baby proofing – Mommablogsalot

In less than two weeks we are going to be a family of four – THAT is just surreal to me right now. Per usual I am this quaint little mixture of impatient and scared shitless. On the one hand, wouldn’t it be wonderful to not be pregnant anymore and get a cute cuddly newborn? On the other hand, won’t it be awful to have basically no sleep for the next four months and god help me if this child doesn’t nurse well. Remembering all the little difficulties with MM and trying to remind myself that I got through it, but also remembering that we had a LOT of help. Thank god my grandmother is coming up for two weeks.

Anyway, two weeks from this past Tuesday people – it’s all happening, ready or not. People Magazine’s little pregnancy calendar (which I just stumbled across like yesterday) is officially regarding Baby Blueberry as a baby now and not a fetus – no quaint little statistics about her growth, like I would have seen last week or any week prior. – So far as they are concerned, this kid is ready to go. Instead they quite eagerly want to talk about safety – what baby proofing have I not gotten to yet? For the most part I think our apartment is pretty well locked down as we still have it all kinds of “proofed” where MM is concerned but I know our baby gates will be coming back out soon and a few more cabinets will get locked at some point.

One area of concern for both BB and MM is the bedroom and playroom windows. We keep them open at least a crack to let air in, wider when we want to run the fan. And it doesn’t escape my notice that we live on the third floor. I don’t think MM is tall enough to fall over from the floor, as he can just barely see over it… but he is a monkey and he climbs… And I get nervous. I’ve been looking at this window guard and wondering if I should get one (or two) … or would this or this be sufficient? I can’t help but look at the cost, and then I get that mommy guilt, like “You can’t put a price on your child’s safety” and then I think, “This is why I’m a marketing company’s dream. I’m easily duped…” And then I think, “Or am I?” Any thoughts? At some point I’ll mention this to Dan who I’m pretty sure almost never reads my blog anymore (I must be really boring) but then I feel guilty for saying, “So I was thinking of spending more of your money” since we are also in the talks about maybe cloth diapering (god the up front cost is so expensive and the choices are still kind of overwhelming me) and we’re also looking at these fancy nursing pads that are also kind of expensive but maybe genius? I’m so sick of spending money, I know babies cost money, but at some point I’d like to start saving again and we still haven’t gotten reimbursed for our moving costs which we will then have to hand over to my father who was kind enough to foot the bill temporarily.

Enough about money though, let’s see what babycenter.com has to say about BB – will they also consider this cookie cooked or will we get some statistics? Maybe a fancy fruit or vegetable we’ve never heard of to compare the size to?

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she’s over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you’ll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby’s eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she’s born with brown eyes, they’ll likely stay brown. If she’s born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she’s 9 months old. That’s because a child’s irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she’s born, but they usually won’t get “lighter” or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

Another tidbit from Parents that I figured was worth the copy and paste is in regards to overnight bags:

When the nesting urge hits, it’s a good time to pack your overnight bag for the hospital or birthing center. Avoid the temptation to pack too much, since your partner will probably be hauling it from the labor room to the postdelivery area to your recovery room. Family and friends can bring your nursing bras, favorite bathrobe, baby’s (and your) “going home” outfit, and anything else you may have forgotten. You may even want to pack one bag for labor and a second one with items you won’t need until afterward. (Leave it by the front door so someone can bring it later.) Labor bag essentials include:

A copy of your birth plan

Insurance cards

Heavy socks (feet get cold during labor) and slippers

Music, if you plan to have any during the birth–one mom we know labored to the sound of Bob Dylan, while another chose Handel’s Water Music

Hair ties or barrettes if your hair tends to fall into your face

Books or magazines

At least $20 for your partner to use for snacks

Phone card/phone list

Toothbrush, toothpaste, and breath mints–labor gives you dragon breath!

A camera or (if you’re really sure you want it) camcorder

I think that’s everything for this week worth mentioning (unless you really want to hear more about the constant back pains and lack of sleep some more… no? Didn’t think so). I’ll check in once more for week 39 and then these little Bump reports will be officially retired as we’ll have a cute cuddly baby to obsess over instead! Have a great day!

It’s time for another Aloha Friday, the day that you take it easy and look forward to the weekend, in Hawaii and blog land anyway. As you should know by now, over at An Island Life, Kailani decided that on Fridays she would take it easy on posting and ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

I’ve been having this little dilemma for a few weeks now, basically ever since we moved into the apartment. We had our old place MM-proofed top to bottom, almost mockingly so – it was locked down, he was safe and all was well. The new apartment has meant new safety concerns that we’d yet to encounter, simply because of a different set of doors, drawers, etc. New stuff = new methods of keeping him out. We’ve done pretty well but there’s this one area that we have yet to figure out a good answer for. And there’s a time limit for how long we have to make a decision. The problem? Baseboard heaters – see exhibit A:

Basically, MM is convinced that the baseboard heater is his personal step stool for looking out the window. Never even mind the whole fact of it probably not being sturdy enough for the task in the long run, it’s a baseboard heater. Come winter this could pose a serious problem in the form of burns! So we yell at him when he does it, but he honestly doesn’t get what the problem is. And we have a new little one coming who could definitely be crawling by this winter.

They don’t appear to make anything to “baby-proof” these heaters because covering them is a fire hazard, etc. yadda yadda. Most people recommend placing furniture in front of them. But I have a small problem with this idea – it’s right next to his closet – a small piece of furniture would mean not being able to open half the closet. My husband’s idea is to put up a baby “yard” like we have put around our Christmas tree in years past, but that will also block the closet and I can’t help but think MM would just consider that a challenge, like, “I dare you to climb over me…” I don’t know. I don’t like either idea but I also don’t like the idea of my children getting third degree burns from the baseboard heater.

So I’m asking:

Have you dealt with baseboard heaters & child proofing before? What did you do?
If not, how would you child proof this space if the situation came up?
Anybody have a child who has actually been burned by a baseboard heater? How bad was the burn? Maybe I’m asking myself for extra paranoia here, but I would like to know what I’m dealing with, realistically speaking, you know?
Last question: What is / was the hardest space in your home to baby proof (or would be if you had children)?
Bonus [read: completely unrelated] Question: Which celeb death this week caught you most by surprise / saddens you the most? Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett or Michael Jackson?