Tips For Grandma and Grandpa: Baby Proofing For Your Grandchild

This is a sponsored post. I received compensation from Owlet Baby Care to write this post. All text and opinions are 100% my own. #ad #spon

September is baby safety month and Owlet is taking it into their hands to make sure parents, grandparents, and pretty much anyone is educated on the do’s and dont’s of baby safety. I have the privilege of working with Owlet and other awesome bloggers on spreading the word for baby safety- one of the most important topics that’s not talked about nearly enough. Shambray at Live a Happy Life wrote a fantastic post on getting control of baby hazards yesterday. So many of her ideas for baby safety are things that I am going to echo in my post today. The things we doing our own home to protect our baby go hand in hand to what we need to make sure is done in grandpa and grandma’s home to ensure out babies safety.

Evie has two sets of amazing grandparents. They love her SO much (I swear she is the most loved-and blessed little girl on the planet) and would never ever do anything to hurt her, I know that. They are also two very smart sets of grandparents who have been around the block a time or two. They have taught me so many things to prepare for Evie’s arrival and I don’t know what I would have done without their advice! However, as amazing as AJ and I’s parents are, they aren’t perfect and so many things regarding babies safety have changed since our parents were parenting us. This is why I have compiled a list of my 10 most important tips for grandma and grandpa to baby proof their home for their grandchildren:

1.Invest in a walk through baby gate– these baby gates are not only so crucial to have once your grandchild becomes even remotely mobile but they look nice and are easy to use. These gates have a latch and a little door that you can walk through instead of having to climb over. No more playing spiderman while carrying a baby and two plates of food sown the stairs. This baby gate is about $32 on Amazon. Not a huge investment but it could be a literal lifesaver!

2. Consolidate and lock up cleaning materials– These materials could be absolutely detrimental to your grandchild if ingested. Now, I’m sure most grandparents know that but it’s been years and years since they have had to worry about it. A reminder is always nice! If locking them up is not possible just make sure they are at least up high. These cleaning caddy’s are cheap and awesome to help store your cleaning supplies in and would make it easy to place up high quickly if you find out your grandchild is coming over!

3. Lock up Laundry and dish washer detergent– Along with the cleaning supplies laundry and dish washer detergent are absolutely detrimentlal to babies. Especially because he tide pods look like candy to kids so they will do whatever they can to get their cute little hands on them. There are also these simple, easy, and cheap little ties that you can use to keep cabinets locked.

4. Use Electrical Socket plugs– again, this is a no brainer but is such an important thing be reminded of. These plugs are so dangerous left uncovered. Now a days they even have really cool self closing electrical socket plugs that you can install so you don’t have to keep taking them in an out!

5. Invest in a pack in play– pack in plays are the best way to keep your grandchild contained if you ever have to leave the room or if they nap at your house. Pack in play’s are so easy to set up and take down, and so much cheaper and more convenient than a crib!

6. Use a baby monitor– Speaking of naps, if you are ever in the position to have your grandchild nap at your house, it is so important to use a baby monitor so you can have ears (and/or eyes) on the bay at all times. This is not something you should have to buy. Hopefully your child has one that they use at their house that they can bring you. Ask them to bring it when they drop the bay off. Baby monitors are so simple to set up and can bring you such piece of mind, especially the video baby monitors. If you are in the market to buy a monitor, they have monitors now that come with sensors that let you know if the baby is moving or opens a door. These are much cheaper than the video option but are so beneficial! I talked all about this type of baby monitor from V-Tech on this blog post, we love this monitor!

7. Do Your Research: New Sleeping Parameters– I know that when I was a baby it was known to be best to put babies to sleep on their tummies and at another point for one of my brothers it was best to put them on their side. After extensive research, it is now best (and I think this one is here to stay) to put babies on their back. Healthy Children.org also says to put them on a firm surface, with no lose soft objets in the crib (including crib bumpers). As a grandparent it’s so important to do a little research and make sure you understand what the current studies are saying is best for your grandchild’s safety. I know sometimes it can be overwhelming to know what the current research says but it is so beneficial.

8. Keep doors and windows locked– When I was a little girl my parents lived in Salt Lake City on a very busy road. My mom was busy attending to some disaster my three brothers had created haha and my little 18 month old self wanted to go and dance in the street. So I escaped out the side door and headed for the road. My mom caught a glimpse of me and nearly had a heart attack. Cars had miraculously stopped for me so I didn’t get ran over. Obviously everything ended up being okay but unfortunately that is not always the case. Keeping your doors locked is crucial. Sometimes you might not have a lock on the door that you need to keep closed. But there are so many fun little gadgets you can buy that are not only convenient but also cheap!

9. Sleeping in car seats or bouncers– Believe me, I know how tempting it is when you have been tirelessly working to get your little one to sleep and they finally give in while you’re on a car ride or a walk to just let them stay asleep in their car seat. But in reality, its just not a safe long term sleeping option. The car seat holds the babies head in such a way that could block their air ways. This one goes well with #5, investing in a pack and play. If you have a pack and play you can quickly make the transfer from their seat to the pack and play. This is also the same for letting them sleep in their rocker or bouncer. If they are gong to be sleeping for a few hours, it’s just not the safest option.

10. Using an Owlet Monitor– Last but surely not least, either invest in an Owlet monitor or use the one your child has…if they don’t have one then it might be an awesome Christmas gift to get them! I can speak with complete honestly that my Owlet Monitor is 100%, without a doubt, our favorite baby gadget we have…I consider it a necessity.

About a week ago our Evie girl happened to Fall asleep while we were on an evening walk. She was in her jammies already with her diaper changed and tummy full. So when we got home we decided to swaddle her as softly as possible, try not to waker her, and lay her in her crib. She stayed asleep and proceeded to sleep for 4 more hours. My husband and I were about to crawl in bed ourselves but both looked at each other and had an uneasy feeling about Evie. In our efforts to keep her asleep, we had failed to put her Owlet monitor on, therefore we couldn’t see her heart rate or oxygen level. We opened her door to check on her but couldn’t hear breathing, we got closer, still no breathing, my husband stroked her cheek and it was ice cold. He picked her up in sheer panic and she started to cry. I have never been more happy to hear her cry in my whole entire life. I have no idea if she wasn’t breathing or if she was just so sound asleep that we couldn’t hear it but needless to say, we were terrified. We immediately put he Owlet on her and said we have no idea how people live without the Owlet monitor. Being able to see her Oxygen level and heart rate at any time in the middle the night gives my anxious mama heart the peace of mind I need to get any sleep. That peace of mind is absolutely priceless. Now if we can just get Owlet to make monitors the size of Evie’s foot so she can wear it until she’s 18 haha.