How about a playpen? -- excuse me, I guess they call them "play yards" these days.

Put away the electronics behind doors closed with child proof closure. Put away other stuff you care about so there is nothing to worry about. LPlace toys around for him to get around and find and keep him occupied. Also will make for good naps when he's tired.

Use a playpen when you are cooking etc. when it would be hard to watch every minute.

Oh, yes, I remember what that was like! I lived with open-plan until DD was almost two. I used mesh doggy gates to block entry to the stairs, the bathroom and the kitchen; and put DD into a walker that was well-padded and had a tray surrounding it. I added more padding to the outer edge of the tray so that her questing fingers literally couldn't reach anything beyond the tray, although the dogs learned to drop their ball onto the tray for her to throw. I understand the use of walkers is discouraged now, due to the high incidence of injuries in falls down stairs. Other safety measures were child-proofing ALL cabinets and drawers [even in the blocked-off rooms], electric outlet plug-blocks, securing all cords so they couldn't be pulled, used museum putty to secure lamps, and put breakables on high shelves. IOW, basic safety measures.

Those "entertainment centers" bored her, and she learned to climb out of the playpen before she learned to walk. But the real lifesaver was a babysitter so that I could go grocery shopping without her, lol.

If a play yard won't work, a Super Yard might. Have you seen these? They are much bigger fenced in areas that you can put your toddler in to confine him to a space, but there is far more room than there is in a play yard. You can even buy extensions to make them as big as you need to. This might be a good idea if you want to keep him in a certain area, but give him plenty of space to move around.

Here's the link. It's 18 sq. feet, but with extensions can be enlarged to 34 sq. feet in size.

Here is a link that might be useful: Super Yard

My daughter had the super yard -- about 7 foot by 5 foot. She put padding (blankets on the floor), had pillows at one end and toys on the other. She had a set of twins and this was her only sanity. I even got in it when there to sit with the kids and read, rock, etc. They're a lifesaver!

Have you tried one of those invisible fences? ;)

But seriously, we have a 2 year old and will also be building a home with an open floor plan. NOTHING will stop our boy, therefore, we are installing builders grade carpeting, which will be replaced with good stuff when the destruction from the terrible 2's, 3's and 4's stops

I understand how you feel. We have 4 boys. Honestly, my boys were not only mobile, but they were climbers too. No gates or play yards could hold them in. I have on film one of my boys climbing over a gate and then helping the little brothers climb over.

I would just suggest maybe getting some help in the house during the day if you could afford it, college student pref. majoring in education, church member to volunteer? Or enlist/beg/bribe some family/friends to take some shifts. People always ask what they can do to help, time to take them up on their offers. DH had a terrible car accident in '04 and if it weren't for my family and friends pitching in, I'd be in a mental ward. Consider it not only for your wife's recovery, but for your's too! I promise that this will pass.

Good luck and blessings!

well, this is a little different but i wanted to throw it in the pot. we have a rental property just for extra income. when the last tenants were moving out i went to the house to inspect for damage. i went upstairs and found one bedroom they used for their son (age three at the time) with the door sawn off midway and a lock from the outside. the guy apologized and said he'd buy us a new door. they needed a "safe room" for ds and found this was the best solution. at the time i didn't have kids and was appalled. of course now i have kids ...and let's just say i'm ok with it.

Sorry if I sounded totally clueless or desparate. In reality I'm neither. Exhausted, yes. Feeling pretty blessed, really. My wife really could've come out much worse. Bruises, cuts, a badly broken arm, and a broken leg on the opposite side. Nothing permanent and I am not a single parent. We had already babyproofed things. I ordered a super yard. We'll see.

Do me and you a favor and tell the ones that matter to you that they matter to you. Life is short and unexpected things happen.

zimzim, I assume that when you say 'the destruction from the terrible 2's, 3's and 4's stops', you mean '12's, 13's, & 14's'? Not that it stops there . . . but that's another thread!

brianstreehouse, you sound neither clueless or desparate. You do sound like a wonderfully caring and involved parent and husband.

Back in the days, we had 2 super yards and used them all over as a large play area or separated and zig-zagged to block off areas.