u/OppChopShop

Hey - I have a black mirror basic 3 and I really like the size and features of the scale. I bought it specifically for the battery life, but it’s been about two weeks and I’m down to one bar. Anyone else having issues? I’ve been really struggling to find a good scale that can last for at least a month and I’m about to go nuclear and buy a Lunar if I can’t figure this out

Hey everyone - first time Dad to a two week old. I’ve got my car seat set up behind drivers seat in the captains chair. I’d like to find a way to get a mirror pointed down at the baby so that I can see her while I’m driving. However, most of the mirrors that I’ve seen have clips that attached to the headrest mounting posts. Unfortunately, those clips are too thick to get the headrest to click into place. I’m debating if I should just try to modify the bracket, but that’s more work than I really have the energy for right now.

I got another style of one that straps around the headrest, but it bounces around a little bit and it’s kind of annoying and distracting.

Anyone have any good recommendations?

Hi everyone - desperate new dad here. Came home from the hospital with my 5 day old daughter and we have two dogs. Our reactive boy is fine with our other dog, but he is absolutely insane around other dogs, to the point where we don’t let him near them. He’s a 9 pound Chihuahua mix.

He was on reconcile for a couple of years, and we did some desensitization training, but eventually we just kind of gave up and decided that he was going to have one dog friend. He’s usually fine around people, but he’s very excitable. His reactivity usually comes in the form of barking and being unable to settle, not so much aggression. He can get a little bit nippy, as Chihuahuas do, so I’m planning to keep him separated from the baby.

When we brought the baby home, he sniffed her in the car seat intensely, and then he moved on with his life, and then forgot she was here. As soon as she cried, he barked, but then settled down pretty quickly. After that, he started getting really interested in her and incessantly sniffing the bassinet. Then when I went to move her from the bassinet to the changing table, he started barking and standing on his back legs to try to get closer to her.

My sense is that he is really curious, and then gets frustrated when he can’t investigate. I tried to give him a clonidine last night, and didn’t really do anything, I think because he was already over threshold. I’m going to call the vet today and ask if we should start back up on the reconcile, or try something else episodic to help him get used to the baby. I’m trying to reward calm behavior and giving him treats when he looks at the baby and disengages, keeping some physical distance to the extent necessary, and letting him investigate and sniff in quiet moments when he’s calm.

Any advice or success stories folks can share? I know my dog is pretty hard to train, and he’s got a very low threshold for getting hyper excited, so I want to understand what the kind of prognosis is, and come up with the best plan to get them used to each other.

ETA - his trigger seems to be primarily visual. If he’s in a different room and he hears the baby cry, he doesn’t care. It’s only when we pick her up, or he can see her on the changing table or something.

It’s also been one day. But as you can, imagine, it has been a crazy time and this is a stressor that I was really hoping to avoid.

Hey NOVA - i’ve seen a lot of post about air-conditioning struggling to keep up. Here are a few practical tips from a homeowner who has had to deal with a lot of AC issues in an old house. I’m not an HVAC pro and this is all based on my experience.

1. understand if you have an AC issue or an insulation/air leak issue. Start by measuring the temperature at your air return and your supply vent. You should expect to see at least a 10° difference, preferably closer to 20°. If your events are blowing cold air, your AC is working. It may be at max capacity, and it’s possible that your thermostat is creeping up because your house is not retaining that cold air. The AC will have to work harder in the heat, but if it is blowing cold air, it’s likely working. Make sure all of the equipment is operating, check the outdoor unit, check the indoor unit, check your breakers, make sure you disconnect is in place.

2. if the system is shutting off, or you are getting warmer air coming out of your supply vents, look for icing on the line set, or leaks coming from the indoor air handler. The thicker line going to your outdoor condenser unit should have some condensation buildup, but not ice. If there’s ice or frost, it could be indicative of either an airflow issue or a refrigerant issue. Check the coil outside and make sure that it’s clean. You can hose it down gently and make sure that it’s got good airflow. Change your indoor filter. Even if it looks clean to your eye.

3. if you are relatively handy, you can check the capacitor on the outdoor unit. That’s a very common failure point there are tons of videos on YouTube on how to check it and you only need simple tools and a multimeter which you can get at any hardware store. Certain Home Depot is also stock HVAC parts, so if you need to replace the capacitor, look on Home Depot’s website and make sure that they have it, but I can say that the one on Pickett Street in Alexandria tends to be well stocked. Another easy fix is the contactor, which also has a lot of YouTube videos on replacement. If you have an older unit, you might want to get a hard start kit for the compressor that will help it spin up if it’s been having trouble getting started

4. if you’ve done all of the above, and you need to get an HVAC technician, try to find a local place that is not owned by private equity. A lot of the PE shops will just try to sell you a new system. Look for a locally owned place that has emergency services, and expect to pay an emergency diagnosis fee. If someone tries to tell you that you need your system recharged, that is an indication that the system is leaking somewhere. It’s not supposed to leak, but they often do and topping off the refrigerant may buy you some time, but it’s not really a permanent fix.

5. if you need emergency cooling, a lot of the box stores have plenty of window in stock and some even rent large, standing floor units. If you can get a portable air conditioner with two hoses, one for intake, and one for exhaust, that will be more efficient and better at cooling.

I hope this helps everyone stay cool