learning to GD with a 10 month old

Welcome!

Can you tell use what those 3 things are? You might be surprised at some of the creative responses that mamas here have...they've helped me out of quite a few things I thought had no solution...

Other than distraction and redirection (which aside from babyproofing ar eyour only real options at this point in time), I would just try to downplay the emotion behind your response when she heads for the things, as sometimes the response in itself is funny to them. So, the less of a big deal you make out of it, maybe the faster the "fun-ness" will go away. Almost in a bored tone of voice, monotone and just repeated over and over, KWIM?

I found for the couple areas we couldn't "toddlerproof" in our new house, I just used one of those accordian play yards and wrapped around it (like our CD rack and tower we have the stereo on - it's a "Superyard XT", and has panels that snap together and can be formed at a hundred different angles. Many mamas here don't like plastic, though, so if you don't either, it would be out for you, cause it's plastic. But it's the perfect solution for us.

Let us know some more details and we'll all see how else we can help!

I don't think there is much you can do. Either 1. Babyproof or 2. Constant redirection. And she will always think its fun to be redirected or have you chase her. Touching one of those 3 things is the best way to get your attention, so they become irresistable.

My DD at 15 months makes a beeline for the road now whenever we are outside. I have no choice but to scramble after her. She is completely delighted by this. She loves to be chased! I'm talking with my DH now about building a fence.

I have found it amazing how creative I can get about things I thought were previously not baby-proofable. The cords to the computers are mounted high up on the wall now (and look ridiculous up there but oh well) and we use a lot of plywood as barriers, cut into just the right shape to prevent access to this or that. For instance, she would climb on the window sill, inch across, then climb onto the computer table. There is now a piece of sanded painted plywood surrounding one side of the table. Looks ugly, but I rationalise that this won't last forever.

At ten months, I doubt she knows that certain things are not to play with. She may know that she gets a certain reaction from you when she plays with them, but not that she's not supposed to touch them. Even older babies (1-2 yrs) don't always know that "no" means that THEY ought to not touch something. They know that "no" means that "MOM stops me from touching".
See what I mean?
I don't know what you can do at 10 mos, besides keep her away from those objects in the first place. Or find a safe way for her to touch them. I bet if she could touch them, with little reaction from you, she'd satisfy her curiosity and move on.
When ds was about 12 mos old (and there is a HUGE difference between 10 and 12 mos), I did start "teaching" him not to touch the trash can (it wasn't an issue til then- not sure what I did before that). When he went to touch it, I'd tell him "That's not for you" and pick him up, and take him somewhere else (we played, or found something else interesting, so it was in no way a punishment). After a few times, when he was going towards it, I'd kneel down, and ask him to come to me (with a pleasant voice). He started doing that, too. After a couple days of me stopping him from playing with it every time, he stopped going towards it. Of course, it was all done nicely, with no mean voice, no irritation on my part, kwim?
If I were to go back in time, but keep the gd knowledge I have now, I think I'd thoroughly sanitize it, and let him touch it until he satisfied his curiosity about it. But at the time, it seemed like the best thing to do.
Of course, that approach didn't work with the dog water, or playing in the fridge. Both of those, took me totally letting go, and letting him do it. I did tell him that it wasn't a good thing to do, but then I let him do his thing, and let him concentrate on his task at hand. (if you think about it, both are learning experiences). After a few days with the fridge, he was starting to shut it after looking in it only a minute. The dog water took longer. lol. But he did eventually stop playing in it.

If you tell us what those 3 things are, perhaps we could give you some good ideas.

Oh, and for older babies (not sure if 10 mos is old enough, but it'd be good practice for you) I'm a HUGE fan of redirection. Find something similar to their original impulse that they CAN do. So, if ds is banging on the window with a block, I'd either give him a towel to wipe the window, or tell him he can bang the block on the couch, or that he can build with his blocks. This is not distraction (where you distract to something unrelated). This way, you are still honoring their impulse (to take words from "becoming the parent...") but you are showing them a more acceptable way to do it.

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Funny you should mention dog water, lol.... that's the first one.

The second one is the dog's bed. When he's on it, I consider it his "safe" zone, where the baby should not be allowed to corner and torment him. When he's not on it, it's furry and gross, and not a good place for babies! I can't come up with any way to deny dd access to the bed, without restricting the dog's access too.

The third is less of a big deal. It's even possible that it's a control issue more than anything at this point. It's the spice rack. I know it seems like we should be able to move this, but we have 1 sq. ft. (total) of counter space and no kitchen cabinets, and when you try to bolt something into the wall (e.g. a shelf), the plaster just crumbles. So the spices are on the shelf of a kitchen cart, and they are at baby level. It's not the end of the world, I guess. The jars are glass and nicely arranged, and I would rather they not be totally dismantled. But the more I think about it, the more I feel you mamas are right: I should probably just let her have at it, and supervise her while she explores it.

Thanks for helping me think through this.

Dog water was a big one at our house, too. They outgrow it eventually. Until then, there's not much you can do but redirect.

As far as the dog bed goes, I don't know about that one. I feel that you should teach the baby not to tormet the dog, but that's it. If the dog feels like the baby is harrassing him, he probably wouldn't mind you shutting him up in the bedroom away from her for a while. IMO, letting the dog have a space of his own, where baby is not allowed to go, is asking for trouble. In dog world, only alpha dogs get to have personal space, so if your dog realizes that you're teaching baby to stay away from his bed, he might start feeling like he's more dominant than your daughter, at least when it comes to that space. That could lead to aggressive behavior, at least when it comes to his "territory" (the bed). The dog hair is more of a gross factor than a health issue, so I personally wouldn't worry about it - just keep a lint brush handy. It's just another thing she'll grow out of eventually.

And I think you're right about the spice rack.

The dog water bowl and dog bed are two big things we're dealing with here, too (we also have a 10mo). As for the water bowl, I don't let him get into it. I gently tell him that it's not for him ("That's icky...it's not for Aidan") and redirect him. His beelines are getting less frequent (but we still have to watch him). As for the dog bed, I've been distracting/redirecting, but I'm finding that, the more he goes for it, the less grossed out I am at the thought of him crawling on it. I let him at it the other day, and it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, LOL!

I agree with pp that maybe you shouldn't teach your dog to expect to be left alone. I had the same concern as you about letting the dog have a safe space, but I really feel like the dog can leave if the baby is bothering him. If the baby is tormenting the dog (following him around and not leaving him alone), then you'll know to step in on the dog's behalf. But you have to be very careful about a dog's pack mentality...remember that everything revolves around a hierarchy in a dog's mind.

I've also found that ds mostly just wants to satisfy his curiosity about things. He's been trying to get to the toilet for about a month now, and I haven't let him for obvious reasons, but last week I bit the bullet and sanitized the bowl and supervised him as he explored. It took quite a bit of exploring, but I think it's out of his system now. Of course, consistency is important too, so you'll have to be the judge of that. HTH!