Well, here we are at almost one year (one more day!!) with a mobile little babe. Right now Evie mostly army crawls since we have wood floors and she works on crawling on on our rugs – walking is in her near future. But now that she is mobile and exploring our home more, we have decided that it’s time to do some “baby-proofing”. I do want to encourage Evie to explore her environment/our home and not be restricted from every single cabinet and drawer, however, there are a few things that are non-negotiable in my opinion. I am excited to share the changes we’ve made in our home along with some attractive kid-friendly decor pieces that we love using for Evie.
I should also mention we are not the type of parents that are nervous about every little thing because that’s just not our personalities. I mean, the amount of restaurant bathrooms we’ve had to change her on the ground (with a changing pad…but her hands don’t always stay where they are supposed to) would probably make a new parent cringe. I won’t even go into the time I had to wash Evie’s entire body in the restaurant bathroom sink…#momlife! HA! However, we do want to make sure the bigger things on our list are safe for Evie so that we don’t have to watch her every single move and she can explore without a big accident happening. A little bruise here and there doesn’t worry me, but a piece of furniture falling on her, terrifies me. So let’s get into it!
1. OUTLETS.
Luckily with the help of my friends at Legrand, and their gorgeous adorne collection that you may remember I wrote about here, we have updated our outlets. I learned from the Legrand team that “All adorne outlets and GFCI outlets feature a tamper-resistant design that has a patented shutter system to prevent a child from inserting small objects into the outlet.” So the fact that our outlets are way more attractive than before AND they are baby-friendly is a game-changer! No need for those plastic covers that little ones probably figure out how to take out anyway. You can read more about Legrand’s Tamper-Resistant Receptacles here.
2. SECURING FURNITURE TO WALL.
We have a few bookshelves and an ikea dresser we have secured to the wall using furniture straps. I am still working on actually moving my breakable decor items from said shelves, but like I mentioned above, we will accomplish things when we feel it’s needed. Our plan is to put baskets on the bottom shelves with a few of her books and toys in it so they are hidden and so that she doesn’t rip every page out of the magazines that are currently on the bottom shelves. 
3. TRAVEL CRIB + GATES.
We placed a travel crib in our living room so that if we need to put Evie down while we do something around the house, she can play without us being in the same room. We keep a small basket of toys in the crib and she loves to take everything out and put things in the basket. It’s been quite the life-changer if I have a deadline and can’t give her my full attention at the moment. But don’t worry, it’s rare she is in there alone because it unzips and we can use that space and the rug to play on together. We also purchased a couple of gates we are going to set up on either side of our home so the hallway is completely hers.
4. RELOCATED MEDICINE + CLEANING SUPPLIES.
So this one was easy for us because our medicine cabinet is already high up and we only use natural cleaning supplies so I am not too concerned about this. We have magnetic cabinets in the kitchen so they are too difficult for her to open right now, but when/if the cabinets become an issue in the future, we will find a solution.
5. ITEMS STILL ON THE LIST.
We were thinking of getting a new round coffee table and putting our existing one in the basement, but I can’t find a coffee table I love better yet. So we are going to see how it goes the more she pulls herself up on it and make a decision. It would give more room in the living room, so it’s up for debate. We want to add a runner in the hallway so it’s easier for her to crawl and play. Anything I am missing that you recommend??
DESIGN TIPS:
- Look for neutral colors in products so they blend in versus being the focal point.
- You can easily change out the glass in your picture frames to plexi glass/acrylic.
- We are exchanging some of our fragile decor for more baskets, books, wooden objects, etc.
- Keep in mind, this is a temporary stage and it’s not the end of having nice things/a decorated home.
- Use poufs instead of sharp-cornered tables or to block something you don’t want her to get to for the time being. Obviously later on she will be able to move the pouf but we will adjust.
one // simple white baby gate two // puj snug spout cover three // skip hop foam floor tiles four // large curved basket + striped basket five // distressed velvet pouf six // adorne collection from legrand (we selected the brushed brass plates) seven // phil & teds portable crib
