How to keep insane baby safe

[Kaydove]

Since my DD starting crawling at 5 months, she somehow manages to hurt herself all.the.time! DH says I need to watch her better, but she gets hurt when he watches her, and I sit on the floor with her! I seriously can't check the time or she's bangs her forehead on the brick fireplace, while I was sitting right next to her!

 

She's intense and is always moving, always grabbing for everything, always getting into everything. She learned to climb at 7 months, just starting to walk. She doesn't understand 'no', laughs at us actually. She's smart and ahead developmentally. Learns really fast. 

 

DH's grandma (who were staying with) says we need to smack her hand and say no. I really don't want to. DH takes her word for gold, so I'm nervous he'll take her advice. 

 

DD pulled the shelf that's by the bathtub down on the both of us while I was in the bath with her, I was trying to pull her off it and she had a death grip. Thankfully no one got hurt. 

 

I need advice! It's really upsetting that my baby hurts herself accidentally so often. Makes me feel horrible and that I'm a bad mom but seriously I am so close to her all the time and watch her like a hawk. Doesn't help that she wants to be so independent or I would wear her more - she doesn't last long worn at home. I'm nervous that she's going to end up getting stitches soon. 

[katelove]

She certainly sounds full on :-)

I agree that "no" isn't going to work at that age. They simply don't have the impulse control at that age.

I would probably try a combination of redirection ( which at this age is probably going to mostly be picking up and moving her) honouring the impulse (finding safe ways for her to climb etc) and babyproofing.

Is there a room you can rearrange so it is safe for her to roam and explore? Beanbags or floor pillows for throwing herself onto. Something to climb (under supervision). Maybe a few cardboard box tunnels or something like that.

[Kaydove]

We're staying with family between jobs, but moving soon. I really want to set up a safe play room in the new house, but until then I'm at a loss. She's already broken 3 of grandma's ceramic things.

Eta: no grandma had a ton of stuff and not really a room to set up for her.
Edited by Kaydove - 2/15/13 at 1:00am

[rainface]

Aww...your daughter sounds great. I've got one of those kids too. It's really hard when you're in someone else's space. Especially when they think that hand smacking and easily accessible ceramic objects are the norm. I agree, no doesn't work, in fact, I've found that if I start saying no too much, it puts Muffin into a frenzy of touching everything she knows she shouldn't. That's my cue to change it up - go outside, go to the mall so she can run up and down the open hallways, go to a play space. And we have our own apartment...I can't imagine negotiating this at someone else's home. Is it possible to up her physical activity/interaction by wrestling or cuddling or knocking over blocks to try and take the edge off?
My daughter gets banged up a lot too, especially when she was first learning to walk. She just throws herself into the world, which is really cool, but results in some horrific bruising :-/
Edited by rainface - 2/15/13 at 7:53am

[MrsGregory]

Hi there!

I am not sure this method can be utilized for crawling, and I'm a little afraid of how "ungentle" it will be considered, but it worked wonders for us.

Our Little Miss didn't quite understand the concept of "gravity" when she started walking, and it made for some very upsetting moments with regards to edges and drops and whatnot.  So we started letting her fall.  Small distances onto something soft, she fell all the way, and was hugged back to calmness.  Long drops, she was let to walk right off the edge while we held her hand or her overalls, and we let enough slack so she'd really "fall" before being caught.  I scared the crap out of a couple of other Moms on the playground, but within 2 weeks she started respecting the edges of things, understands what we mean when we say "Careful!", and seems to have developed some kind of sense of self-preservation.  I still don't leave her alone where she could fall badly, and she is a bit older than your little darling (she's 16 months now), but this really worked wonders for us.

Edited for some ideas/

So, maybe you could stack some light but noisy things and let her pull them down on her own self? 

Now this is really ungentle, but when she started trying to touch hot things, I'd jump at her and scream "HOT!" and it startled her badly enough that she stopped going after the fireplace and the stove.

Pad something she usually runs into, so she can bump into it and be "hurt", but not really injured.

[Kaydove]

Hi Mrs G!

