Simple playpen door latch

thingiverse

I hate the latch for the door on my Dwinguler play pen. It is way too low for me to reach when carrying my infant. I'm recovering from a C-section so stepping over the walls works fine for my husband but not for me. The built in latch is really hard to close too, you have to get the holes lined up just right. Probably will be useful when baby is older, but right now it's just too difficult to manage when going in and out with baby. I need to make sure the door gets shut because I have 4 dogs who would be happy to make baby's toys their toys if the door is left open for as much as 2 seconds. So I made this new latch/bracket thingy. It just slides over the door and the closest wall and prevents the door from opening. It is easy for me to grab it, open the door, and set it back in place, even with a baby in my hand. Once my baby's older I'm sure it will be just as easy for her to get off, but right now it is more about keeping the dogs out than keeping her in, and this is working great for me. Blog post about this design: https://makergoose.com/simple-alternative-playpen-door-latch/