Keeping Safe

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Keeping Kids Safe with a Baby Gate

I’m currently sitting in Henry’s room, writing on my laptop. Ryan took him to run some errands so that I could work a bit, and all of a sudden the house was too quiet. Sometimes when I don’t hear little feet running after me or the call of “Mommiiiieeeee!” it almost squeezes my heart a little. The silence is too loud, and it’s a glance ahead to a grown-up little boy who will probably need me a lot less than he does now. And with another baby due in a couple of weeks, every moment I have with Henry feels important, fleeting, precious. I think he feels it, too.

It’s been a transition time for that little dude. He knows there’s a baby in my tummy, and he knows it’s his little sister. But I think after those facts his understanding gets a little fuzzy, judging by how he asks me to pull up my shirt when he want to “see the baby.”

On top of that, his little world is flipped upside down every day with the remodel. Can you imagine what it must be like to be one year old and leave your house and come back and the furniture is all gone one day? Or to nap every day with the sound of drills and hammers? Or to all of a sudden not have a wall where there used to be a wall? I have to give him credit for his incredible resilience and his choice to be interested in it instead of upset by it. I told you his favorite toy is a tape measure, right?

Throughout it all Ryan and I have felt like all we do is tell the kid no. No, don’t touch that tool. No, don’t climb that ladder. No, don’t go in that room. Finally, finally, we got a baby gate. It was something that we avoided for a long time, for one reason or another. But when you see your baby’s chubby, perfect little fingers reaching for a saw or a ladder and you almost don’t make it in time to stop him, you reassess. You get a beautiful baby gate and you let the kid use his pretend tools to “help” you install it (which, to our surprise, only took about 5 minutes because it came pre-assembled). And when it’s up, you instantly feel a little better.

Keeping Kids Safe with a Baby Gate

The Munchkin gate we got is pretty, yes. It’s like butter to open and close. It’s sleek and it looks great by the new kitchen and the strong steel frame and mesh screen is lovely to look at. But when I look at it and see Henry peeking his little face over the top of that pretty gate, what I really see is a safe kid. A toddler who won’t accidentally touch a hot stove. A little boy who won’t climb a ladder while we’re not looking. So if it means we keep him out of part of the house to keep him safe, that’s okay by me.

Every time I open and close that gate it’s a little reminder of how time flies. I remember so vividly bringing Henry home and thinking how that little bundle could never be walking around, let alone running and jumping and climbing. And now we have a curious, imaginative, brave little boy who wants to try it all. So it’s the little things, like a simple gate, that put my mom mind at ease and help us all take it one day at a time. xoxoKeeping Kids Safe with a Baby Gate

Keeping Kids Safe with a Baby Gate

 

This post is sponsored by Munchkin. All ideas and opinions are my very own. Thank you for being supportive of the partners who help keep Lovely Indeed rocking!

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3 Comments

  1. Love your post!
    It brings me right into your world and I feel like I’m actually there watching your little guy right alongside you and seeing the journey through his eyes. Thank you for sharing, it’s a great reminder of perspective and put a smile on my face today!