July 2014 Moms

baby proofing conundrum

Currently we live in a townhouse. We will be living here till our girl is 8 months old. Unfortunately, our townhouse has super wide stairwells and will require expensive gates that need special mounting equipment (there's a solid wall on one side, a weird banister on the other.) Obviously by the time she's 8 mo she'll be a crawling monster and baby proofing will be in order. I'm hesitant though to spend all this money on special gates that we wont need in our new house (cheaper standard gates will work.) What do you ladies think? Should I try to rig up something that will work for the short time a gate will be needed? Obviously it will be something safe! Or bite the bullet and buy the expensive system?

Re: baby proofing conundrum

  • I would probably buy a cheap one and put in her doorway or your bedroom then use it when you move. I don't think it's worth buying a big expensive one, especially if it is not pressure mounted an you will have to patch walls later.

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  • I agree, put one in her room and at the bottom of your stairs downstairs. And just don't let her crawl around upstairs. 
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  • All great suggestions above. We have a few odd situations in our house and got creative when we needed to baby proof for DS, including blocking off the extrawide doorway to our dining room simply using a buffet table from the basement on its side. You don't have to buy the gate specific to your townhouse at all. And definitely wait til your LO needs it since you can be sure when that will be.
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  • *LrCg**LrCg* member
    edited March 2014
    I know I am in the minority and old school but the only thing I do to baby proof is cover electrical outlets. I give my kids 2 cupboards in the kitchen full of Tupperware and they had learned not to open the rest & why would they they had Tupperware! As for stairs we have a winding staircase with 18 steps. Prior to crawling at @6 months I taught them how to climb the stairs- it was a fun activity and it helps with coordination and I think to crawl early. Not long after I taught them how to go down the stairs on their bellies. Prior to being 1 years old they could all walk and were safe up and down the stairs. I had strict rules when they could be on the stairs and that taught another lesson of listening. Another bonus, when we went to other people's house with stairs and no gate I didn't worry & they were great listeners. I currently have 3 kids all born back to back & none have hurt themselves on the stairs or getting into something they shouldn't have.
  • I didn't need a gate until after she was one, she wasn't very speedy and always supervised. I have the banister/wall combo and use a mesh retractable gate that you could install and use at your next house. It is made by Lascal and I highly recommend it.
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  • We plan on waiting to baby proof until we see what we are up against. All of my nieces and nephews have been on completely different time schedules for crawling/walking and once they are, their interest in what they go towards have all been different as well. We just plan ok keeping a close eye and seeing what we need to remove/rearrange/buy when the time comes.

    I definitely wouldn't spend a lot of $$ if you're moving soon, I would just use what you have or would need at your new house and find a way to make it work.
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  • I'd wait. She might not be crawling at 8 months and if she is, I would just rig something else up so you can block off the staircase if you're worried or make sure she is contained somewhere safe when you are doing something like cooking dinner, using the bathroom, whatever. 
  • Thanks for the tips and ideas! I definitely will wait to purchase a gate or play pen type area!
  • I have a weird stairs situation that I am not sure what to do with. I'll have to take a pic soon and post it for suggestions. 
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  • Try a super yard if you need to block off an area and don't want to invest in a gate, we used ours until DD was 1 it was great because we could move it or use fewer pieces depending on what needed to be blocked off. This year it will go outside for summer.
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  • I was going to suggest a superyard type thing if you really feel like you need to do something. Otherwise, I'd do nothing. Even if she is crawling by 8 months, the chances of her being able to actually make it up the stairs at that point seen pretty slim.


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  • Wait until she's crawling to find something, because she might not be crawling by then! Some kids are lazy ;)
  • Big+Lil said:
    I didn't need a gate until after she was one, she wasn't very speedy and always supervised. I have the banister/wall combo and use a mesh retractable gate that you could install and use at your next house. It is made by Lascal and I highly recommend it.

    I am in love with this mesh gate idea. Retractable! Where the eff have I been that I've never seen this? I mean, our ranch is not even 900 square feet and I only really need to gate off the kitchen since all of the other rooms have doors, but I still think I have to have this. Did your DD ever figure out how to retract it?
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  • *LrCg* said:

    I know I am in the minority and old school but the only thing I do to baby proof is cover electrical outlets. I give my kids 2 cupboards in the kitchen full of Tupperware and they had learned not to open the rest & why would they they had Tupperware! As for stairs we have a winding staircase with 18 steps. Prior to crawling at @6 months I taught them how to climb the stairs- it was a fun activity and it helps with coordination and I think to crawl early. Not long after I taught them how to go down the stairs on their bellies. Prior to being 1 years old they could all walk and were safe up and down the stairs. I had strict rules when they could be on the stairs and that taught another lesson of learning. Another bonus, when we went to other people's house with stairs and no gate I didn't worry & they were great listeners. I currently have 3 kids all born back to back & none have hurt themselves on the stairs or getting into something they shouldn't have.

    This was us too, crawling at 6 months walking at 9, and he could do stairs at 6mo and is safe and i do t worry...

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  • @ginger313‌ she figured out the childproof doorknobs in 15 seconds, but the Lascal gate is going strong! There are other retractable gates, but the Lascal is very well made, sturdy and definitely childproof!
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  • i would wait until she is near a crawling monster.  My dd didn't crawl until she was 10 months old.
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  • edited March 2014
    I wouldn't invest in them or even worry about it until things get closer. 

    My daughter didn't begin crawling until almost 9 months and even then, she didn't have any skill set to allow her to craw up the stairs (nor did she attempt). 

    Every baby is different but you may be stressing for no reason on this one. 

    *LrCg* - We seem to have similar baby proofing philosophies. All we did was socket covers and the cleaning agents kitchen cabinet. Otherwise, everything, including the stairs has never been "proofed"
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