybe 30..... plus toilet seat latches and high flip latches for doors. Also installed a ton of sliding outlet covers. Very nice and not that bad actualy under five hundred dollars. Our guy was really helpful in only telling us what he could do, but also explaining in detail some things we can do ourselves like plesky glass on stair rail. It would have taken us a few hours a weekend to get this done. Thank you so much for all your opinions though. I really appreciate it, getting other ideas and thoughts before putting out the money.
Steve Lung is great. I highly recommend him. He worked for Total Child Safety and now has his own baby proofing & car seat installation business. ###-###-####.
I used to sing in church with the owner of Boo Boo Busters. I was not able to afford the services , but if you can I'd recommend it to make it easy on yourself and Kimberly is a sweetheart.
Hi S.,
I agree with the other mom who wrote. I did not use a baby proofing company either. You can save money and do it yourself. There are a few retail stores that specialize in that sort of thing and you can go there and get tips from them and buy what you need. You can also get tips from websites like Babycenter.com. Of course you should do the usual things like using outlet plugs and safety devices for blinds, wires, drawers, cabinets, doors and the stove. Give your son a bottom drawer in the kitchen filled with unbreakable things to play with (tupperware, etc.)
The main thing you need to do is to keep telling your son "no" or "delicate" or "don't touch" when he touches something he shouldn't or goes somewhere he shouldn't. Keep reinforcing it and he'll get it eventually. My son would go up to plants and say "No touch!" and shake his finger. 5 months is young but they understand way more at that age than we give them credit for. My son started talking at 7 months so he understood plenty at 5 months.
Definitely crawl around the floor and see where you may have problems and see which areas your son is interested in. Also, at some point soon your son will be pulling himself up (my son did it at 6 months) so you will have to put away anything breakable that is in his arms reach for the next couple of years - including things on your kitchen counter (move those knives way too the back). We put all breakables away when my son was 6 months old and we were able to put everything back out when my son was about 2 1/2(which was exciting because it's like you have new things again). And if your husband has to move his statue for awhile to keep the baby safe, he'll do it...
As far as the stairs go, teach your son how to go down safely as soon as you can, especially since he has already decided to go up. My son either went down backwards or by sitting on his butt and going down one stair at a time. You can do both of these with your son to show him. You really don't need to plexy gass the railing unless you think he can get his head or body through it. If he can, then you need to cover it with something. Of couse you should tell him never to put his head through the railings because he can get stuck or fall. Again, he'll understand this at some point if you keep repeating it.
As far as gates go, I wouldn't worry about them looking pretty as much as how safe they are. I think you need one gate that you can move around for the stairs. Put it at the bottom when you are all downstairs and put it at the top when you are all upstairs. If you have 3 levels you will probably need 2 gates for the middle level to keep your son from going up or down. Once you son is walking you can teach him how to safely walk up and down and you can get rid of the gates.
I hope this helps! Good luck with everything.
I personally think it is silly to hire someone to babyproof if you have the time to do it yourself. There are so many things available! I started at home depot (a little cheaper) and then went to Baby's R us for locks and such. I love my superyard gate to block off the stairs and tv components!
Someone told me to crawl on the ground and anything I could get to was a good indication that the baby could too. I baby proof as I go along since it really is hard to anticipate everything. I just watch and take my cues from my son.
