Parent Proofing

I often wonder how much easier life would be with only one kid.  That isn't to say that I only want one kid.  I love both of my girls and can't imagine my life without them.  It's like twice the cuteness all the time.

But we also have twice the babies which can also be twice the trouble.  It's also at times impossible to keep an eye on both kids.  They are almost totally independent at this point.  This forced a need to start baby-proofing the house.

We installed padding on the edge of the fire place.  Sure it keeps them from busting their heads, but Ana has decided she would rather pull the padding off and try to eat it.  Something new to worry about.

We now have gates on the stairs, so the girls can roam all over the place without fear of a huge fall.  Not a moment too soon since Erin actually accompanied Ana today as she crawled up the stairs.  It's good for them to familiarize themselves with climbing up (and more importantly back down), but I don't think I'm quite ready to allow them free rein.  So we now have a gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep them from crawling up and a gate at the top of the stairs to keep them from falling down.

I also installed the cabinet guards to keep them from getting into trouble under the sink or with the pots and pans.  We don't want them breaking things or hurting themselves.

Have you ever noticed that more often than not these baby-proofing items are just a source of frustration for parents?  I mean I'm all for keeping our girls safe, but it is pretty damn annoying pushing down on those stupid latches any time I want cook something.  And do you know how hard it is to work one of those gates when you're trying to hold twins?  Such a pain in the ass.

We pay for the safety of our girls with constant annoyance.  I guess it's a fair trade off.