Ok so my baby girl turned 8 months old on Monday and it was like someone turned on the crawl button. She is crawling everywhere! I am so excited about this milestone but there is one problem. I take her to work with me and the office is all concrete floors and has a lot of electrical cords etc. I have seen little fence things you can get so your baby can still crawl around but in a confined area. What are people's thoughts on this and any suggestions of what to get and where? Thanks so much for your help!
Well I ended up buying the Superyard XT from Burlington Coat Factory. I looked at Babies R Us and Once Upon a Child too but I found theirs was the least expensive. I set it up with 2 extra panels so there is a lot of room and I have a foam alphabet mat and a carpet with a little town on it in there too. Then I put lots of toys around the perimeter. So the 1st day I put her in she screamed the whole time. She would only stop if I sat in there with her. Today was the same thing. She is very attached to me right now and cries unless I hold her while we are at my work. When we go home she is better and plays on the floor independently. I hope this is just a phase! Thanks to you all for your advice, it was tremendously helpful and I hope she will start to enjoy the playard soon!
Put some thick stockings, trousers or anything and let the girl go go go.
Did that for my daughter when we rented a place with rough hardwood floors and it worked.
I think it's a great idea -- we used to "contain" our gal while working at home to keep her safe. My advise is to keep a variety of toys/books so you can change them out frequently to keep things interesting. We also used an excersaucer so that our girl got some upright play - but her limit was usually 30 minutes so we rotated frequently from floor to excersaucer.
BTW -- so envious, wish I could take my gal to work with me! :)
Hi -
I have twins and really loved my "gates". I used the Superyard XT, which has several panels you can configure for a safe area (I actually used two sets). You can get them at Wal-Mart online or Babies R Us. They also make one called a Playzone that has toys on the wall. I think you can get that one from One Step Ahead? They are pretty expensive so you might want to look for a used one in good shape. I enjoyed them b/c I knew the kids were confined. I'd put safe toys in there both in the house and outside in the yard. However, it won't be too long before that little area isn't big enough and your daughter will want to explore more on her own, or at least not stay in there all the time. The good thing about the Superyard is that I undid the panels and used them as gates to other areas around my house (like around the fireplace). Anyway...hope that helps some and enjoy your baby!
I am not sure where you live, but they had a used Superyard gate at Once Upon a Child located at Independence and Legacy for $30. I was there at lunch today and saw it by the door.
Here is the Amazon link to the product:
http://www.amazon.com/North-States-Superyard-Gate-Play/dp...
I don't know if you have already found something, but I just had to share my experience with you. I have twins. When they were babies I bought the Today's Kids Playyard. It was awesome! I originally saw it on "Everybody Loves Raymond," then I went looking for it. I bought the whole set at Toys R Us, and picked up a few additional panels from a garage sale by pure luck. I sold mine a couple of years ago on Craigslist for $45.
I cannot find the company's wbsite, but when I googled it I found the e-bay listings
http://shop.ebay.com/items/_W0QQ_nkwZtodaysQ20kidsQ20play...
I highly recommend it. My kids loved it!
You can find the same gate panels at pet stores for a lot cheaper. Just an FYI.
HI E. D,
The best thing you could do to give your child more freedom in your office is to carry a Play Pen to work and she would have her own play area. Safe from all the electric connections and so forth that could harm her.
Good luck with your little girl.
Your friend
MK
Hello -
8 months was my favorite age! I like to create an environment where she thought that she was going where she wanted but I had everything hidden. I found for hard floors the mats at Sams that connect like puzzle pieces and make the floor soft and then used the safety covers I found at one step ahead to prevent her from hurting herself.
onestepahead.com has TONS of gates. Haven't ever used that particular kind of gate but the more confined space can actually be pretty reassuring for them even if it is a bit less exciting!
I have a home day care and use a plastic fense for my children. The younger ones will cry because they want to run free but have to get used to it. We eat in the kitchen and do activities there and watch some tv in the living room but I do not want them all over. I have to be able to cook without someone at my feet and bathroom needs I know they are safe. So I highly recommend this fencing. I do not have it hooked on one end but tucked behind a couple of furnishings and they can not get out. One it is a noisy entertaining deal that you can just take out the batteries. It also has suctions on it for the floor. I have it on carpet and they shake it and it is strong. I tried a gate but my hallways are too wide. They will play in there for a long time independently. I have tons of toys and child couches and they like it. Music on at times to dance and play. The little ones always want you go be close. But I really want them safe and cords around are not safe. So look into Leaps and Bounds and it is bright red and yellow and blue and a blessing to me. Before I had a child run down my hall turn around and run over her brother that was right behind her. She hurt his foot. Now they do not get to run around the house and can not try to answer the door when I am in the bathroom. G. W
Just FYI that if you use the Superyard, it is meant to be used on carpet. If used on non-carpeted floors, it will just slide around. If you go with the Superyard, you can put in a foam mat underneath. Our foam mats had ABCs on them.
Onestepahead.com has the cutest plastic play-yards with built in toys. Or, as someone mentioned, you can also use regular plastic or wire gates that form an play yard over carpet from pet stores. I've used both. My mother raises dogs and had the wire fence panel instead of plastic yard-so we used it. It was fine although a bit noisier and lightweight so a wire one moves around if bumped...
My daughter began crawling at 5 months, pulling up at 6 months, climbing at 7 months and was walking at 8 months. At 9 months she could run and climb. I so wish she'd just been crawling at 9 months-I simply couldn't turn my back on her. I prayed that my second wouldn't be as fast to hit her milestones but my second was only a month behind my first on everything. Just nuts! Enjoy that crawling phase !!!!
I don't know how I would have gotten by without our Superyard from Babies R Us. I used a BRU coupon, but it might be cheaper somewhere else. My daughter was able to climb out of it at about 18 months, but as long as she is entertained, she will stay in. We added an extension to give her more space.
Those gates or fences are great. You can make sure they stay confined, indoors or out. I heard it costs less to get them at Burlington Coat Factory's Baby Depot than at Babies R Us. They are also good to put around your Christmas tree to keep baby out.
