In the first year of life with a baby, it feels as though you get an entirely new child about every 3 months, at least in terms of all the things that they are able to do! There have been several “game changers” in the last 11 months for Darah, but none of them have been more radical than when she started crawling. We thought that she had us on our toes before, but we had no idea how life was about to change! We had to figure out how to baby proof, and fast.

Once Darah finally got the hang of crawling, she started zooming all over the house. I imagine that she’s checking out all the places that she’s had her eyes on for months. It must be so amazing to FINALLY be able to get to whatever it is you want to see/touch/taste/slobber on.

We had done some baby proofing here and there over the past few months, but only once Darah started crawling did we realize the full extent of our baby-proofing needs. Suddenly, the house has become one huge danger zone, with sharp corners, wobbly objects and off-limits substances EVERYWHERE. It is unbelievable.

We inherited some baby-proofing products from relatives, but we also needed to get some ourselves. First, let me just say that getting “the good stuff” in the world of baby-proofing isn’t cheap. But you don’t want to go too cheap on the very items that are supposed to keep your baby safe, right? Second, everything related to baby-proofing is U-G-L-Y. It’s all white and plastic. This works for our white buffet table in the dining room, but that’s it. All the other baby-proofing items look awful.

Fortunately, a company called Rhoost is working on this problem! I had the opportunity to try out the edge, which is a screw and adhesive free way to round out those sharp corner (and believe me, you have no idea how many sharp corners are in your house until you have a little one toddling around!). We find this product to be effective without looking terrible. In fact, we don’t really notice it too much, at all, which is ideal. I really like the fact that it is easy (for adults) to take on and off…this makes it easy to take with you when you are traveling to places that might not be baby-proofed!

Rhoost also makes a really cool product called the sling, which keeps those cabinet doors shut tight. It comes in black or brown, which will compliment most cabinet colors. Great idea, Rhoost! I definitely want to get a set for our kitchen cabinets.

Buy It!: The Edge retails for $14.99 for a set of 4, and the Sling retails for $9.99 for a set of 4. The prices are fair and the way they look is oh-so-nice. They can be purchased on Amazon.

Win It!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to get a 4 pack of the Sling! All right! The contest will run until July 11th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be drawn using Random.org. The winner will be emailed (be sure to have your email address in your profile or leave it in the comment) and will have 48 hours to respond before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is drawn. Limit one entrant per household, please. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me one item that needs to be baby-proofed in your home.

Additional entries:
1. Subscribe to my blog via email, RSS or Google friend connect (only one extra entry, even if you subscribe multiple ways).
2. Subscribe to the Rhoost blog
3. Follow me on Twitter
4. Follow Rhoost on Twitter
5. “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
6. If you have a blog, add my button to your blog roll, and send me a link so that I can see it.

Be sure to check out my other current giveaways (listed on the sidebar of my homepage).

Disclosure: I received a product sample in order to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This post may contain affiliate links at no cost to you.