Preparing for your new baby is an exciting time in your life. Besides setting up your baby’s room, there are plenty of things to be done for babyproofing your house. Fortunately, you have your household staff to help prepare your home and assist in ensuring your home is ready for the new family member.

The first thing you will want to do is identify potential baby safety issues in your home. It is a good idea to do a walkthrough with your housekeeper, personal assistant, or household manager to determine what tasks need to be completed.

As you do the walkthrough, ask yourself what things will be in your baby’s reach. It is essential to remember, even though your newborn will not be moving around much, it will not be that long before they are pulling themselves up by holding onto furniture and discovering new freedom when they start crawling.

Items to include on your walkthrough inspection list for your household staff to complete should include:

1. Install outlet covers on all electrical sockets in the home. Outlet covers slide into electrical outlets and prevent babies from sticking objects or their fingers into the outlet openings.

2. Verify your water heater is set to 120 degrees. As your baby becomes mobile, they will also become fascinated with water. So, you need to make sure if they turn on the hot water, they do not scald themselves.

3. Label and cleaning products and chemicals and store them in a secure location. Have your household staff verify every cleaning or chemical product is properly labeled. Never store these items under sinks or in cabinets your baby could access. Lock them in a cabinet or storage closet instead.

4. Install baby gates around stairs. There are different types of baby gates depending on your staircases. You want ones that are secured to the wall or floor and which cannot easily be opened by your baby.

5. Install cabinet and drawer locks. Have your household staff install cabinet and drawer locks to keep your baby out of them.

6. Replace corded blinds with ones without cords. If you have corded blinds where the cords are easily accessible, you will want to replace these with blinds without cords. Alternatively, you can have your staff install cord holders that secure the cords higher up the window frames and out of baby’s reach.

7. Install baby bumpers on sharp corners. Countertop corners and furniture corners can be a danger to your baby if they fall or run into them. Babyproofing corners with padded baby bumpers won’t necessarily stop your baby from running or falling into them. However, even though they might end up with a bruise, they won’t be seriously injured.

8. Secure dressers and other furniture to the wall. One of the more common household baby accidents is falling furniture. The baby opens the drawers and pulls on them to stand up, and the furniture falls over. Take the time to have your staff secure every piece of furniture to the wall so your baby is not injured.

9. Upgrade your stove to one with locks. Newer stoves and cooktops have a lock-out feature that prevents buttons and knobs from being pushed and turned when it is locked.

10. Make sure all electrical cords and cables are out of baby’s reach. You don’t want your baby pulling on electrical cords or cables. When they pull on them, they could accidentally cause the object to which they are attached to fall over. For cords that you cannot conceal behind furniture, use babyproofing cord covers.

11. Secure TVs to entertainment stands or mount them on the wall. TVs are another type of object that babies can easily pull over onto themselves. Even though TVs don’t weigh that much these days, they can still injure your baby if one falls on them.

12. Install deadbolts at the top of doors. As your baby grows, they will be able to reach door handles and door locks. Make sure your entry doors, the basement door, garage access door, and so on, are secured with an additional deadbolt out of their reach.

13. Install window guards on windows you open. Screened windows won’t keep your baby safe, and they can easily fall out of open windows. Window guards allow your baby to safely look outdoors and enjoy the fresh air.

14. Install porch, patio, and deck guards. If you have an elevated porch, patio, or deck, you will want to install these types of guards around the exterior on the inside. They work similarly to window guards and create a barrier to stop your baby from getting stuck or falling through openings. If you have stairs, don’t forget to install a baby gate too.

15. Install toilet lid locks and locking bidet covers. You don’t want your baby playing in the toilet and bidet water. Not to mention, they could flush all sorts of objects down the toilet and clog up your plumbing.

16. Install a door chime/alarm on any doors that access your pool. You may already have these installed if your insurance company requires them. If you don’t, you will want to get them installed. They will sound whenever the doors are opened and can alert you or your staff if your baby tries to go out by the pool.

17. Install security cameras for easy baby monitoring. There are different types of cameras you can install in key locations to check on your baby from just about any device, from anywhere you might be, as long as you have internet access.

18. Don’t use blankets, pillows, or crib bumpers in the crib. Your newborn won’t need these things to sleep in their crib. They are a risk, as your baby can get tangled up in them.

19. Make sure USB outlets are covered. USB outlets are newer types of electrical outlets many people have had installed in their homes in recent years. If you have USB outlets, make sure the opening is covered so your baby cannot stick their fingers into it.

20. Install locks on medicine cabinets. You want to make sure vitamins, nutritional supplements, over-the-counter drugs, and prescription medications are not accessible by your baby at any time.

21. Create a baby-safe play area in your home using portable playpens. When you want time to relax for a moment or your nanny is taking care of preparing meals for your baby, you will want a safe area to keep them in, and playpens are perfect.

22. Put away tablecloths and table runners. If your baby can reach tablecloths and table runners, they will pull on them. Anything on top of the table could be pulled off and onto them. Have your staff put them up until your baby is older.

23. Make sure office supplies, letter openers, pens, pencils, and other items are out of reach. Don’t forget to go through your home office and other areas of the home where you use these items. You want to make sure they are put up high on a shelf or another secure location like locked inside your desk drawer, so your baby cannot access them.

24. Start interviewing and hire a Newborn Care Specialist (NCS) nanny. Now is the perfect time while babyproofing your house, to contact a domestic staffing agency and hire a Newborn Care Specialist (NCS)/Baby Nurse. Your new NCS can oversee and assist with babyproofing tasks and ensure they are all completed for when you bring your new baby home. Plus, they will be there to help you with all aspects of newborn care and allow you to catch up on much-needed rest.

Better Safe than Sorry

By taking the time to babyproof your home before you deliver your baby, your home will be safer and more secure for your newborn. To find a NCS, postpartum doula specialist, nanny, housekeeper, butler, personal assistant, private chef, or other staff for your household needs, contact Staffing at Tiffanie’s at 866-484-5550 today!