Baby Gates or lack there of

I have been thinking a lot of about baby gates.  Mostly because we don't own a single baby gate.  That is right.  I have a 13.5 month old son with not a single baby gate in my house.  There are 3, make that 4 reasons behind this.  

1.  I hate them.  I hate the climbing over them while balancing a baby move, which makes you feel like you are in some twisted Olympic event.  Every time I try, I hear the sports announcer in my head,   "Can the uncoordinated woman make it over the gate with out falling face first on the floor?  If she does fall will she be able to roll just right so that her baby will not hit the floor too?  Oh she has fallen and is bruised but baby is fine!  Point for Mom!"  I feel like the point of baby gates is to just make me look stupid.  I know there are gates that open but I end up fighting with those too, then I look stupid all over again.  I try only to look stupid out in public.  My home is my safe place.

2.  Right as we were about to need baby gates, we packed all of our belongings into boxes and drove across country to a brand new home.  Then when we set up our home we thought, "well, that can't go there.  Little Man will get it for sure."  So we baby proofed our house pretty well when unpacking.  Don't get me wrong, Little Man has figured out how to get his hand into just about any small crack of a box and pull out random things.  Black shoe polish, Red shoe polish, Brown shoe polish, etc. etc.  I just wish I could figure out which unpacked box he keeps getting into.  

3.  I have never been a firm believer in baby gates.  My parents never had any to my recollection.  They just taught us to stay out of things.  I have been to houses where baby gates are the accessory to the house.  It is like the parents found a special wing in Crate and Barrel dedicated to designer baby gates.  Gates around the entertainment system, gates around the house plants, gates on the kitchen door, gates on the bathroom door, gates on the door to the outside, gates, gates, and more gates.  Don't get me wrong, if you have multiples, gate up your house.  You are out numbered to begin with, you have to gain some sort of an advantage.  I just would rather teach my child what to touch then to feel like I live in a prison.

At least this is how I feel now.  Talk to me in a few months or weeks or days.  I may change my tune.

4.  We are super cheap.  I don't feel like buying a baby gate which will only be used for a couple of years.  I'd rather buy my son more books, shoes, clothes or cloth diapers than buy an ugly baby gate.

However, I got to thinking the other day, since we have no baby gates our entire house is open to my son.  Is this what I want?  Do I want him to have free roaming rights to my house?  Or should there be places off limits.  For safety sake the bathrooms and cleaning cabinets are off limits but the rest of the house he roams in and out of at will.  Should there be places in our house that are just mommy and daddy's space?  I am not sure.  I like that in my room there is a small pile of a few toys and books which he plays with as I get ready.  I like that he has found a space to wiggle behind in the unpacked boxes and he stores his "papers" and cell phone (our old phones) back there.  Should I worry that he finds more fun moving hangers from one room to the next then he does with his toys?  Will I regret this parenting choice later?  I don't know.

This is dancing man.  He waves his arms to the music.  Boy does he love to dance.

After spending too much time contemplating baby gates, I thought about myself and God.  Do I put up baby gates in my life?  Do I create areas in my life where God can look over my gate and see into my life but He sure better not enter?  "God, I know you can see me watch Real Housewives of New York but this is my guilty pleasure.  The rest of my life will be pleasing to you.  You should be so proud of me.  I don't live like that in my life."  Why do I put up gates to Him?  He, unlike my son, can tear them right down and bust in.  However, I work so hard to keep Him out of places.  

Thoughts for the day.

Do we need to get you a hair cut?  Yes siree.  I just can't bring myself to cut those baby curls.