1. Your Family Pharmacy
Stock your medicine cabinet before your baby comes home. You’ll want to be prepared for the common ailments infants and toddlers encounter -- without the panicky trek to the 24 hour drug store. Important items to include in your infant infirmary: a digital thermometer, Infants' non-aspirin liquid pain reliever (acetaminophen and ibuprofen), infant gas relief drops, aspirator bulb syringe (used to draw mucus out of a stuffy nose), children’s nail clippers, tweezers, topical hydrocortisone cream (1/2 percent), antibacterial ointment or cream, child-safe sunscreen, child-safe insect repellent and plenty of adhesive bandage strips in various sizes and shapes (and designs!) as your child gets older. Before giving any medicine (even those sold over the counter) to a baby that is sick or feeling lousy, take precautions. When giving any medication to a child under 6 years of age (internal or topically), be sure to get the pre-approval of your pediatrician.
2. Socket Safety
You’ve got the power, and the outlets to prove it! Modern rooms often contain 8 or more outlets -- all too ready for a curious toddler to explore. Mobile babies love to practice putting objects into things; and to their eyes, an outlet looks like the perfect place for a small toy. Two words: Outlet covers. They’re small, very inexpensive and easy to install. [An outlet cover is a small plastic plug that fits into an outlet receptacle and blocks a young child from inserting object(s) into the outlet.] The plugs come in clear or white and cover both 2 and 3 prong outlets. Socket covers provide safety and peace of mind when installed and maintained in your home.
3. Doctor, Doctor…
If you haven’t already, during the last few months of pregnancy, you should choose your baby’s pediatrician. Throw out the phone book, and instead, talk to your friends and neighbors. Find out if they like -- or don’t like -- their pediatrician, and ask them for the reasons why. Start a short list of potential pediatricians for your baby. Take plenty of time to make calls and arrange “interviews” with the finalists’ offices. Get a feel for how you will be treated once you’re a patient. Your comfort level with your baby’s pediatrician is immensely important. As a new parent, you will have more questions than you can imagine; and your pediatrician will be the most logical, reliable and safe place to them, no matter how trivial they may seem.
4. Scrub-a-Dub Safety, Baby in the Tub 
Newborns need not be bathed daily; but they will need to be washed, and the thought of a tiny infant in a large tub can be intimidating. Small, portable baby bath tubs are a perfect way to bathe baby’s precious little fingers and toes safely. As your wee one grows and graduates to the big kid tub, have a bath seat ready for added security. A wet, soapy baby is incredibly slippery and a bath seat creates a stable, safe and fun place to get her clean while she plays. Pay attention to water temperature! A floating bath thermometer can show you when the water is too hot (or cold), and they typically come in cute animal shapes… as do tub spout faucet protectors. Protecting your child’s head from the potentially sharp edges of the tub faucet with an animal motif overlay will ease your scrubbing stresses. The most imperative tub safety tip? Stay with your child while they are bathing; clean them, play with them and make bath time both fun and safe.
5. Don’t Turn a Blind Eye!
Before you have your baby, walk through the house and wrap up any/all window blind cords. Keeping the cords wrapped up out of reach will help create a safe environment for your child. From the baby that simply wants to play with string, to the hide-and-seek playing “big kid,” window blind cord wrap-ups pull the excess cord onto a disk -- eliminating the excess cord from dangling down, and eliminating the accidental strangulation danger.
6. Locks and Latches
As you try to make dinner, you will discover your mobile baby needs to be protected from possible kitchen-based accidents. Kitchens and bathrooms are a toddler treasure chest of cabinets and drawers to investigate, empty and climb into. Cabinet and drawer locks help you choose which cabinets your baby may explore and which ones are best left only to you. Consider arranging one easily accessed cabinet full of plastic cups, bowls and spoons just for baby or toddler. On the other cabinets, install locks. Cabinet and drawer locks come in many shapes and sizes with the common goal of keeping curious hands out of potentially dangerous places.
7. Potty Protection 
Keeping the lid down on your toilet might stop some children, but curiosity typically wins. The lid opens and in goes a pacifier, cell phone, Lego or even worse, your favorite hairbrush. The water swirls, the toy spins your child smiles and laughs with glee. In that moment of panic you quickly retrieve, and toss, the item out, hop in the car, and head off to buy a toilet lid lock*. Toilet lid locks are simple and easy to use. They fit over the lid, seat and bowl to secure the lid, requiring the strength of an adult hand to open. Your child is off to find another fun place to play.
[*Humor aside, sunken items are replaceable; your baby is not. Take no risks.]
8. Softening the Blow
In the first few months of life, your largely immobile baby spends most of her time in one place. You can place her on an activity mat in the center of the room and walk into the next room to get a cup of coffee safely. As time goes on, mobility changes everything. Your baby starts to roll over and can eventually roll all over the room -- followed soon thereafter by crawling and pulling up on furniture. Tables can become a hazard if they have sharp, hard corners or uneven surfaces. Table edge bumpers can save your little wanderer’s cheek, chin or head from hitting a hard or sharp corner and potentially being cut. The spongy bumpers easily adhere onto tables’ edges, reducing the risk of injury when your stumbling baby tries to gain his balance while learning to walk.
9. First Aid Kit
A well-stocked first aid kit will come in handy as your child grows and becomes more adventurous. Keep fun child size ice packs in the freezer for calming a bumped head or bruised knee. An assortment of bandages designed with your child’s favorite character or theme help make boo-boos stay clean and feel better so she can continue to play. Sterile pads, cotton balls and gauze can be kept in a kit with antibacterial ointment or cream, alcohol pads and hand sanitizer. Include rounded-tip scissors, adhesive tape and tweezers to complete your one-stop first aid solution.
10. Safe Supplies
Children love to be helpful, and hopefully yours will take every opportunity to make you happy. When they see you cleaning the house, they want to help. Dusting and wiping furniture with a paper towel helps them to feel like they are contributing. The infatuation with cleaning makes safe product selection imperative. Cleaning supplies must be kept out of reach from small, helpful hands. Mopping with a bucket of water can be a recipe for disaster; they play in the water, dump it to “help,” or even worse, fall in the bucket. Avoid all three by keeping it close to you or mopping while they nap, it will go much faster and keep your little helper safe.
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