When you have your second child, everyone can tell you that life is about to get interesting, but nothing really can prepare you for just HOW VERY interesting life is gonna get. Especially when that second one is a boy who is into EVERYTHING. (And is a very special but large part of why I haven’t had much time to blog lately…)
So when we had Becca it was easy to childproof – because we over did it, really. Ya know, it’s first child syndrome – everything was super super safe. But we also didn’t have a whole lot of tiny little toys everywhere. We had age appropriate toys because, well, she was it. But now that she has tons of little tiny toys, and puzzles, and paper back books, and, and, and, and… little Brother is coming along and crawling and pulling and opening and pushing and dropping and EATING everything… Whew. Let me tell ya’ll… it’s really fun in our house. (Not to mention all the fights that are caused when Baby Bee grabs something that belongs to Big Butterfly….) So baby proofing took on whole new meaning. I thought I’d write a post to help those with second babies not yet crawling to give you some ideas of how to prepare for what is to come.
1. Plan a place for special toys.
We had Becca’s art cart and activities for downstairs on shelves in the dining room… quick and easy access, and a great place for her to use them while I’m cooking dinner… but also right where Brother could get to them and mess them up, or worse yet, get hurt by them. So this was probably the biggest baby proofing we’ve had to do. I had to clean out and move stuff to the attic from our under-stairs closet so create room for a set of shelves I got at Target, and for her art cart. That has become a FABULOUS storage area for her special things – that she can easily access, but he can’t because there’s a closed door in his way. Even if you don’t have a closet you can use, if you have a cabinet you can put a child lock on, that’s better than nothing. I just love having them in the closet because she can easily help herself – just like she’s been used to doing. Obviously, you’ll have to make use of whatever space you have.
2. Give your Big Butterfly a safe space.
When he was younger, we would often carry Gray into Boo’s room for visits, and she loved that. But as soon as he started crawling around, we started having issues. She has toys that are not only unsafe for his little mouth, but are more “sacred” that are in her room. So we have chosen to instate her room as her safe space. Brother isn’t welcome until he stops putting things in his mouth. I’ve made it very clear to her that this is not a permanent arrangement – he WILL be welcome in her room down the road, but rather than feeling we need to childproof her room to protect her toys from going in his mouth, he’s just not coming into her room right now. She likes knowing that her special things are safe and aren’t going to get chewed up. She really appreciates that, and it also helps when I see her playing in his room and abusing one of his toys or using it inappropriately – I remind her to take care of his things or she won’t be allowed to play with them. Touché.
3. Find some products that make your home safer. (Each of these includes affiliate links, thank you!)
We have this baby gate and love that we can move it and have two different locations where we use it. It is high quality, and has worked well for us since Becca was little. It also works to keep our dogs confined to a space as well. Dreambaby Retractable Gate
These sliding locks work great to keep our side-by-side refrigerator doors closed, and also to keep the closet doors closed. Dreambaby Sliding Locks, 3 Pack
These latches are super easy to add to cabinet doors and drawers – we have them all over our kitchen, and like that they are hidden from view, and easy for any adult to open. Safety 1st 14 Pack Wide Grip Latches
These plug protectors are easier to use than some of the others – just press the button and they’ll come out… but kids can’t get them out, they really do lock in securely. Safety 1st 24 Pack Secure Press Plug Protectors
What’s your favorite child proofing tip? Do you have more than two kids? What did you learn about baby proofing for boys vs for girls? PLEASE SHARE in the comments!!!
Butterbees and Bumbleflies 