What Can Your 10 Month Old Do in 2.5 Minutes?

This is what mine can do:

That used to be a perfectly good chest. It was from Ikea, but it worked and it looked nice in his room. That top drawer had a front. All of the drawers slid in and out properly (the bottom one won't even close now). It wasn't cracked at the top like it is now. 


Here's what happened and why you should never leave your my 10 month old alone unless he's in a crib he can't climb out of. I had just changed Jaxon's diaper and left him playing in his room while I went to the bathroom. Two of the older kids were still eating lunch (the other was in the schoolroom). They had been being very silly at the table. I had just sat down on the toilet when I heard a crash. I yelled out "What was that?" No answer. I come out of the bathroom and checked on the two at the table while simultaneously looking down the hallway into Jaxon's room. Everything seemed okay in both rooms, except two of Jaxon's toy bins were pulled out. The toy bins are full of rattles and I figured the crash I heard was Jaxon pulling them out. I told the still silly kids to finish up their lunch and went to make sure Jaxon wasn't pulling all the cloth diapers off the changing table. 

When I walked into his room, I could not believe what I saw. The chest was on the floor. Jaxon was sitting there, perfectly okay, and happily munching on the cords of his lamp and his baby monitor, which are normally on top of that chest. The kid loves electrical cords. He had somehow managed, with all his 21 pounds, to pull the chest over, without it winding up on top of him. He had everything from the top of the chest around him, and socks were everywhere (that's what the top drawer normally holds). 

The picture above was also on top of the chest. The frame apparently hit the floor so hard that it shattered into 4 different pieces when it fell. Somehow the glass didn't break. You can see his monitor and lamp in the background. The front of the top drawer is there underneath all those socks. I guess I should have taken a pic of the entire demolished room but my first instinct when I saw it laying on the floor was to set it upright. I think I grabbed it to lift it before I even fully comprehended that Jaxon wasn't under it. As I was lifting it, I realized that no part of Jaxon was under it. 


After looking him over and making sure that he was okay, I started trying to figure out what happened. The highest drawer Jaxon can reach is the middle one and I had to put a fair amount of pressure on that drawer to get the chest to tip forward. With enough pressure on that drawer (and with the two under it open), the chest will fall forward. What I can't figure out is how he tipped the chest over, but didn't wind up underneath it. I'm glad he was okay, and so thankful that what could have been awful turned out okay. Even though the chest is not real wood and doesn't weigh too much, it definitely weighs more than Jaxon, and could have really hurt him. 


Needless to say, whenever we get around to buying a replacement chest, it will be secured to the wall.  


So, that is what my little 10 month old can do, when left by himself for 2.5 minutes. What can your baby or toddler do when left alone? Is your furniture secured to the walls?