DD does understand gravity somewhat from lunging off the bed so often. Thankfully we had just a box spring and mattress, no bed frame. I taught her how to get off the bed herself by swinging her feet over, holding on to the sheet, and wiggling off. She's been doing that since 7-8 months and can get off the couch that way. She still sometimes falls off if she's too hyper.

We did do the freak out thing with the fireplace and she laughed at me. thankfully she seems to have lost interest. She gets the most hyper at night after dinner and before bed. I crawl around on the floor with her and chase her and play blocks. She giggles and laughs. We get all her energy out that way but almost every night she gets hurt or something breaks. I used to spot her climbing up and down the stairs, which made her so tired. We also went outside a lot in San Diego but not so much in Oregon. I bundle her up for a walk everyday.
I did find a children's museum here in Klamath that has $1 Wednesdays, so we're going next week.

I think if I can manage to not break anything else (3 collectible items so far) of grandma's and more importantly not end up with stitches, I should get mother of the year. I love how curious and feisty DD is, but it's going to send me to an early grave.

[sassyfirechick]

Stiches are like a pre-requisite to a fun-filled, adventurous life in our house!  Growing up there were plenty of times I really should have gotten them, but with my mother if you weren't dying or in need of an ambulance, you put a bandaid on it and went back out to play.  I take a pretty similar approach with our 15mo DD.  DH and I both have a decent amount of medical know-how (he's an EMT/Firefighter, I went through the EMT class but never bothered to cert and was a pre-vet student which is basically the same curriculum as pre-med) so there's little that would scare me into an ER visit.  My most recent stitches were a dog bite (poor dog was jumping for a toy and I just had the bad timing to throw while his mouth was wide open) and bc I moved my arm across his teeth it was a long, deep opening and the *sorry this will be gross* fat cells were coming out, so I wanted a stitch to hold it all in!  DD had her first black eye a few weeks ago when she tripped while running and fell face first onto her elephant (that one that blows balls into the air).  Cried for 10 seconds, turned to the elephant and called it "bad" then off she went to play.  I got me a tomboy on my hands ;-)  Nothing wrong with a bruise here and there, just means your LO's not afraid to try things out.  She'll eventually get some coordination and the falls will be less.  As forr the hand slapping and "no" - my LO laughs maniacally wwhen we tell her no - even mocks me, like running up to the dog water bowl and yelling out no in this deep long drawl (which makes me laugh to think that's what I sound like to her!).  Hand slapping one of the grandma's tried once, and she continued to touch like it was a game.  There have also been times, like when the stove was hot and DH yelled out "no, hot!"  as she was running across the kitchen and it scared her so much she cried for almost 10 minutes.  The yell wasn't so harsh, it just caught her off guard, and underneath that rough surface she's a very sensitive kid.

So if grandma has breakable things - ask her to keep them out of reach temporarily, offer to help and then put them back when you move out.  Otherwise let your kiddo explore and enjoy the fact that she seems so resilient and curious about everything!

[forestmushroom]

Can you do some minimal baby proofing? The fireplace sounds dangerous. Brick fireplace without a pad on it can do more then lead to "few stitches..." Coffee tables with sharp edges should be removed. Glass and fragile things should be put up.

My little guy was an early crawler and walked at 9 months... and was climbing stuff at 5 months.. so I feel your pain! But Grandma has to understand that the baby lives there too and it has to be safe for her. Can you take grandma with you to the pediatrician and have the doctor review safety in the home with a mobile baby??? Sometimes grandparents will dismiss the parents, but will listen to the doctor...

Edit to add: I get that kids fall and trip and get hurt, but it sounds like this is more then the usual bumps and bruises if you are feeling bad about it???

Good luck!
 

[marsupial-mom]

I would get a baby helmet to protect her head. Something like this: http://www.thudguard.com/

Get mats like these to go on top of tiled or hard floors: http://www.foamtiles.com/tiles/12-eco-soft-tiles.html

Whenever you can't supervise, she should go in a crib or play pen.

Baby gates for any room that's got choking hazards or book cases should could climb up, etc.

Go out! Take her places where it's more comfortable to spend time with a crazy baby. Find a play group or just go to the park or mall. Try the library. Anything to stimulate her brain a bit differently so she's not so physically demanding - crawling or trying to walk everywhere.

