How do you baby proof a house with an open-floor plan? How can you keep your crawling, active baby safe and contained? Now that our little one is "on the move" our baby pool playpen is our daily lifesaver. (Literally, since my husband isn't done building baby gates for the stairs yet. Does it count as nagging if he reads it on the blog?) Here are a few of the reasons we love our baby pool playpen.

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Benefits Of A Baby Pool Playpen

We are fortunate to have a large open bonus room so we opted for the biggest inflatable baby pool we could find {affiliate link}. But the same brand, Intex, makes smaller pools like this one {affiliate link}.

Keeps Baby From Bonking His Head

There were a few tearful weeks when my guy started to crawl when he rammed his noggin' into everything. And a few weeks later when was mastering pulling to a stand, he'd lose his grip and face-plant into things. Our baby pool play pen gave him a bruise-free zone for exploring once he became mobile.

Great For Practice Pulling To A Stand

Our kiddo is really tall for his age but our pool is just the right height for him to grab and pull to a stand. He does this approximately 273 times a day.

Easy To Clean

All you need is a damp sponge to wipe away drool, spit-up and any other bodily fluids that may...ahem, leak out.

Promotes Independent Play

A large pool gives baby plenty of room to roam and move from toy to toy while a parent is close-by but isn't directly involved in the play.

Minimizes Sensory Play Messes

With a little bit of set-up and close supervision, our pool makes a great spot for finger-painting, water play, sensory bins and other sensory play. And as an OT, you know there's plenty of that in our house!

Allows Active Play On Rainy Days

When cold or dreary weather puts a pause on our outdoor plans, the baby pool becomes the spot for climbing, jumping, rolling, wrestling, bouncing on an exercise ball and more! A body pillow makes a great obstacle for crawling over and a tunnel for crawling through {affiliate link}. Other times, I'll fill the pool with throw pillows for climbing or balls for bouncing and rolling.

Contains The Clutter

We've just entered the phase of toy migration when my baby leaves a trail of loose toys wherever he goes. I know it's bound to get worse and one day I'll probably have to have a Lego surgically removed from the bottom of my foot. The baby pool playpen makes a great spot to contain loose toys while giving him some room to roam.

Grows With Baby

After only a month, our pool has been well worth the $30 we spent on it. But I can already imagine filling it with smaller balls to make a ball pit, draping sheets over it to make a fort and lugging it out into the backyard on hot days for several years to come.

Has anyone else tried using a baby pool as a playpen? Leave a comment below or join the conversation on our Facebook Page.