Product Spotlights: Safety/Baby Proofing

mayoduck

This wasn't on the list of product spotlights to start but I have a question related specifically to this topic and so selfishly thought we should have a thread. STM+'s, what are the must-have items for baby proofing the house? Anything we might not normally think of that you found you really needed?

mayoduck

So I live in a tri-level house, and the way the stairs are situated, I can use a standard baby gate to prevent a crawling child from going upstairs from the lower level and from coming downstairs from the upper level, but they won't work if we're on the middle level. My best guess for how to handle this is something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRVBDE0?colid=2Z7J3GPLT7OLD&coliid=I2V5AW5X3DU34N&ref=br_ADD_TO_CART_title_link&th=1 probably with an extender.
Anyone else have a similar stair situation and find a good solution for it? I've included a photo below of the problem space--

meggyme

We have this one (https://retract-a-gate.com/) at the top of our stairs. Not as wide as yours but we had the issue of not wanting the swing gate to swing open over the stairs and not having enough landing space for it to swing over the landing. It’s worked really well for us and we use it now mostly to keep the dog from walking noisily down the stairs right next to DD’s room in the mornings and waking her up. There are other off brands and knock offs, but this brand is the only one I found without a review stating their kid fell through it or it fell down some how.

mamakate1616

That is definitely tough, we are in a split foyer so only have to worry about one set of stair-tops and this is what we use, it works great (it’s been rammed by ride on toys and still holding strong).
Regalo Extra Tall Top Of Stairs Gate, With Banister and Wall Mounting Kits, 34-55 inches wide https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VNKLIE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_jV62Bb1M23NSJ
Your bannister makes it tough since it stops on the last step rather than the landing, might be worth getting that part updated so you can mount a swing door there.

meggyme

@mayoduck here’s a pic of our 1928, not to code, steep ass stairs and the baby gate. It has a little bit of give when the reel is locked, but not much. The hooks and reel are pretty firmly drilled into the walls.

mayoduck

Any STM+ mom's have recommendations for cabinet locks? I'm currently looking at magnetic ones because our cabinets are fairly new and I'd rather not ruin the fronts of them by screwing something into it.

novelblessings

@mayoduck we have these for our cabinets. DH refuses to put holes in the cabinets because they are custom made, so we picked a slide type lock. 

Dreambaby Sliding Locks, 3 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014J0W8G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JNtkCbP78H4Y7

ashley14598

@mayoduck we have magnetic ones and LOVE them! We rent so we didn’t want to drill into the cabinets either. We keep the 2 magnets that go with them on the side of the fridge. The only catch is if you lose them it wouldn’t go well. Luckily we’ve been using them for probably close to a year or longer and have yet to lose them. We found ours at a close out store called “bargain hunt” near us. Sorry I’m not great at this site or I’d link the ones we have .

lelkcot

@mayoduck I bought about 4 zillion cabinet locks and then used 2... we ended up only using them on the cabinets with cleaning supplies. Everything else is open, and DS wasn’t terrible about pulling stuff out (although I think that’s more to do with his personality than anything). These are the style I used - https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C85UQ3Q/ref=oh_aui_i_sh_in_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1 honestly kind of annoying to install, but work well, even now as he’s approaching 4 and good at getting into things!

thedaint87

@mayoduck We bought these and like them a lot. Everything goes inside the door and I believe they are held on by sticky tape instead of drilling. DS can't get in and it's easy to use the magnet to open the doors. You can also set them so that they stay unlocked if you are going to be in and out of the cabinets a lot. 

Baby Proof Magnetic Cabinet Locks... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N43DOW8?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

mihaelams1

Whatever you get, don't get any which stick on the outside of the cabinets! We made the mistake last time around and had a very hard time removing the tape before selling the house! 

PhillyBelle

So kinda on the babyproofing idea... with my first I just used an audio monitor. Has anyone used the video ones? Are they worth it that much more?

mihaelams1

@PhillyBelle after some thought, we just bought a second audio monitor to use with DS2. The audio monitor was more than sufficient with DS1. At one point we found a discounted Nest cam and tried it a few times, but it's now sitting unused on the top shelf in DS1's room.

lelkcot

@PhillyBelle we’ve had a video monitor for DS and love it. Will definitely be getting one for baby this time, too. For us it felt very worth it.