Lifesavers

Monday night was another normal night for the Martineau family. And then Karl had to get a haircut. That's when it all started. Because right after the haircut, came the shower. And at the end of the shower, came the beeping. The beeping was from this little device, right here.


If you can't tell, that's a carbon monoxide detector. Apparently our hot water heater finally had enough, and rebelled against the system. Normally I'm all for that kind of thing, but I think hot water heaters should be exempt. That's neither here nor there, because it did it whether I liked it or not!

So, what do you do when a carbon monoxide detector goes off? You get out of the house and call the fire department!



It became a regular little block party out there for a while, with lots of curious neighbors, and even the bishop showing up. So here's the lowdown.

• Carbon monoxide (CO) binds to your red blood cells and doesn't let go. Until the cell dies.
• Mild symptoms are tiredness and shortness of breath, progressing to severe headaches, nausea, and eventually death.
• Normal levels of CO are 0-5 parts per million (ppm). Up to 10 ppm is considered safe. Our house read 220 ppm when the fire department showed up.
• Without a CO detector, the three of us probably would have died Monday night.

So the moral of the story is, GET A CO DETECTOR!!! I never thought I would need one.

And now for something completely different.

Addison had her two week checkup with the pediatrician today. They poked and prodded and measured, and declared her (as far as they can tell), perfect. She has grown 2 1/2 inches for a total length of 20 1/2 and gained 12 ounces for a total of 6 lbs 12 oz! So much for getting back to birth weight. Fortunately it's no big deal. That puts her in the 50th percentile for length/height and only the 10th percentile for weight. We were hoping she had grown, so we put her in this little onesie that says, "I'm an elephant, and I am very big!" Apparently it worked.


She really has started to grow and change a lot. It has been really fun! From another perspective, my friend Kyle just had a new baby too. He was born bigger than Addison is now!


For comparison, we wanted to see how Addison fit before she was born. Now we understand the constant heartburn. Especially that little kick. Ouch.