Babyproofing in Palestine

With the exception of fresh produce (admittedly a very significant exception), things here are very expensive.

We had been hunting around for a highchair, could find nothing affordable, and were spending a lot of time lamenting the loss of Craigslist and the multitude of thrift stores we had access to in the States.  But then we mentioned our highchair search to our landlord who assured us that there were, indeed, places to buy used stuff in Ramallah, and he offered to keep an eye out on our behalf.  And a few days later, for a handy 90 shekels, we had this:

Hooray!  So much easier to feed the child or let the child hang out to play with toys or, best of all, watch the laundry spin in our fancy washing machine.

Then it was time to address playspace in the living room.  We'd had a quilt laid down where Little Guy could play, but he rolls around like crazy right now so there was still a lot of trying to keep him away from cold, hard tile floors, wooden furniture, and, let's face it, carpet that really needs to be vacuumed.  I'd set him on his quilt with some toys, walk away to sweep the kitchen floor, and hear myself say, "Tiny Face, can I trust you not to jack yourself?" as if this were the beginning of a productive conversation about self-care.  And more often than not, this is where he'd be after a couple of minutes:

So over the weekend we rearranged the furniture to create a play corner for him that, at least for now, he can't get out of.  It should be noted that this area isn't actually isolated from hazards; there are still plenty of furniture edges to crash into, for example.  It's not babyproofing so much as it is baby-confining.  But I'm all for it!