There is nothing more scary yet exciting than bringing a new baby home. As new parents, it can be a stressful time to make sure that your baby is happy, healthy, and safe. Your brain starts going a mile a minute trying to figure out what you can do to ensure that your baby is a-okay in your home.
The first few months are easy! Your baby can’t wander around on their own, so there’s no worries about them getting into things they shouldn’t. They’re completely dependent upon you to get them where they need to go. The trouble doesn’t come until later, when they start to be on the move: crawling, waddling, and toddling along.
When you make it to that point, it’s time to get your St. Joseph apartments in gear for a tiny human to run indiscriminately around your home. How do you baby proof your space? Here are some tips that can help:
1. Get down on their level
Even though your baby is a tiny human, it’s important to remember that they’re a tiny human. As adults, we don’t always notice things that are low to the ground that may be hazardous to the smaller generation who are much shorter than we are.
The best way to combat this is to see what may cause an issue at a toddler’s level. Get down on your hands and knees and crawl around on the floor in your apartment. And yes, we’re serious.
Getting down onto your hands and knees and navigating your apartment low to the ground can point out hazards that your baby can encounter that you may not have thought about. Do you have a dog and are the dog bowls where your toddler can reach? You might want to move those! Is part of your carpet lifting up where tiny hands or feet may catch on it? It may be time to call your landlord.
Small things like these are easy for us to overlook, because our frame of reference is so high from the ground that we tend to not notice things that are down low. Your baby will, though, and they’re guaranteed to get into everything you don’t want them to. By meeting them at eye level, you can figure out how to best navigate your baby proofing.
2. Cover sharp edges
Remember the last time that you caught your shin on the corner of the coffee table and it left you with a nasty bruise and a lot of expletives? We’re sure you do. Now consider that your shin is your toddler instead, and how that might have hurt them. We can guarantee that it would hurt more than their shin!
This is why covering sharp corners is imperative when you’re baby proofing your home. Sharp edges on furniture and an unsteady two foot tall little human do not make for a good combination. Covering the corners of your furniture is not going to be a major fashion statement, but it will prevent any grievous injuries from occurring as your toddler explores the world around them.
3. Move your houseplants
A fact of life is that kids love dirt. They love to play in the dirt, they love to get dirt over every conceivable clean space on their clothes, and if given the opportunity, they will love getting dirt all over your apartment.
If you have plants in your apartment, it’s a good idea to pick them up off of the floor or put them into a palace where your toddler can’t reach them. Otherwise, you might be risking your plant’s health and your sanity.
4. Keep the bathroom doors closed
Keeping your doors closed and locked can help prevent so many accidents while your baby is learning to toddle around and figure things out on their own. This is especially true for places like the bathroom, where an accident can easily occur.
While you never consider the worst happening, in an area where there is so much water, medicine, cosmetics, and more, a bathroom is a dangerous place for a baby to be unattended. Keeping the doors locked can give you a peace of mind knowing that your baby is safe and secure away from any potential hazards.
5. Baby gates are your friend
If you live in an area where you aren’t able to close and lock doors to prevent access to dangerous areas, then baby gates are your friend! Use baby gates to block stairs, doors, entryways, and more. They may not be the most attractive devices ever, but you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your baby won’t accidentally fall down the stairs or wander where they aren’t supposed to if your back is turned.
6. If it’s fragile, they can break it
One thing that’s important to note about babies and toddlers is that they don’t understand the fragility of items. Even if you tell a toddler to be careful with something, their version of careful and our version of careful are two very different ideas.
Because of this, it’s important to move any fragile objects out of the way of a toddler’s path. Find an out of the way place to store your valuables. This may be in a locked closet, a plastic storage container, or, here at our St. Joseph apartments, you may even be able to use one of our resident storage areas if you don’t have a more easily accessible place to do so!
AE Lofts – St. Joseph Apartments
Our St. Joseph apartments are ready for you and your family, whether your family is you and a pet, you and a spouse, or your small family. We understand that being new parents is a difficult job, and so we want to make it as easy as possible.
Our resident storage areas make it easy to tuck away fragile items or other items you don’t need, like extra baby gates. The secure entrances can ease your mind about unknown people entering the lobby, and when you need a good cup of coffee (as most parents do), a quick trip down to the coffee shop in the lobby is all you need.
If you’re interested in making AE Lofts your home, contact us and schedule a tour today!
