Hi all

I have been thinking about the day that my boys become mobile- crawling, etc- bascially able to get into dangerous situations! How do you get your stuff done at home whilst watching two bubs? ATM I can feed mine then pop them down on the floor for a play whilst I go to the kitchen and start dinner or put some washing on, or feed the dogs, etc. When I come back to check (say up to 10 min later) they are still safe on the floor (can't roll yet- though Hayden can 'worm' along on his back a fair bit!). I guess I can strap them in to their rockers, or maybe get some of those Bumbo chairs (thinking of getting them atm). Any other suggestions??

Thanks all
:-) Lindy

oh yes crawling is a real eye opener. BARRIERS!!!!!!
Firstly we baby proofed one room... the lounge... gaffa taped all cords and plugs and put away anything small and non friendly for bubs. Eventually the whole house is now baby proof. locks on doors and drawers and there is nothing that could harm them. the girls love to follow me around the house when I have stuff to do. You will be surprised and how much they just enjoy watching what you do.
goodluck and have fun
Jodi

<img src="http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/twinoski/twinoskisig.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

Similar story here - a while ago we babyproofed and turned out family room into a playroom. We haven't really used it and just put the twins in the lounge room - but they're now starting to pull up and grab the remotes off the coffee table, stick fingers in the video, throw toys out the dog door etc. So they are now in the family room - we have a hexagonal playpen - the ones in segements - well we have 3 panels together and just block off the door (used to do that in the lounge too). Usually twice a day I let them roam free for a while - that's usually before the mid morning nap, and just before daddy gets home - but most of the house is pretty babyproof!

Julie
Mum to twins - Emma and Brandon - born Xmas Eve 04

My entire house is babyproofed, it's just too difficult to stop all of them touching everything. And this way they can go anywhere and do anything and i don't have to worry about what they're into. Toilet door stays shut but that's all. I found it great when mine started crawling, they found it more entertaining and it's funny when you look up and realise you've 'lost' one!

kelly, 1@01/04, 2@03/05, 1due04/06

hi lindy

i bought a huge square portacot/playpen from babyco just last week in preparation for when this day comes.

go check it out, i think its also listed on their website as well.

tanya

We shut the doors to the rooms that aren't safe (bathroom, our bedroom). Everything else is babyproofed (TV etc is barricaded behind coffee tables), anything breakable is up high. Basically if you don't want to spend your whole day saying "no" and "don't touch" just move anything (books, CDs, whatever) that you don't want ruined. Some people will tell you that babies have to learn and that with consistency, your child will learn what they can and can't play with. I say those people don't have multiples!!

I did try a playpen but my 2 hated it - you might want to hire or borrow one before you buy. Another tip my mum had is that she used to iron or sew inside the playpen so the kids had the run of the house but couldn't touch the iron or sewing machine. Sounds strange but it would work.

But as far as getting anything done with two crawlers, you may end up with babies like my girls - from about 7 months until they were about 18 months they were my wee limpets and I couldn't go anywhere or do anything without them. Before they could move they would cry if I left the room for 10 seconds (I would have to sneak out to go to the toilet) and then once they could move I just had two small followers. So really any housework etc was usually when they were in bed. Hopefully your boys will be different!

Maree

Eleanor 1/8/03
Harriet 1/8/03

tanya - do you mind telling me how much the play pen was?

my boys are almost crawling - just a metre or so at the moment.. so i am expecting it soon. We have baby proofed the stairs and the doorway to the study sot hey can't get in there but am just keen to get a playpen for when i am doing dinner, washing etctoo. The thought of them running wild does scare me a bit.

Rach :-)

Rach (27)
DF - BJ (35)

hi rach

it was on sale for 125 bucks at babyco, it is on their website so check it out.

it's great as it looks like a portacot but is square so can be used as both, cot and playpen.

happy shopping

tanya

We turned our loungeroom into baby central. I bought a safety gate and this allows me to confine them to that room for those times when I need them in one place. I also had to consider that we have a step down from diningroom to kitchen that can't really be blocked off, so until they have really masterd that, I prefer to keep them out of harms way in the lounge. (I have spent quite a bit of time crawling up and down that step showing them what to do!!!!)

I started using the gate as soon as they got mobile, and they got used to it pretty quick. Now they sometimes protest when I shut the gate...but get over it pretty quickly and go about their business of playing quite happily until I return.


Sharyn
Meg14/4/99
Hannah & Josie 22/3/04 (33 wks)
DH David



...some days are diamonds
.

Definitely babyproofing is the best way to go I think! My 2 basically followed me around. We have one baby gate which divided the house in half so they couldn't get too far away and were always at least within earshot. I had (still do) a play pen around the heater. Next month I'll put the heater away and put the pen around the Christmas tree! I only used to put them in the play pen outside when I was gardening. Another good thing when I was cooking dinner or mopping the floors or something was the good old Jolly Jumper!

Love the pic by the way.

Nicolie
DDs Paige & Hannah (23/09/03)


Give us a hug Sis!

Hi
The Playpen is great, I find my two have times when they are happy in it and others when they aren't, sometimes they don't have a choice. Even if they are whinging a little it is reasuring to know that they can't hurt themselves while I can't supervise. I'd rather they cry for 5 minutes than risk an injury.

But it is essential to baby proof, go through those lists and do everything, because you might think they don't have the skills to get into some things but you just never know when they are going to aquire those skills.



cheers
Beth
dd Alana 3 yrs
dd & ds Charlotte & Samuel 11mths