[csw]

When I was in Antigua, fostering..I asked my husband to start child proofing..he didn't do one thing the whole time I was gone..ugh..

She wasn't sleeping well at all..and my mother would come over for 2 hours and instead of being able to sleep I would have to childproof. I didn't have time to do it ahead of time, working up to 90 hours a week to pay for the adoption and..going to Guatemala 4x in 9.5 months etc..

He said we didn't need to cover the outlets, didn't see why we needed cabinet locks etc..this coming from a Dad with a son with severe ADHD who had 3 broken arms by age 7 and tried to climb up his dressor as a toddler and it toppled over and almost killed him..you think he would understand why I bought the furniture bolts for the nursery bookcase and dresser..

Anyways..I got everything done I could. Luckily, our daughter is 10 million times better than our son at not getting into everything she see's..she is very active..but has never tried to pull anything off the shelves in the garage etc..good thing..I put all the garage stuff in a locked cabinet out there and my husband not only doesn't remember to lock it..he leaves the anti freeze, motor oil etc..right on the garage floor where she can get to it...with a Masters Degree in Engineering..you would think he could understand the connection and not do it..
Also when he brings groceries in he puts the household cleaners on the floor in the laundry room..when I have told him a million times to store it on top of the dryer or freezer in there..he always leaves it on the floor..
I also have a teenager, so between my husband and teenage son I am lucky Ana hasn't gotten into any trouble yet..I am still very diligent about not leaving things around etc..
One thing alot of people forget..is don't leave a bucket outside with water in it..and always store them upside down so no rain water will get in..toddlers are very top heavy and some have drowned from falling into buckets of water not even that deep..

Also..don't let them near the dishwasher powdered soap..one toddler stuck his wet finger in the dispenser then licked it and got 3rd degree burns in his esophagus..and make sure all the knives point down..another incident I heard of where the sharp knives were pointing up and the toddler fell right onto one..

Remember a baby gate at the top of the steps has to be a screw in kind..not one that is tension mounted..

Always know where your child is before you back up your vehicle..we just had an incident close by where a 18 month old boy was killed by his dads SUV..though in this case he thought the boy was inside with the mother and was pulling his vehicle forward in the driveway and ran him over..

It can be overwhelming..just do one thing at a time..don't panic and it will be fine!