March 11, 2012 ~ Settling In

Whoever thought to move with a toddler should be shot. Oh wait... no, don't shoot me.

When you have a baby you start babyproofing one step at a time. Of course, we immediately got the childproof locks for the cabinets. And we got rubber bumpers for the coffee table long before he could move. But we started by proofing things about a foot off of the ground. Then when he started crawling more we proofed up to two feet. By the time he was walking we had more things proofed to meet his specific attempts at death.

But in a new house, we're still learning the house ourselves and Billy is quickly figuring out all of the best ways to possibly get hurt before we do. It's a major adjustment.

We now have stairs, so we now have lots of gates. That has been a major adjustment. Billy hates being trapped on one floor, when before he could run the length of the house. Buddy, too. They are both not fans of the gating system. We've been teaching Billy to use the stairs, but honestly, I think it's Buddy that needs the most training.

Next up... doors. Yep. Suddenly, this week Billy has learned to open doors. Which one does he want to open? The one to the Utility Room so he can get into Daddy's tools, the alcohol, climb behind the water heater (ever tried to pry a toddler from behind a water heater???) and fall down the giant drain. I gave up. There's no lock on the door and he can open it with ease. No worries, I'm not going to let anything happen to him. I've just gated that doorway. Now he can open the door to see in but can't get to the oh-so-tempting dangers. Score one for Mommy.

Electrical sockets. Yeah. At the old house we had every socket fixed with covers or had replaced them entirely with the safety sockets. I've done some but the rest are still packed and I haven't found them yet. So what does he try to do? Swipes an Allen wrench from Daddy and tries to shove it into the socket. Awe. (not!) Some.

Showers. The old house he didn't like the shower stall all that much. But here the doors are brand new and glass. They make and excellent thing to bang on with any heavy toy he can find. He even managed to kick one free of its track today. How does he find t his stuff?

Yeah, we're playing major catch up trying to beat Billy to the dangers.

Next time I think to move with a toddler, shoot me. Good thing I don't plan on moving again!