Itzbeen a God Send!

I'd like to take a few minutes to tell you about the one item we've used everyday since Austin was born. I'm serious when I say everyday! Every single day for almost the past nine months! The Itzbeen Baby Care Timer has been a wonderful asset in our first few months of parenthood. I bought it on a whim while were were shopping the week before Austin was born. I thought it was a nifty idea but thought it would probably go unused after a few weeks. I'm mean, do I really need a timer to tell me when my child needs to eat? Do I really need a timer to remember the last time he had a wet diaper? Ha! I really had no idea how much our lives were about to change.

Amazon.com says the Itzbeen Timer...

• Helps sleep-deprived new parents remember baby care details.
• Wonderful tool to help first-time parents learn the basic needs of a baby.
• Great way to communicate baby's needs with grandparents, baby sitters, and day-care providers.
• Soft-glow nightlight helps parents find their way around the baby's room at night without waking the baby. Perfect low level light for nursing moms. If the light is left on, it will automatically turn off after 7 minutes.
• Recommended Age Range Birth to 24 Months

It does all of this and more! We've used it for so many different things!

1. I used it to time Austin's feedings. At the beginning, when it was 15 minutes to a side, it was hard to guesstimate how long it had been since he started eating. Sometimes 15 minutes is a lot longer then you think!
2. I used it to keep track of the time between feedings. This was extremely helpful in the middle of the night. One look at the timer told me if he should or shouldn't be hungry and that maybe he needed something else to help him sleep.
3. I used it to figure out his eating schedule. At the beginning it's hard to remember stuff. Heck, it's still hard to remember anything. Using the timer helped us figure out a pattern between his feedings. Soon we were eating with Matt & Meredith, Whoopi, Ellen and Oprah (7a, 10a, 1p, 4p) with the help of the timer.
   
4. It also helped with this sleeping schedule. Always having the clock running during his naps helped us figure out how much time I had to blog we had to catch our own cat naps.
5. I used the extra button for my pain medicine the first few weeks. You've never met a happier gal then when I saw 6 hours on the timer! Bring me my drugs, dear!
6. The only time we used the diaper button was when we were worried he wasn't going #2 enough.
   
7. We've used it to keep track of Tylenol doses.
8. We've used the light to check on him since the first night we came home from the hospital. It's just enough light to see him but not disturb anyone else. Because, you know, you want your husband to get his beauty rest.
9. I just used it tonight to find the Aquaphor (which happens to be another can't-live-without product!) in his room after he had gone to bed.
   

I freak out if the timer ever goes missing. It has its own permanent spot next to the feeding chair recliner. I read reviews that say it's too big or two small. I personally think it's the prefect size. Small enough to fit in your hand, yet big enough to find in the dark.

Somethings I didn't use but that might be prefect for you...

• L & R reminder function. For some reason this was the one thing I didn't have a problem remembering. The one and ONLY thing!
• A lock. I have a feeling this might come in handy with Baby #2. I know Austin will grow to love "The Timer" as much as I do, so he probably won't be able to keep his hands off of it when Baby Kiefer #2 decides to show up.
• Alarms. You really don't need alarms when you have a baby. They do alarm work just fine on their own.
  

I even have plans for it's future use (since we only have 90 days left to nurse...but who's counting??) A timeout timer! Not that my angel will ever need timeout!

The Itzbeen has seriously been a God Send! (I promise I'm not getting paid to say any of this!) I highly recommend it to anyone with a baby!