Containment: wear her or strap her up in a stoller and head out. Go for a walk and pray for a nap.

[Kaydove]

I do have a pack n play that's been a god send. And we've moved up ceramics that were on a low shelf. We replaced them with bowls that are safe for her to bang around with.

We don't have a pediatrician or doctor here because we're just visiting albeit an extended visit. It's very very temporary. I'm hoping to be out of here in another two weeks.

Every room has a bookcase or dresser or 150 year old furniture. Although she's never alone. I think the floor tiles are good idea for her playroom if it doesn't have carpet, for whichever house we end up renting. Not going to work for another person's house, but I'll try to find a pad for the brick fireplace. It's an usual fireplace set up, pot belly stove on a brick floor, hard to describe but I have some ideas.

Her bumps and bruises have been normal up to this point, because our house was setup and baby proofed for a baby. The only thing that is out of ordinary is the forehead meeting brick fireplace. I feel bad because DH freaks the freak out but after reading some of the earlier responses, it's not just my baby. It's coupled with her being intense, curious, hyper and being in grandmas house.

I'm going to get her out more. That should help a lot. I might camp out at the Childrens museum everyday. It's warming up here and there's probably something to do somewhere even though I'm not sure what besides the children's museum. I'm from the city, no idea what kids do in a small town.

I posted this shortly after she pulled the aluminum bathtub shelf stand thats held up by tension down on us both while we were in the tub together. Thankfully we didn't get hurt just scared. I was pulling her off it and she death gripped it. I think I was exasperated because it happened with me in the tub with her pulling her hands off the shelf! And DH tells me to watch her better.

[Kaydove]

Originally Posted by rainface 

Aww...your daughter sounds great. I've got one of those kids too. It's really hard when you're in someone else's space. Especially when they think that hand smacking and easily accessible ceramic objects are the norm. I agree, no doesn't work, in fact, I've found that if I start saying no too much, it puts Muffin into a frenzy of touching everything she knows she shouldn't. That's my cue to change it up - go outside, go to the mall so she can run up and down the open hallways, go to a play space. And we have our own apartment...I can't imagine negotiating this at someone else's home. Is it possible to up her physical activity/interaction by wrestling or cuddling or knocking over blocks to try and take the edge off?
My daughter gets banged up a lot too, especially when she was first learning to walk. She just throws herself into the world, which is really cool, but results in some horrific bruising :-/

We wrestle and cuddle and knock over blocks every night after dinner and before bed. I crawl around on the floor with her, which she thinks is hilarious. I love it!

I think Grandma has forgotten what its like to have a baby in the house. She's also a clean freak and if I don't clean up after baby and me right away (toys and my water glass keeps disappearing , grandma does it. She told me that you can't put things off for later because they'll never get done. Well later baby has missed her nap and now she's throwing tantrums over wanting to be picked up but not wanting to be picked up.
Okay, now I'm venting. Sorry.

[sassyfirechick]

Originally Posted by Kaydove 

 I'm from the city, no idea what kids do in a small town.
 

They go outside :-)  I spent my entire childhood from sun-up to sun-down, running through a cornfield, climbing trees, riding my bike - didn't matter the weather....my mother would whistle when she wanted me home!

[Kaydove]

Originally Posted by sassyfirechick 

Originally Posted by Kaydove 

 I'm from the city, no idea what kids do in a small town.

 

They go outside :-)  I spent my entire childhood from sun-up to sun-down, running through a cornfield, climbing trees, riding my bike - didn't matter the weather....my mother would whistle when she wanted me home!

I did too but DD is still in the eating grass and dirt phase .

[sassyfirechick]

Haha that was us last summer, she's slightly less into eating everything in sight nowadays - progress!

[~Adorkable~]

i feel for you, i spent 10 weeks at my grandmothers and with her freaking out all the time about my twins going on rampages at her place, i just took matters into my own hands and said that she could either let me baby proof some areas or she could have her things broken and the house stressful. and  i brought some play pen gate things and fenced a few things off. they are a good investment as they can be used a 100 different ways for the next few years, no matter where you live.

so i say hunker down and make at least one decent area as totally baby safe as you can and hang out there till you can run back to the city