Thank you, TrixieTracker

At three years and .5 months, we've decided to suspend our subscription to TrixieTracker.com. However, for the past six subscription cycles, it's been well worth it. We have tracked:

• 5336 Diapers
• 3208 sleep periods (most not naps)
• 1875 bottles
• 1113 meals
• 2016 solid foods (overlaps with the meals)
• 1002 Medicine dosages (whoa! Of course, he was on lots of different things for reflux when he was tiny.)
• and much, much more.

The big thing that TrixieTracker does is make you sane. When your child gets you up at 2:00 a.m. and you don't remember what he did in his last diaper, or what his temperature was, or what he ate last... boom, it's there. Now that Adam is pretty verbal, sleeping all night, and approaching potty training (although still not there yet,) it's a lot easier to keep track of what's going on. But for the last three years, TrixieTracker has been indispensable. Highly recommended.

Insanely Gate

I realize that this post is about a baby gate, but it's not often something so simple just blows me away with its usefulness.

The First Years Hands Free Gate has revolutionized our traffic flow with Adam. Toddlers don't get "no," and they don't get "stop," so we've resorted to becoming a gated community. When we were shopping for ways to create our walled garden, after exhausting our usual resources, we were still left without something to span the big entryway from our hall to the den.

Enter The First Years Hands Free Gate. By itself, it doesn't span the gap, but it does with its two extensions.

When you first get it out of the package, it looks like it's not going to work at all, because unlike some other baby gateage, it installs under high tension. It's hard to explain in words, but think of it, instead of coming like a "U", more like a "V" (except, of course, that the bottom is wider than a point... you see I told you this would be hard to explain...) You place the whole gate under tension, and it bends itself to the point where the swinging part is latched in place.

Here's the best part... it takes about 75-80 pounds of pressure to operate the footswitch for the gate... something Mommy and Daddy have no problem doing, but something Adam won't be able to do for years. We have the key, and it is us!

Going through the gate is like second nature for us now... even hands full isn't a problem, just step and knee through. And, since it's just held in place by pressure, if we needed to take it down, there'd be no holes in the wall or anything. Genius.

Many baby products try hard, and get it wrong. This one gets it right. Highly recommended, and a must for anyone with small creatures to contain.

fourteen weeks

Most Sundays, we have a leisurely afternoon to take pictures, naps, etc. This week, was busy busy busy... going to lunch with our friends, buying a wedding present, and glasses for Mom. So this is the sum total of pictures of Adam on his fourteen week birthday. We promise to do better... :D 

he goes up to eleven

Adam turned eleven weeks old today!

cute sneezer

firsts not in the baby book

First department store: Macy's this past Saturday

First restaurant: Pei Wei last weekend

First double-digit diaper day: Feb 5 - 10 diapers

First successful time of any significant duration in the swing: tonight


First webcam time with great-grandparents: tonight

First time being babysitted: last Sunday morning by Lydia's parents while we went to Sunday School. Adam performed just as we told him to, he slept and only pooped once.

First visit to Dad's work: today

First awake visit to Dad's work: not occured yet

First visit to a discount store: Big Lots this past Saturday

First bottle: last Friday after...

First (probably) unnecessary trip to the pediatrician: last week when he was showing a little fever (about a half a degree) and was having trouble getting to sleep because he was fussing so much, which produced his...

First trip back to the hospital: today, to have a follow-up visit with the lactation consultant. He passed with flying colors. He's doing everything right... he just needs to do it more often.