Where to let her crawl????

[Kirsten~]

I think this is the right forum for this question, but feel free to move if need be.

So my LOs is not yet crawling, but I expect that she will in the next 2 months or so, and I want to prepared when she starts (esp if I need to order something online). Here's my issue: I don't know where to let her crawl in our house! The upstairs is fine...it's carpeted and the dogs aren't allowed up there (we have a door at the top of the stairs to keep them out unless they are being monitored). But downstairs is all tile and hardwood floors, and we have 2 German Shepherds, who are technically still puppies (11 mos old), so they are pretty playful. So not only is there nowhere soft for her to crawl, but I have to contend with the dogs, and despite all my attempts to avoid it, clumps of dog hair and just other crap on the floor. Now, the dogs are well trained, and DH and I very good control over them, but they are still large dogs. I know I will want/need to be able to put DD down to crawl while I'm cooking or doing other things, and I simply don't know where or how when I'm downstairs.

We do have a baby gate, and I could contain her to a room, like the kitchen, and the dogs elsewhere, but I still think crawling on the tile floor is not going to very fun/good/easy for her. I'm envisioning her banging her chin every time her knees slip.

Anyone have similar experiences or have ideas for some kind of sticky mat that I could put down on the floor for her?

[cuckoochick]

Hmmm so I don't really have your problem as my whole house (except kitchen and bathrooms is carpeted) nor do we have dogs but I know lots of people who have hardwood floors and their babies crawl and learned to work on them fine. It was kinda funny when I took my DD to their house and she'd be sliding all over but for them I guess it was the norm.

Saying all that- I know a few people who use these foam playmats:
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Toys-R-Us/Learning/Numbers-and-Letters/12-Foam-Alphabet-and-Numbers-Playmat(0079147)?cm_mmc=Feed-_-Google%20Base-_-N%2FA-_-12%22%20Foam%20Alphabet%20and%20Numbers%20Playmat

Mind you once she's crawling she'd likely be off them anyway! So I think you just have to make your downstairs environment as safe as possible- using gates to block of stairs/unsafe area/possibly to separate her from the dogs and  removing any hazards that she's likely to pull down when pulling up/getting little fingers trapped. I've always taken C into the kitchen with me when I was cooking and if it was anything really hazardous then she'd be in her highchair bashing spoons and pans etc.

I have no experience regarding dogs as have never owned one, but I kinda think she has to learn to live around them and they her, but this is coming from me who knows nothing at all about dogs so feel free to completely disregard that!!!
Enjoy this phase when it comes. C didn't crawl for ages but it was soooo much fun when she did!

[RunsForSanity]

Perhaps the better question is where CAN'T she crawl? 

Why try to contain her? Just make sure that she can't fall down the stairs (duh...). Carpet and hardwood and tile are all fine. No carpet burns on the knees is def a plus for hardwood/tile if it's too hot for pants. If you see her struggling for traction, try putting some gel fabric paint on the knees of old pants or on your old socks wrapped around her knees so she'll stick to the tile better.

The dogs may be a little curious in the beginning (we have an 80# pup as well) but after the newness has worn off, they'll probably largely ignore her. She'll probably get a face wash or a million and get knocked over a few times but that's just part of the process. She'll pay them back with plenty of ear pulls. 

The dog hair and whatnot is unavoidable. Being in less than sterile environments has actually been shown to improve overall immune systems of kiddos.

She will bang her chin, face, butt, head, arms, legs, etc. while she's learning to crawl and, worse, while she's learning to walk. It's just part of the process.

[Kirsten~]

Carpet and hardwood and tile are all fine.

Really?? I guess I was expecting this to be really hard or dangerous. But I like your idea of the gel fabric paint if need be, but if the house is warm enough, she can just crawl around without pants covering her knees. I'm glad to know your friends' kids have all adapted to crawling on hardwood floor and tile. That makes me feel SO much better.

Yeah, I will say, we've had her in her bouncy seat on the floor and let everyone check each other out many times. And the dogs have just sniffed and licked her (and there's been the occasional drive-by licking).

 

The dog hair and whatnot is unavoidable. Being in less than sterile environments has actually been shown to improve overall immune systems of kiddos.

I know this, and yet it still freaks me out! I've heard many stories of kids eating the dog food, etc, but it still weirds me out. I guess I'll get used to it once it starts with her. We also live on a farm with cows, goats, etc, so this kid will get used to all sorts of crazy and gross stuff!

Thanks ladies! This makes me feel so much better that she'll be ok on the hard surfaces!

[skatty]

We only had one GSD who was around 2 when my dd was a baby. We have laminate floor throughout and she learned to crawl just fine and her and the dog are best buddies, in fact our dog has always been very maternal towards dd who is now almost 6. I gated the kitchen and the living room and my dog learned to jump it because actually it was her that would want a break from my crawling dd!. There is always loads of hair, we sweep/hoover the floors regularly but our house has never been clinically sterile. When dd first started crawling if she was only in a nappy we used baby leg warmers but after a while it didn't matter 

[creations]

I don't have a dog but I do have hard floors.  Wooden floors mostly downstairs (and a rug in part of the living room) and vinyl flooring in the kitchen. Although they get more traction with bare knees on the hard floor I wouldn't leave her bare kneed all the time as they can get sore knees.  Trousers or leg warmers help protect their knees for at least part of the time.  If you notice her toe nails suffering fro the hard floors a pair of socks can help protect them (their nails get quite a bashing at the crawling stage if they are bare foot on hard floor all the time).
With things like the dogs water and food if you begin from day one saying 'leave it' every time she goes to touch it she will learn very quickly that she mustn't play with or eat the food.  Just saying it in a firm tone (like you would with dog training) will have a good effect, she'll know the tone in your voice is a warning, if she goes in a second time physically stop her touching it and repeat 'leave it' and a third time remove her, lift her a couple of feet away and distract with a different item.  She will likely keep going back over some weeks but consistency will eventually stop her messing with their food.

