Safety First
My little grandson Logan is almost two now, but back when he was just a few months old I offered to watch him one day a week to save the kids a little money on daycare. And yeah, as terrifying as it was to do baby care after SO many years, I also loved the idea of having that little guy to myself for all those hours. It was heavenly. And honestly my "Logan Tuesdays" are the most exhausting but FUN days I've had in years!
When Logan was just a few months old it was pretty easy. I bought a great portable playpen with an adjustable mattress height, changing station and diaper caddy all built in. Logan loved it and except for a stack of about a million burp cloths I was good to go.
One little gem that upped my grandma game from the get go was the purchase of a baby cam. These gadgets are so cool, allowing you to make sure your little cutie is sleeping soundly. I'm highlighting this particular model because both of my daughters have rated it very highly as a portable cam. The unit has two-way audio, works with Alexa and Google Assistant, and sends notifications to your phone when your kiddo is wiggly. A real plus is the night vision feature, allowing you to see clearly even in a VERY dark room! And to think I used to have to hover around near the room my babies slept in so I could hear them start to wail when they woke up.
But Logan didn't stay teeny for very long, and safety became more of a focus. It was important to make sure the space we play in is safe. And as Logan grew into a more mobile kiddo, the adventure began. A crawling, and eventually walking, baby requires a whole lot of general safety proofing! Why the heck did I put all those breakable doodads on every table??!
And so I'm discovering all the many wonderful safety products on the market today. I've learned a great deal from watching my grown up daughters do the mama thing, and I'm continually amazed at all the new safety gadgets they have now.
I like this nifty piece of equipment, inexpensive but SO useful! Just pop these corner guards on and you'll worry less about those sharp edges. And geez, I'd forgotten how many times a new walker (or furniture cruiser) can fall in a short time. That balance thing is tricky!
And of course there are the basic plug caps, so necessary to keep curious little hands from sticking something into an electrical socket. Sheesh.
Here's a very important piece of safety equipment to keep close by, not only for littles who are still learning the chew and swallow thing, but for older kids and adults as well. Many of us were told years ago that the most effective procedure for saving the life of a choking person was to use the Heimlich maneuver, involving a grab and quick squeeze of the persons upper torso area. But in that awful moment when you realize you have a choking situation, it can be difficult to perfom the procedure effectively. And so, voila! Someone smart invented the LifeVac. Simple to use, this device is placed over the nose and mouth of the choking person and by pumping the handle a vacuum is created and the food is dislodged. No, I haven't had to use the LifeVac myself and I honestly hope I never have to! But the many positive reviews (and the video of the choking child!!) thoroughly convinced me that I needed to keep a kit handy.
I found this on Facebook the other day and I love it! The idea is to toss your one-time-use fire spray cannister away and swap it for a multi-use fire blanket. The videos show you how to use it, so easy, and I love the idea of a no mess cleanup! I originally shopped the Prepared Hero, but here's a similar fire blanket for less.
Hey take a look at these! These Kasa smart plugs allow you to turn anything you plug in to them off and on with an app. Accidentally leave the Christmas tree lights on and you're out running errands? No problem! Just jump on the app and turn them off. Also works with Alexa and Google Voice. Nifty!
