It is not too early to start making your home safer for both you and your baby. You are right to recognize that you have several months before your baby becomes mobile enough to get into a lot of trouble, but here are several issues you may want to address right away.
The Basics: Be sure you have smoke detectors with fresh batteries in each bedroom, in the adjacent hallway and on each level of your home. Consider obtaining a Carbon Monoxide (CO) monitor as babies, due to their high metabolism, are more susceptible to CO poisoning. And do not overlook the importance of having a fire extinguisher mounted to the wall on each level of your home.
Do It Now: Evaluate your furniture and securely brace to the wall anything that may topple in an earthquake. Do not overlook dressers and shelves that your toddler may attempt to climb a year or so from now. Check your water heater temperature setting to ensure it is as low as possible and not greater than 120 degrees. Finally, make sure your throw rugs have fresh grips beneath them. Otherwise, a grandparent or babysitter may slip and fall while carrying your baby.
Sooner Rather Than Later: Technically, you probably do not have to address the safety hazards hidden in your cabinets until your baby is mobile. However, if you latch your “dangerous” cabinets prior to your child exploring them, you can use a lower cost and more adult-friendly latch. Latches installed after a child has explored the cabinets need to be much more sophisticated in order to be effective.
Stay tuned for more safety tips for toddlers beyond the getting on your hands and knees and crawling around technique.