Comments on: The Incremental Appreciation of Babyproofing

By: Janel

Janel — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:10:15 +0000

We took the kids to visit my DH’s family in New Orleans for Mardi Gras when they were four months old. We took them to Birmingham for a convention when they were 7 months old. After that I made my husband promise no more away-vacations until the kids are at least a year old.

We’re obligated to go to Mardi Gras next year. In a decision to make it easier on ourselves, we’re renting a house, and taking along a babysitter.

We probably have to do Thanksgiving away this year, but at least the kids will be 13 months old at that point.

The highly romantic anniversary week off vacation we planned on this year? We’re taking that at home. No bags full of bottles. No packing the car to within an inch of it’s life. No boxes of diapers (and no roadside diaper changes or feedings). No screaming babies wanting desperately out of their carseats.
Instead we’ll take turns sleeping in. Make an effort to retune the kids way off kilter schedules with two parents home to comfort and hold two babies. Take some time to have all-together-family time, and some time to have one on one baby time. And, finally, babyproof the downstairs for the kids to have the run of it now that they’re pulling up.
It sounds like heaven.
Janel´s last blog ..Trilling

By: Tracey

Tracey — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:48:44 +0000

i lol about your mom and her picture frames. the boys are at my MIL’s house weekly and she still refuses to put her twenty odd glass animal figureens so temptingly displayed on the low glass table (by the front door no less!) away. not only that, but she also has her three of her prized decorative plates on another low end table that sits IN THE BOYS DEDICATED PLAY AREA. i am totally amazed at the lack of damage so far. i am so not amazed at how utterly exhausted i am after we leave her house.
Tracey´s last blog ..changes

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:09:05 +0000

We just returned from a group vacation with 2 other families — one with infant twins and the other with 2 toddlers, so 6 adults, 6 kids — 4 of them under one. Our girls turn one tomorrow. We all expected the time to be fun but not restful and we all were surprised by the outcome and all said we would do it again in a heartbeat. We rented a 5 bedroom cabin, which was plenty of room [one more room probably could have been nice but we made do]. We blocked off the stairs from the toddlers and sectioned off the living room with furniture. There was a pretty large open space. The key was just having so many adults who could help watch the kids. So much better than a hotel room! I agree with a pp that though our quality conversation times were mainly after the kids’ bedtime [there were alternating nap schedules], it was the perfect getaway. My husband and I really feel like this is going to be the way that we vacation for the next few years….with other families!

On another note, we find, at least at this age [surely it'll change as soon as I type this!] that when we’re at someone else’s home, the girls take quite a while to warm up before getting into someone else’s stuff. I can usually have them play on the floor for a while before the craziness begins and the two go in 3 different directions.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:10:54 +0000

@ Diane,
ditto on the sound machine. best $19.99 we’ve ever spent. somehow i had the wherewithall to take a dark sheet in case the window wasn’t. sure glad we did. We take those two items whenever we travel.
Rachel´s last blog ..One Long-Ass Two Hundred And Four Miles

By: Diane

Diane — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:06:51 +0000

My boys are 24 months and I am very leery of taking them to any NON-toddler proofed house. I am starting to see it get a TAD easier at 24 months, they aren’t as prone to danger as they were maybe 6 mos ago. Some self-protecting instinct seems to be finally, finally developing at age 2. And Boys are crazier than girls and will explore more and deliberately find more danger, no matter what (IMO!!) which you have seen first hand with your pair, it seems.
We have traveled, renting a cabin in the mountains of NC just this past week. I did a major sweep to remove breakables and reconfigure some furniture, after that we were OK. We have stayed overnite in a hotel and my lifesaver on travel anywhere, is the WHITE NOISE machine. When I plug that sucker in and crank it up, they KNOW its bedtime if we are home or in Timbuktu. And a dark sheet to darken whatever room they’re sleeping in (their pack n plays). So the hotel room was OK as long as I stayed out of sight in the bathroom for the 20 mins or so it took them to fall asleep in the darkened, quiet room without me in there.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:03:27 +0000

Wow – I haven’t even thought about babyproofing for our vacation. Its a while away (Xmas) but my twins will be 13 months old and somehwta mobile, although to what degree I don’t know. We will be at my MILs home in El Salvador so things tend to be more laid back than in the States. They have a little pond in their yard and the sliding doors are open all day. And they have a little bridge (inside the house) where the “pond” comes in…I have no idea how we would baby proof this…

I guess I have 6 months to figure it out

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:20:12 +0000

I was at several family member’s houses last weekend and they all laughed at me while I chased my two around their non-babyproofed houses. I don’t think they understand just how exhausting it is to do. We don’t stay overnight at my parents anymore because the girls don’t like to sleep at their house, so it isn’t worth it.

But, my mom and I are taking the girls on a long weekend trip. They’ll be 17 months old, and we’re all a little nervous. I’m just hoping they’ll sleep in their pack and plays. After that, I think I’ll wait until they’re 2 to do anything more than go to grandma’s.

By: Jungletwins

Jungletwins — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:14:02 +0000

We do a lot of mini-breaks with our 16 month g/g twins. We started fairly early because we live on the rainy side of a tropical and often find ourselves desperate to get to the sunny side. We learned pretty quickly to hide the hotel electronics- they will destroy the alarm clock, modem, etc., if given a chance, but other than that, it’s gone well

By: Eva

Eva — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:12:54 +0000

Extra grownups have been a lifesaver on travel between birth and 3 years. Don’t leave home without them. Even extra grownups + kids helps — 4 on 4 allows for easier showers than 2 on 2. We try to rent 1 story houses with simple furnishings, bring outlet plugs & cabinet locks, rearrange knicknacks and furniture as necessary, and pray. Rental houses work better for us then hotels, for the sleeping issues you mentioned. But in a hotel usually one of us leaves to do something, the other lays down when the kids do, and when the kids are up, we can turn on some lights and hang out together whispering. Not vacationing pre-kids, but worth it to leave home.

By: Rusted Sun

Rusted Sun — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:03:06 +0000

We are taking out then 15 month old twins to Hawaii for a week in August for our family reunion. The vacation house that we are renting has concrete stairs and a pool with out a gate.

Here is our plan:

Thankfully the adults will out number the kids, grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles, will be a huge help.

Cover the pack and plays with dark sheets to help the babies sleep.

Bringing a large roll of blue painter’s tape to cover outlets, close drawers, etc. This suggestion came from here: http://www.parenthacks.com/2007/03/use_blue_painte.html

We have also been training the kids to crawl down the stairs on their bellies.

Just for extra precaution the kids where life vests when they are wandering around. Of course we’ll still not let them out of our sight, but this will give me a little more security.

I don’t know about you guys, but one of the hardest things about being a parent for me is not being able to have interesting conversations while the kids are running around. We don’t get babysitters often enough and when we do we hurry home to relieve them. Group vacations are a huge blessing because after the babies go to sleep we can stay up, talk and play games as late as we want. The babies also seem to love being in a new place with new people. Sure it is harder than being home, but it is worth the sacrifice.
Rusted Sun´s last blog ..ranch house