This past weekend we got to enjoy one of the rarely discussed joys of parenting - installing a stair gate!Ok, so, it's not so much a joy as it is a chore, and working on a project like this with your dear husband is as good a test of the strength of your marriage as any. Anywho, I digress.
To me, the whole concept of babyproofing seems to be just an excuse for an industry peddling over-priced, and often RIDICULOUS goods, to exist. Some examples:
Now, don't get me wrong...we locked the cabinets with cleaning products, put all medicine out of reach, plugged the electrical outlets and strapped Anna's bookshelf to the wall (hey, I saw that episode of Grey's Anatomy and it scared me). We even sprung for the foam fireplace hearth guard after cringing one too many times as Anna did a head dive towards the bricks. But, that is where my interest in babyproofing ended.
Until the child started walking. That's when the panicked rushing down the upstairs hallway to head her off before she could tumble down the stairs after Tope began.And then I started having horrible visions of her somehow managing to climb out of her crib and wander the hallway at night, all of which ended with a ghastly spill down the stairs.
Then I just started to get annoyed that I couldn't fold a load of laundry (the laundry room is right at the top of the stairs) without being ever vigilant of the munchkin escaping behind me.
Lo and behold, we now have a gate. And, I LOVE it. We're even toying with the idea of putting one at the bottom of the stairs...how crazy are we?!?!
Anna treats the gate with ambivalence. Unless you are on the opposite side of the gate. Then she freaks out and cries as the picture above can attest.
Tope, I believe, likes the gate. She quickly learned to slither under, jump over, and dash through the bannister pickets on the side to escape the running mini-feet behind her. And then she sits just out of Anna's reach on the other side of the gate totally taunting her.
2 comments:
I am so relieved to know that such projects try others' marriages as much as mine. I vastly prefer the thought of spending the money on a handyman...or waiting for the father-in-law to come into town. (Also, the baby kneepads are hysterical!)
We have a gate at the top and bottom of the stairs and for awhile it was wonderful. Now Ryan has learned how to climb OVER the gate.. so much for that. I do know it will come in handy when Kenzie starts walking so we have kept them there. Anna is adorable....even crying.
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