The Lofts

On January 1st I took on a new project; build the kids loft beds with built in armoires and build in book shelves. It was quite the project. See the finished product here: Alex's bed and Jackson's bed. That alone is not THE story, although it is a story. One that I'll surely tell at some point because that project drug on for quite some time...but I digress.
A few months after completion of the beds, Alex fell and broke a bone in his foot, which required a cast for 3 week. This is yet another story that I'll skip for now. He had fallen, not out of the top of the bed (thank God), rather off of the ladder when he decided to climb down in the middle of the night. He hadn't gotten very far when he lost his grip and fell to the floor. At that point we decided an improved loft was needed, thus I added the black handles that you see near the top of the ladder. We assumed that the improved ladders would dissuade any further falls...and it did, for a while.
Last night, in the middle of the night we were awoken by a thud, followed by Alex's cries. We bolted into the kids' room to find him holding his feet. That was quite an "oh shit"moment. It didn't take long to figure out the he was okay (thank God again). He had jarred his foot, his hand and had a little bump on his head, but I'm pretty sure he hadn't landed on his head. Anyway, we got him back to bed, and then this morning checked on him again and all was well.
Back to the lofts. When we had checked on him, I had fleeting thoughts of tearing the lofts down. Regardless of money wasted on the project, any amount is not worth risking their safety if the loft remains a hazard. Like I said, it was a fleeting thought. Both Stacy and I began brainstorming about ways to "fix" the situation. Here is what we came up with:
(1) Padding. We have hard woods in there. That is not a forgiving surface should they fall agin. Stacy suggested a rug to cover the floor in their room. It will not only look better, but would offer a small amount of padding should they misstep again. Surely we will put down an extra pad underneath the rug as well, so that will help. We're going run shopping tonight.
(2) We've been concerned about the opening around the ladder. From the ladder to the foot of the bed there is an opening, albeit small, where they technically COULD roll off of the top of the bed. Of course that has not happened. The problem has been during the climb, but it is still an issue that we can avoid. Also, the climb itself can be made easier with more handles, larger steps and an extension to go higher. I have decided to redesign that small part of the loft project; to build new ladders that are more sturdy, which extend up higher, not only to the bottom of the mattress, but up above the mattress all the way to the railings. Also, the top of the ladder will join with the railings (requiring me to tear down the existing railings on that side) offering more to hold on to at the top. In addition, I will include handles all the way up to the top and down to the floor. I plan to avoid the metal handles this time, by carving handles into the front of the rise of the ladder. To do this, I'm going to choose 2x6s rather than 2x4s to provide the extra area needed to carve out holes for handles.
I think the redesign, plus the carpeting should really reduce the chances of any more injuries. Of course, in the middle of the night, half asleep, it will still be possible to clumsily fall, but I believe the chances of anything more than a little bruise are really diminished as compared to our current setup.
I'll post pictures of the new room with rug and of the newly designed lofts when construction is completed. Wish us luck with this one!