Baby Proofing

My little 8 month old daughter is now a master crawler! Has been for a couple of weeks.

I've had to pay more attention to things on ground level. I also vacuum and mop more frequently than I used to. The living room, where she plays most of the time and where I sit and watch her has been mostly baby proof for awhile. But, now she follows us, everywhere! She's getting more familiar with the Kitchen, and explored the laundry room a couple of times.

I reorganized my laundry room awhile ago, mostly because it was just a mess. And in the process I considered making sure nothing harmful was down on Baby's level.

My Kitchen though, I have been putting off. And now, I can't put it off anymore.
I'm a little frustrated.
I want functional organization. But, the majority of my storage is cupboards below the counter top. Suddenly everything seems to have a blaring hazard sign all over it.
Where do I put my glass mixing bowls, blender, food processor, aluminum foil & saran wrap? None of these things seemed particularly harmful before. Now, as a mom, I'm realizing the kitchen is a very dangerous place.

I never took the whole "baby proof" your house thing very seriously. When I was growing up I never remember a baby gate, or outlet covers, or drawer/cupboard door locks. Your child grows up, explores, is curious about their world, and you watch them closely, tell them "no" to things they may not touch, and they learn. A few bumps and bruises never harmed anyone, that's how you learn, right?

I mean, I obviously keep extremely harmful things out of reach. We have a pellet stove and have put up a baby gate around it, because it can cause serious burns, we close doors, and keep a close watch on our baby.

But, maybe there is more to this baby proofing than I originally thought.


Maybe someday I'll find a kitchen set up that I like, works well and is safe.
In the meantime, I'll be at home watching my curious baby explore and be amazed at how she grows and learns.