Even if I was willing to have knives on the counter and count on the baby not climbing up their, a knife block or magnetic strip wouldn't be very feasible for us. We keep kosher so we have separate knives for meat, dairy and parve (neither meat nor dairy). On top of that my favorite knife is a chinese chef's knife (shaped like a cleaver but lighter). I don't have enough available backsplash to put all those on a magnetic strip. mkitchen, I did find a listing for a baby proofer around here. I'm a little concerned that if we get one out, he will want to over-do it. Did you find the suggestions reasonable? And how much did it cost? lightlystarched, what kind of latches did your parents put in that got misshapen and useless after a month? We used latches on a few doors and drawers when our kids were little and they lasted for years. We have put latches on the low doors and drawers in the entertainment center because that is where we have her play area set up and we didn't want to be saying "No" all the time there. My DH and DDIL prefer that we say "only look" or "only touch" if it is something that she can touch but shouldn't put in her mouth to tell her what she can do instead of "no". I prefer to leave "no" or "only look" for the things that she might damage like the vertical blinds and secure the things that could quickly damage her badly.

I understand that sleep deprivation with a new baby in the house can make one forgetful, but I really think you'll be able to remember the close the basement door. DH and I have twins, and we physically "tagged off" so we knew exactly who was in charge of watching the boys when they were first mobile, and until they could be trusted alone together for 30 seconds without poking each other in the eye, biting, or throwing blocks at each others' heads. If I was home alone with them, I would bring them to the bathroom with me. Our house was well baby-proofed, but that simply doesn't replace supervision. Here's an example. My Mom has a lake cabin, and we go there a lot in the summer. The rule for our sons was that they could not go on the dock without a grownup. I know a lot of people who let their kids on a dock if they are wearing a life jacket, but I much preferred direct supervision until they were big/old enough to be safe on their own. Each of my kids managed to fall off the dock, with me within inches of them. One went in feet first, and I simply pulled him up by the arms; the other was fishing, on his hands and knees, leaned over, and went in head first - between the dock and boat lift. Again, I was inches away, and pulled him out by the feet. Had he been wearing a life jacket, he would have gotten wedged in the narrow space, head underwater. Being on the dock with them did not prevent them from going in the drink, but it allowed me to yank them out immediately. Trust me, you can keep an eye one one little one for the few months between crawling and negotiating stairs (teach her to go down feet first). Accidents happen - I get that, it's why they aren't called "intentionals" - but I think accidents are more likely to happen when we rely too heavily on contraptions and devices instead of eyeballs.

GreenDesigns, I have a few issues with your post, so I'm going to take the liberty of quoting parts of it below, to better respond to them individually. GreenDesigns: "A consumer grade electric range is not a gas range. Its very rare for any range, electric or gas, to have 0 as the clearance needs. RTFM." I read the 'F' manufacturer's installation instructions for my consumer grade GE electric range, as posted on the GE website, and quoted above and here: "Electric ranges require 0" side wall spacing above counter height... ...30 inches between the cooktop and bottom of the cabinet above. 0 inches for sides below the cooktop." GreenDesigns: "Placing tile, or stainless, or stone, directly over a wood studded wall without an insulating air gap, is violating the fire code, if it places that wood stud within the prohibited zone for combustibles." Come to think of it, the studs in that wall are metal. And here I aways thought the builders had just been cheaping out. GreenDesigns: "The reason that I mention an insulating air gap, is because that is how a manufacturer’s “suggested”( but required) backguard works to comply with code. There’s a small gap between it and the wall, so it doesn’t directly conduct heat into the wall assembly." While the 0" spacing mention in the manufacturers installation instructions appear to only require that I not somehow place the range inside the wall cavity, the shape of the range prevents me from placing the cooktop directly in contact with the wall. Space being at such a premium in my kitchen, it's not that I haven't (inadvisedly, as I now see) tried. The gap currently stands at 3/8 of an inch. GreenDesigns: "Plastic is extremely flammable." Well, yes and no. That's kind of like saying "Kitchens have extremely little counterspace." While you will seldom find anyone saying the their kitchen has too much counter space, thoughtfully designed mansions generally have more than improvisationally built tiny homes. As for the flammability of plastics, "Nitrate"-type celluloid filmstock fell out of use due to its nasty tendency to burst spontaneously into flame, while diallyl phthalate is suitable for high-temperature use in applications like jet fighter hydraulic systems. Polycarbonate, the polymer used in the greenhouse sheeting I mentioned, is a self-extinguishing material with a range of UL94 Flammability Ratings from V-0 to V-2, depending on the details of manufacture. Greenhouse sheeting can probably be assumed to be at the more flammable end of that range; but could generally be expected be substantially less flammable than, say, polypropylene or polymethylmethacrylate GreenDesigns: "Enthusiastic ignorance is still ignorance." Well, geez. Was it my vast oversimplification of the Glass-Transition Temperature of polycarbonate as the temperature that it "doesn't start melting until" that made me seem ignorant? Or that I did not fully research all my ideas elsewhere before seeking input and information on them here? GreenDesigns: "Please refrain from giving advice that will catch someone's Kitchen on fire and result in toxic fumes both. Do t guess. Either know the answer and answer. Or don’t answer. Don’t stick in a bunch of dangerous BS." It was not my intention to give advice, or to "answer" as if I were some all-knowing authority. I meant to put forward ideas and hoped to discuss their merits. (Admittedly, when directly challenged to "RTFM," I did answer that by quoting the best authority I could readily find.) GreenDesigns: "Stick with talking pretty colors and decor." It seems I may have to. I was looking forward to have a interesting discussion here. Instead, I mostly got responses saying that the problem could not be solved or that everything I had suggested was wrong, without saying why or giving much other information at all. And, while my problem has been solved, it was not any of the knowledgeable experts who were so quick with those responses who were actually able to help - it was the OP. I don't speak the language of didactic imperative very well, and that seems to be making it rather hard for me to converse. I don't take well to direct insults, either, and that's making it rather hard for me to want to converse with some of you.

Wait until they start driving and slam the hands in the car doors. brutal. both of my boys have done that. Oh, man, no kidding!!! :-( Reminds me of a time we went to the beach for my birthday -- back when I only had 4 or 5 kids, I can't remember lol -- and one of my toddlers got his little fingers slammed into the *hotel* bathroom door by one of his brothers. Those doors are like safe/vault doors! :-O Speaking of hotels, Baby #5 was crawling up on a hide-a-bed couch once, and I looked over to see that a sibling had handed him a toothbrush. I started toward him, to stealthily remove the toothbrush, and before I could get there, he fell between the couch arm and the wall, nearly shoving the toothbrush through the side of his cheek. That bruise lasted like a week, making me cringe every time I saw the poor little guy. I wanted to take him to the ER, and my husband was like, "He's fine. Mouths bleed a lot, but he's fine." He was right. :-D Oh, and Mr. Jeremy - - Congratulations! Wishing everyone a safe and happy pregnancy and delivery. <3 (I forgot to include that in my first reply, lol.) [Edited for grammar.]