Bringing Home Baby: A Guide to Babyproofing Your Home

Bringing home your bundle of joy is an exciting time in any parent’s life. However, did you remember to get your home ready for your new daughter or son? Babyproofing is a crucial part of raising a child. Remember, your baby’s safety and wellbeing is your top priority as a parent. Use these babyproofing tips in your Middle Tennessee home.

Repair All Hazards Prior to Bringing Baby Home

Before your bundle of joy is brought into the world, you should take time to identify and repair any hazards located around your home. This includes molds, water leaks, broken appliances/areas of the house, and anything that can pose a significant threat to an infant’s development and quality of life.

Should you or your family need assistance with specific repairs, call on your local home improvement contractor to help you get the job done in a timely manner.

Purchase a Safe Crib

You should always purchase a crib that has met (and/or exceeded) the safety standards set in place by the American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM). Your baby’s crib is vital to their safety and comfort. Make sure the crib mattress fits perfectly. As a rule of thumb, you should always be able to fit just one finger between your baby’s crib mattress and the side rails. Otherwise, the threat of your child becoming stuck between the mattress and crib rails is present!

While you may be tempted to use the family crib, passed down from generation to generation, keep in mind that it might not be the safest crib option for your newborn baby. Instead, opt to use the family heirloom as a decorative piece in the baby’s nursery!

Add Night-Lights and Other Lighting Fixtures To Your Home

While your baby isn’t old enough to be afraid of the dark just yet, night-lights and other types of lighting fixtures play an important role in babyproofing your home. In the middle of the night, your newborn will wake up and cry. You don’t want to turn on all the lights in your house and wake everyone else up, do you? Instead, night-lights and other types of lighting fixtures can provide enough light to guide you to your newborn.

In addition, night-lights reduce the risk of tripping and falling while you are carrying your baby at night!

Purchase a Baby Monitor

In our day in age, baby monitors have insane technology possibilities. From video recording capabilities to controlling the device from your smartphone, you can have access and control of so much with baby monitors. Choose the baby monitor that best fits your family’s needs, budget, and level of safety for your baby.

If you really want peace of mind, try movement detector that are placed under the baby’s crib mattress. It will alert you if it does not detect the movement of your baby breathing.

Consider Hiring a Pet Sitter

During the first few days home, you’ll want to acclimate your baby to their new surroundings. However, this can be a bit difficult if you’ve got your furry family pet running around at your feet. A pet sitter can make sure your dog, cat or other type of pet gets the attention they need without bothering you or the baby!

Adapt To Your Baby’s Development, Age and Growth

Every child grows and develops at a different rate. Therefore, your home will need to be constantly adapted to their needs, safety, and interests. Before you know it, you’ll be installing baby gates everywhere and putting bumper pads on all the furniture.

Be sure to enjoy the ride; babies grow up too fast!