I had a flashback yesterday when I was wheeling a squealing, clapping 11-and-3/4 month-old down our winter ravaged street. I was thinking about the first time I ever took her out in the same stroller. It was a mercifully warm day halfway through April. After 4 straight days of taking approximately 5 minutes to sit down on any kind of surface, I could finally make it up and down enough to go outside. Also, I was carrying about 30 extra pounds that I was determined to walk off in a week.
As I wheeled the stroller down the street for its maiden voyage, I carefully avoided every crack and twig. I painstakingly eased the wheels over the curbs, terrified that the slightest bump would permanently dislodge her brainstem. It took me twenty minutes to go 4 blocks.
Now, we treat the same stroller like a little ATV. Running over cracks in the sidewalk and through puddles just makes her laugh harder. Maybe it's all the early, first-baby paranoia, but her sheer durability continues to amaze us. Granted, we've managed to avoid any Britney Spears-type mishandlings, but still, it feels like yesterday that I couldn't stomach the idea of leaving her alone within 20 yards of our cat. Now look at them.
As far as the child proofing goes, it's astounding how much money one can save when you just use whatever's around the house. We spent the dough on plastic outlet covers and a couple of zip-tie cabinet locks, but I drew the line at some things: 
For now, we just put her now-outgrown carseats in the opening between what we call the "green zone" (the living room) and the "triangle of terror" (at least for us) that is the bathroom, kitchen and Daddy's Big Room of Chemicals. I was going out of my mind trying to find a way to block off the cat box until I realized that if I just put the cooler in the way then I could also have a convenient step stool for the cabinet.
So there you have it. Parenting advice that you won't read in any of the magazines. I know I wish someone had just told me to relax and not stress about buying every last little thing on the official "baby-proofing" list.
Of course, check back with me in a couple of weeks after Chloe's actually started walking upright.
