When safety trumps decor

Before Oscar was born, I was adamant that our house would not scream "baby" after his arrival. As someone who likes clean, organized spaces, as well as decor that leans towards linens and whites I set out to make sure that our house would find some balance. On one hand, a home that I loved and I felt was organized, yet at the same time, a home where Oscar can run through it as he should, play with his toys, and...well, to be a child.

So here is what happened. Oscar and I have come to a compromise. I've welcomed toys, they make me smile. I adore them - They are Oscars. But, the compromise is, we limit what we have out.   I also still pick linen coloured fabrics, but I know that they won't always look like that.

But nothing screams "we have a kid" in decor baby gates. Truthfully, I was avoiding adding baby gates to our house because they were so (or I thought) ugly. But here's what happens when you have a baby. Oscar became mobile overnight and by the next night he was very, very mobile. He crawls off to chase the cat, he wants to crawl towards the stairs. And here's the thing when you become a parent - Safety trumps decor.

But the moment they were installed our lives actually became better, and less stressful as we weren't worried about Oscar just making that quick dash for the stairs. And, truthfully, I don't mind the look. They are obviously baby gates but I'd rather have them than Oscar hurt himself.

We chose Kidco gates that are installed into the wall. The stairs to the basement we raised purposefully off the ground enough for Mak the Cat to get underneath as her kitty litter is in the basement,  or to escape from Oscar chasing her, but low enough so Oscar cant follow her down. Did you know that you have to get certain gates that are made especially for the top of stairs? They are a breeze to open and shut with one hand. Which makes them a sooo nice to have in our house.

As you can see on the upstairs landing, Oscar can now travel between his room, and ours, without me worrying about him making a sudden turn to the stairs. We couldn't make this one high enough for the cat to get through because of the Bannister height but it stays open when we aren't upstairs so she can roam freely.

They have started to blend into the decor for me.

One decision we made was that we did not install them at the bottom of the staircases. Only at the top. I drew the line there, I really didn't want gates everywhere you turned. We also have some other child safety items in another post.

Baby Gates by Kidco available at Dear-Born Baby