I am finally feeling Not Sick. Z still has a lot of congestion (which is a polite way of saying snot), but is in a much better mood. We are still getting some bouts of uncontrollably, inexplicably fussy, but they are fewer and farther between. The beginning of the week was pretty wretched, whole 2-3 hour blocks where I simply couldn't put him down--oh, and I had to be *standing up*. He can somehow tell the difference between mommy sitting and mommy standing.

Lots of fuss these days seems related to the simple desire to get out and about. His crawling--both agility and speed--has ramped up considerably, and he wants to explore. Aaron and I have found the best way to baby-proof is to let him crawl around an area and watch. He finds many more dangerous things than we would have thought of on our own!

Note to self:

• Put cabinet locks on glass doors in kitchen island and TV cabinet.
  
• Move CO2 monitor and cover outlet.
  
• Find cord/outlet cover that accommodates large cord from power strip.
  
• Figure out a way to hide cord from electric blanket.
  
• Cover power strip near bedroom door.

Aaron and I took a class last weekend on infant CPR and household safety, and therein learned all of the 1001 ways in which our house can kill our baby. In addition to being weepy and hormonal, I am now a paranoid wreck.

So here's one question: I went to turn our water heater down to a concientious 120 degrees, only to discover that our water heater has no degree markings on it. There's an obvious low and high, obtained by turning all the way to one way or the other, and a medium setting can thus be extrapolated, but where 120 degrees might be on this thing, I know not.

Secondly, we have a CO detector in the family room, since the afore-mentioned water heater is gas-powered, and resides in the laundry room, just off said family room. It is plugged in in the place where things are plugged in in houses, namely, an outlet low on the wall, about 8" or so off the floor. Man, if I were crawling around in there and saw this shiny box with buttons, I'd sure want to push them! The gadget is wall-mountable, but not only is it pretty unattractive (not something I want hanging in glory over the TV, for example), that still leaves a wire trailing down the wall, and a giant power adapter just begging to be yanked out of that attractively low wall socket. What's a paranoid baby-proofer to do??

(The family room, should you be wondering, has been chosen as the *easiest* room in the house to baby-proof, and will likely be the place I spend the most time during the day. So gating it off it not an option.)