When it comes time for cruising and walking you'd want her bare footed as socks cause lots of slip accidents.  Or if it is cold then socks with those very soft suede leather shoes which don't hinder balance or growth.

[Kirsten~]

We only had one GSD who was around 2 when my dd was a baby. We have laminate floor throughout and she learned to crawl just fine and her and the dog are best buddies, in fact our dog has always been very maternal towards dd who is now almost 6.

Thanks! I am really expecting ours (esp the boy pup) to sort of adopt her. He is a totally loyal pack dog, so I think he'll be protective/maternal of her. Our girl pup is just more independent and likes to her own thing, but I am glad to hear the hard floors plus puppy worked for you too! I guess I'll just have to see how it goes when she starts.

And thanks for the leg warmers tip! That's a great idea to avoid bruised up knees. I'll look around for some here.

 

With things like the dogs water and food if you begin from day one saying 'leave it' every time she goes to touch it she will learn very quickly that she mustn't play with or eat the food.

This cracked me up since it's the same command we use for the dogs. Too funny to give them both the same direction for different things (they get "leave it" when they go near baby toys). But it's a good point, and I'll just have to put up some baby gates to keep her somewhat in my field of vision so I can keep somewhat of an eye on her.

[koe2moe]

I am not saying that you should shelter her from the floor or the dogs but if you would be more comfortable to be able to have control of whereabout she is, over here, people like to have a playpen which is wooden, it is more square or even round which usually comes with a thin pad.  Just a suggestion.  Crawling on our laminate floor was never a problem perhaps because DS wasnt much of a crawler.  He wanted to stand very early on, probably too early.  He took first step at 11mo.  He had a few accidents bumping on his face and such but no biggie and he has learned some facts of life.  No pets here, though.  HTH

[skatty]

I think the great things about GSD is that they are very intelligent and easy to train and as a bonus love kids so I think as they grow up with dd it should all work out, the best thing of all is to have somewhere the dogs can go when they don't feel like playing 24/7!!

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I used baby gates when the kids were little (well I guess I still do, but since the kids can open them they are more for the dogs!) to keep them in one area of the house and to separate them from the dog if I wasn't right there.  They both learned to crawl on laminate or hardwood floors and never got bruised or sore knees. 

[CCCmom27]

With things like the dogs water and food if you begin from day one saying 'leave it' every time she goes to touch it she will learn very quickly that she mustn't play with or eat the food.

This worked well with DS1 but not so well with DS2.  He still tries to play in the water dish! 

[Katet]

my 2 were crawling outside on the concrete & we only have hardwood or slate floors in most of our house where they crawled & it isn't cause an issue. We don't have dogs but many people we know do & they all get through it.

[~*Nicole*~]

My answer is...anywhere! (cept stairs, etc. obviously!) We have carpets, hardwoods, and tiles and my two kids did fine on all of the different textures. I let them crawl on the deck and concrete sidewalk outside as well. We had two dogs when DD was young....but have since adopted them out so DS never knew them...now we have a cat. But anyway....BOTH kids had an OBSESSION with eating their food! Hair and all of that nonsense was clearly around the house no matter how well we vacuumed or swept, etc. and neither kid had any animal allergies THANK GOODNESS and I was always one to want them to be exposed to as much "normal" and natural dirt as possible so they would build up a strong immune system. But I am the opposite of a germ phobic person.

With things like the dogs water and food if you begin from day one saying 'leave it' every time she goes to touch it she will learn very quickly that she mustn't play with or eat the food.  Just saying it in a firm tone (like you would with dog training) will have a good effect, she'll know the tone in your voice is a warning, if she goes in a second time physically stop her touching it and repeat 'leave it' and a third time remove her, lift her a couple of feet away and distract with a different item.  She will likely keep going back over some weeks but consistency will eventually stop her messing with their food.

If you have my little spirited kids...you will eventually just relocate the food b/c the sheer determination to get past me and disregard my stern warnings of not eating the food eventually just got on my last nerves. It was like my wanting them to not eat it fueled them to only want to eat it more. MMmmmmmm kibble. ICK. DS was even CLIMBING on top of things to reach the cat's food dish to eat it. I had to put it up somewhere out of his line of sight! Poor cat.

[~Carly~]

Hi Kirsten   I didn't read all the pp, so I might be repeating some of what has already been said. 

When Jack was born, we had a German Shepard/chow mix and lived in a house that was entirely wood floors and tile.  I never gated anything off, I just tried to guide him.  As far as the dog hair went, it seems like I could never keep it off him.  I used to put him in babylegs and socks because pants seemed to get twisted up, and I could always take the BLs off and switch them.  I also kept a lint roller in the car, and used it on him sometimes LOL

The thing that helped me the most was that I created stations for him.  There was a whole cabinet in the kitchen with things that were interesting- spatula, colander, small pot and lid, etc.  In the living room, I had a basket of stuff.  If I kept it fresh,  he would spend more time there than eating dog food.  (Which he did, once, but took a baked sweet potato fry in exchange.)

[creations]

you will eventually just relocate the food

Oh yes that would work too

The thing that helped me the most was that I created stations for him.  There was a whole cabinet in the kitchen with things that were interesting- spatula, colander, small pot and lid, etc.

I didn't have enough cupboards to give one over to DS, instead I created a box for him, same idea though.  It's a good time to introduce those kitchen items if you haven't already and can eventually build up to play and real cooking activities.

Amazon have some great packs of baby leg warmers which work out super cheap although you don't get to choose the patterns and colours like you would if you bought seperates.