Hi, we're new parents, he's our first little bundle of joy, and he just turned 6 months old and all of a sudden he's up on all fours rocking and moving forward and sideways and acting like he could take off crawling any day now! And we are not prepared!! We live in a weird place that isn't exactly your common home, it has dangerous metal beams in the middle and no carpeting anywhere, just hard tiles and a rough dirty large rug on the lower level. Right now we have him practicing to crawl on two exercise mats, and have been struggling to find a good rug for a decent price. We also have a safety issue with a lot of metal exercise equipment and dangerous concrete stairs all across the top level leading to the lower one. I was wondering what people do that live in a house with hardwood floors or very little carpeting and lots of hazards do to prepare for their baby when he starts crawling. Any suggestions and ideas are welcome!
He's about to crawl and we're not prepared!!...
- Thread starter ravemama
- Start date
Our house is mostly hardwood floors, our old house that the older two did all their crawling/learning to walk in was slate all through.
It doesn't matter, carpet is not a requirement and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a baby crawling on hardwood.
Stairs, well, there are baby gates, we have a split level house so we have random steps here and there, so we never blocked them off because its only one or two, and they have to learn to get up ad down them, but if we had a concrete staircase I probably would have invested in some baby gates.
Can you move the equipment or block it off somehow?
It doesn't matter, carpet is not a requirement and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a baby crawling on hardwood.
Stairs, well, there are baby gates, we have a split level house so we have random steps here and there, so we never blocked them off because its only one or two, and they have to learn to get up ad down them, but if we had a concrete staircase I probably would have invested in some baby gates.
Can you move the equipment or block it off somehow?
Hey, thanks for the response.cybele said:
I've already thought about baby gates, but the stairway goes all across the width of the house, so could they be strung together? We're gonna need a long gate. Also, I've noticed that my baby boy still flips over a lot back onto his back, and he tends to bang back down hard on the back of his head, and I wouldn't want him to be doing that on a hard tile floor. Didn't your babies ever have problems bumping or hitting their heads a lot while trying to learn to crawl and walk? How did you protect them?
As for the exercise equipment, all I can think of to do is maybe fold and move what we can, and maybe find some kind of padding to put over the rest, we also have a treadmill which is not so easily moved. Any kind of padding you would suggest? Thanks!!
You could get a helmet for him if he's banging his head. You should do this ASAP. My daughter used to have violent, agonizingly painful episodes, we later learned they were a type of early childhood seizures, and I wish I got a helmet for her sooner. During these seizures she would bang her head continuously for about 20 seconds or so. (It seemed a lot longer). And, it could have been the seizures but I think her head banging is what caused her to slow in her brain development. She was diagnosed with global development delay and she is still dealing with it and requires extra, modified help in certain areas in school and needed speech therapy.
I agree with everyone here that baby gates are needed in your place, or something that prevents your baby from getting to the stairs. Make sure you install them correctly.
Your exercise equipment should not be out. When I was about 3 or 4, my mom invited a friend over and her 2 young kids around my age. The girl trying out our exercise bike and her brother became fascinated with the chain gears and put his finger in the way as his sister was pedaling. You could see his bone sticking out of his finger. Wasn't a pretty picture. You should make a room where your son is not allowed in and place any equipment he shouldn't be around and keep the door closed with a baby gate.
My daughter started rolling and then started scooting backwards, crawled backwards and then learned to crawl forwards. My places was all hardwood and we would place a comforter on the floor for her "tummy time" or whenever she was playing on the floor.
We kept everything clutter free, cleaning supplies and toxins up on a high shelf in the broom closet, plug covers on every outlet, and child proof locks on the cabinets and cupboards.
A tip on babyproofing is to always be prepared for the future. Babies develop quickly One he's crawling, the next he's pulling himself up on the furniture and then he's walking and getting taller and able to get into things. Try crawling around on his level around the house and looking for hazards you may not have realized were there.
Oh, and make sure there are no large heavy objects placed on shelves or dressers, such as T.V's. There have been cases where small kids have tried to pull themselves up and the dresser and T.V. falls on them, crushing their skulls in.
Here is an important clip to watch.
https://youtu.be/pOOdmZr4Y5o
I agree with everyone here that baby gates are needed in your place, or something that prevents your baby from getting to the stairs. Make sure you install them correctly.
Your exercise equipment should not be out. When I was about 3 or 4, my mom invited a friend over and her 2 young kids around my age. The girl trying out our exercise bike and her brother became fascinated with the chain gears and put his finger in the way as his sister was pedaling. You could see his bone sticking out of his finger. Wasn't a pretty picture. You should make a room where your son is not allowed in and place any equipment he shouldn't be around and keep the door closed with a baby gate.
My daughter started rolling and then started scooting backwards, crawled backwards and then learned to crawl forwards. My places was all hardwood and we would place a comforter on the floor for her "tummy time" or whenever she was playing on the floor.
We kept everything clutter free, cleaning supplies and toxins up on a high shelf in the broom closet, plug covers on every outlet, and child proof locks on the cabinets and cupboards.
A tip on babyproofing is to always be prepared for the future. Babies develop quickly One he's crawling, the next he's pulling himself up on the furniture and then he's walking and getting taller and able to get into things. Try crawling around on his level around the house and looking for hazards you may not have realized were there.
Oh, and make sure there are no large heavy objects placed on shelves or dressers, such as T.V's. There have been cases where small kids have tried to pull themselves up and the dresser and T.V. falls on them, crushing their skulls in.
Here is an important clip to watch.
https://youtu.be/pOOdmZr4Y5o
I have this: http://www.target.com/p/kidco-auto-close-configure-gate/-/A-14015257?lnk=Rec|pdp|viewed_viewed|pdpv1[/URL]
You can buy as many segments as you need to cover the area. If you own the home, it might be better to just install a permanent banister. You can get everything you need from a hardware store and usually they can hook you up with a handyman if you can't do it yourself.
You can buy as many segments as you need to cover the area. If you own the home, it might be better to just install a permanent banister. You can get everything you need from a hardware store and usually they can hook you up with a handyman if you can't do it yourself.