Protective or Paranoid?

When we built a house that has two staircases that lead to the upstairs I knew that I was going to have to get some gates once Matt started crawling. What I didn't know was that I was going to have to get a third gate to keep my toddler from toppling down those same stairs.

A few nights ago, Zach was coming down the front stairs, he went to say something to me, and lost his balance. There I was at the bottom of the stairs watching him fall. It was like the whole moment went into slow mo. I screamed his name, watched as he fell sidewards, trying desperately to grab a hold of anything that would stop him from falling, and as I raced towards him, I just kept praying he would be ok. Fortunately, our stairs have a few landings, and when he reached the 1st one, he stopped. He looked terrified, his eyes were wide with fear, and as I reached him, I grabbed him, held him and kept repeatedly telling him he was ok. I'm not sure he believed me since he was crying and I was bawling as I rocked him, but my prayers had been answered he was alright. I was struck by how accidents happen, how you can do your best to protect your kids, and a moment can come along and pull that safety rug out from under you. I had been toying with the idea of gating Z's room for a few days, because he'd taken to getting out of his bed and playing with the door...up until that point, he'd never opened it. After that fall, I really started to wonder, did I need a gate at his door, and my answer came the very next day.

At nap time I could hear him up and moving about in his room. I told him to get into bed and to stay in his room. Instead he opened the door and came to find me. I gently placed him back in bed, reminded him it was nap time and that he could get hurt walking around upstairs, especially at night, I even reminded him of his fall. I left his room, and ten minutes later was talking to my husband about how I thought we were probably going to need to put a gate up, only to look up and see Zach smiling at me, at the top of the stairs. With my nerves shot from possibile future injuries Wayne and I took Zach upstairs, Wayne set up the gate, and I settled Z into bed. Oh how that boy cried to see that gate go up, but I can tell you that last night I slept peacefully knowing that Zach was safely in his room (which is kid proofed) and Matt was safely in his crib.

So readers, am I protective or paranoid, or a bit of both?