Babyproof

Babyproofing...hmmm. This seems like a pretty clear cut topic. You rearrange your house (and sometimes your life) to accommodate a curious baby who is poking and pulling on everything in sight. There is a whole section in the store dedicated to this topic where baby gates, outlet covers and doorknob stoppers all can be found. It's just what every responsible parent must do in order to keep their little angel safe right? Right. At least that is what I thought...

As soon as Alexis could maneuver herself around the floor I marched myself to that special section of Wal-Mart and bought about five thousand of those little white outlet covers. I brought them home and shoved them into every single outlet I could find...even the ones that Alexis wouldn't be reaching until age 30. It wasn't easy either. Those little suckers are stubborn. "All safe and sound now," I thought. I thought wrong. I had placed Alexis on her play mat for much needed belly time. Five minutes hadn't passed when I glanced over and realized she had something in her mouth. As I approached her I recognized the little round white object! The outlet cover! How in the world she got it out of the wall, I have no idea. I still do not know. It has been several months and she still yanks them right out and stuffs them into her mouth.

To make matters worse it was not just the outlet covers. With each new babyproofing tool, Alexis figured out a way to make the item even more dangerous than it was to begin with. It was almost as if she was more attracted to the object just because we were trying to keep her away from it. Typical woman, right? On the day that I found her climbing over her baby gate I gave up. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to just have to keep an eye on her constantly and not rely on these safety measures alone.

The moral of this story is that babyproofing doesn't exist. At least not in my experience. After all, babies are little people. They are smart little people. They will always find a way. As mommies we cannot underestimate our little ones. They will find a way to surprise you. It's a little frustrating in the moment but will always make a great story later on. :)