My son will be 8 months the 19th and he is very close to crawling! He is a litte behind on these skills because he is 26 lbs! lol. How can I keep a "nice, adult home" and still make it safe for my son to be free to crawl around?
As my daughter learned to crawl, I did NOT move my knickknacks....she learned that they were off limits. If and when she did attempt to grab something, a simple NO did the trick! I did put a gate at the top and bottom of our stair steps. The bathroom was off limits too, the door was shut and or a safety device on the toilet. Also, the cleaning supplies, either move them up or get a locking device for that cupboard as well! Hope these are some simple ideas that will help you!
well how much you change depends on how much you want to have to say the word no. right now you should have a month or so before there is to much to worry about, he isn't pulling himself up yet which means all you have to worry about are the things actually on the floor. pay attention first and foremost to these things. plugs and cords are a big concern and they make covers, they make the ones that go in empty outlets and also covers for outlets that you are using so the plugs can't get pulled out. watch out for any unstable furniture or anything that he might try to pull himself up on and make sure it is secured to a wall or something else, floor lamps are especially dangerous when children frist start to get mobile. cleaning supplies should be locked up nomatter how high up you keep them, as he gets older you will be amazed at how resourceful he will get. same for medicines. if you have blinds in your home make sure that the cords are secured and out of reach and again count on the little guy climbing on things here sooner or later. install gates at the top and bottom of steps, the pressure gates are not made for stairs they can be pushed hard enough to come down. watch trusting a closed door to be the only saftey measure in rooms that baby could get hurt, we all forget every once in awhile to do things and it only takes once. get a lock for the toilet and secure the area where you have your washer and dryer and never leave those open. and just another couple dumb things i've learned, keep your vcr up if you have one, babies like to stick thier fingers in them and they can get stuck, and nightlights get hot, if the have an actual bulb in them, and can burn delicate baby skin. good luck, i know it seems like a lot but it's things that can be done is stages as he gets older.
check out www.babycenter.com - they have great childproofing checklists for crawlers, then walkers and up. they also sell baby-proofing products, but you can usually find them cheaper at wal-mart, same brand names, so you're not losing any value! good luck and get ready to start running after him! :)
Keep him busy. If you play with him and show him what he is and isn't allowed to do and keep him busy he will be less likely to bother the things he isn't allowed to touch. My son didn't bother anything when he was little. We had shelves with glass things on it from floor to above my head and he didn't try to touch a single thing. Just set limits and be firm with them, give him another option when you take him away from something. If you say "No, we don't play with the glass, we play with truck" and sit down and play truck with him, he will figure it out.
I don't know how your home is designed, and this will make a difference, but my husband and I created "child-safe" areas and then "adult areas." So we baby-gated off our kitchen and family room and child-proofed those rooms, leaving the front hall, living room, and dining room off limits to the baby (unless very closely supervised, of course), and fully decorated. We did the same things upstairs. We baby-gated off the hallways with the kids' bedrooms, but left the loft and our bedroom open to the stairs, so that once again we have a safe place for him to play, and our own space. Of course he's always supervised, even in his areas, but I didn't bother removing my low decorations and such in the more formal rooms where he will not be spending much time. Good luck!