Well it’s official, Archer is walking and the baby proofing game has begun! I think I’ve mentioned before that I haven’t spent a lot of time around babies so I wasn’t sure what needed babyproofing and what didn’t. Of course most is common sense and I’ve seen the drawer catches and door knob covers but we decided to hire a baby proofing service to get the low down from a professional. They go around your house giving advice on products to use where. (If you are curious the consultation cost us $40).  I have to say I am really glad we did it, because I wouldn’t have thought of some of the suggestions and others that I would have done were unnecessary.

So if you are wondering how I’ve been making my house a bit more child friendly, here it is! Surprisingly not a ton has changed, but I will walk you through where we are so far.

The most dangerous rooms in a house are the bathrooms and the kitchen so the main thing the baby proofer recommended was installing gates to keep Archer in the main living spaces instead of having the whole run of the house. We used Munchkin’s LOFT gates, which went in easily and I really like how sturdy it feels. We needed two gates, one in the doorway that leads to all the bedrooms and bathrooms and one in the doorway going into the kitchen. By blocking off the kitchen with the safety gate, it eliminated the need to put cupboard catches on all the cabinets in the kitchen.

We also secured the entry console table with a strap that screwed right into the wall. As of now hasn’t bothered with the items on top of the console so they are staying until it becomes a problem but so far so good.

The one piece of furniture that we decided to swap out for now was our vintage wood slat coffee table. The living room isn’t exactly spacious and in tight quarters those sharp corners already proved themselves a hazard. Also, the marble slab on top was a bit scary to have when he was nearly knocking the table over when pulling himself up on it. I found this simple rush grass ottoman/coffee table, which was pretty inexpensive and nice and soft and round and I even like it. When Archer is older and the other table makes it way back in here, we can use this one in our outdoor patio area.

We did install some cabinet and drawer latches on this credenza since there are all sorts of tiny non-baby friendly items inside.

Our family room is two steps down so the baby proofer guy said they usually don’t gate for one or two stairs and for a while there I was worried Archer would never get that he shouldn’t just take a nose dive down the stairs. Thankfully after working with him on turning around and scooting down backwards he totally got it. We were advised however to pad the heck out of the rug down there because the fast he gets the more prone he will be to taking a few nose dives whether we like it or not.

The family has become Archer’s main play area so we also just moved this coffee table off to the side and have two large baskets of toys down here to continually empty and re-fill which is his favorite activity du jour.

In the bathroom the only thing we did was put a lock on the toilet. Archer has a large head, is very tall, and skinny which equals extra top heavy… so anything to prevent him from taking a dunk in the toilet is A O K with me.

And finally… plug covers all over the house, making sure all cords/cables and cleaning supplies are out of reach, and securing large items like dressers and television to the wall were those common sense things that even I already had under control.

So in summary:
My house hasn’t gone through a complete kid zone transformation (yet atleast) but here are a few things I’ve done to get it more toddler ready

#1 Gates are my new best friend, use them to keep your kiddo in the safe zone.

#2 Secure large furniture pieces (and items like televisions) to the wall

#3 If you can’t take away a trip hazard give them a soft place to land

#4 Toilet locks get the thumbs up from me

#5 Plug covers all over

#6 cords and power cables out of reach

#7 put the cleaning supplies where they can’t get to them

SOURCES: LOFT security gate by Munchkin // Drawer Latches // Plug Covers by Munchkin // Ottoman/Coffee Table  // Mill Console Table by CB2 // Door by AAW (stained with 1 part Light Walnut & 2 parts Provencal by Varathane) // Vintage Hardoy Chair from Surfing Cowboys // Sofa from HD buttercup // Khotan Rug from The Rug Warehouse // Chandelier by Jonathan Adler // Paint color is Snowfall by Behr // Mid-century stool, vintage // Sheepskin from Ikea // Basket from Chicos // Pillows by Little Korboose and Loom Goods // Glass Terrarium from Urban Outfitters // Candle Holder, Vintage // Gold Bowl by CB2 // Black & White Rug from Urban Outfitters // Large Tote from The Citizenry // Yellow Chairs are vintage // White Credenza from West Elm // Pink Flamingo Photograph by Sharon Montrose 

 This post was in collaboration with Munchkin. Munchkin rids the world of the mundane by developing clever, innovative solutions that make family life safer, easier, and more fun. You can find Munchkin products at Munchkin.com, Target, Babies’R’Us, Walmart, and Amazon. It’s the little things!