Baby proofing for Maia

These past week marked a lot of firsts for her...including her first fall off our bed. This is one first though that I'm glad I was not at home to witness. But it seems my baby inherited my strong personality, her yaya reported almost immediately after the fall that she never cried when she fell off. Good thing, one of her favorite pillows cushioned the fall she only got a very small bump on her head. I now accidents like this are pretty hard to avoid. But then I guess it would not hurt to prevent some of them. The praning side of me did not stop until Tibs gave in and decided to buy some baby proofing supplies. We're only about 20% done but it's a start. We're still looking for the other stuff that would complete our babyproofing supplies. So far, we found some in Rustan's and Ace Hardware.

Here's a babyproofing cheatlist that I've put together from my readings -
· Keep coins, small toys, nail scissors, and balloons -- any item that is small enough to fit inside a cardboard toilet paper roll -- out of infant's reach.
· Remove mobiles and other hanging toys from the crib as soon as your child can reach up and touch them.
· Shorten drapery and blind cords.
· Remove the plastic end caps on doorstops, or replace the stops with a one-piece design.
· Drill breathing holes into any closed containers that you are using as toy box in case a child gets trapped inside. (And install safety hinges on toy boxes, or buy one with a removable lid to prevent pinched fingers.)
· Lock any potentially dangerous substance in an upper-level cabinet. This includes alcoholic beverages, household cleaning formulas, laundry supplies, medications (including nonprescription varieties like vitamins, children's Tylenol or Advil), paint, kerosene, gasoline, charcoal, lighter fluid, bug spray, pesticides, and fertilizers.
· Place houseplants out of children's reach; know the names of all plants in case a child eats one of them.
· Cover every electrical outlet in your home with a child-resistant outlet cover (the plastic plugs are easy to pry out).
· Install ground fault circuit interrupters on outlets near sinks and bathtubs since they stop the electrical current when an appliance gets wet.
· Install hardware-mounted safety gates at the top and bottom of stairways with two or more steps. (good thing we do not have stairs at home)
· Pad the edges of coffee tables and brick or tile fireplaces.
· Remove the crib bumper pad as soon as your infant can get up on all fours since baby may use it as a step to climb out.
· Position audio/video equipment so children cannot pull televisions or stereos off furniture. · Keep appliance cords wrapped short so children cannot pull coffee makers, toasters, and other appliances.
· Secure bookshelves, entertainment centers, and bureaus to walls since they can topple onto children who use furniture to pull up and stand.  (good thing we also do not have bookshelves to worry about)
· Familiarize and memorize emergency numbers and first aid procedures. (this I have yet to master)
· Most importantly, BE VIGILANT and JUST REMEMBER TO NEVER LEAVE YOUR BABY ALONE not even for a MOMENT if he/she is not contained on a babyproofed environment.