It was 11:30 at night and I was just about to finally lay my head down on my pillow (next to my kids kids already asleep in my bed) when I heard it. A chirp. A tiny beep. A small noise from across the house, but I instantly knew what it was. My heart sank.

It was right outside my 10 month old’s room. He had just started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago, and I was so worried it would wake him up.

One of the smoke detectors was beeping because the battery was dying. It was the middle of the night, my husband was still at work and I didn’t have any replacement 9volt batteries.

I only had one choice – to be patient.

Now, patience has never been my strong point. But there are a few things I have learned to help me be a more patient woman.

My husband was about an hour and half away from home. He was going to get a battery and then come home and change it in the smoke detector. I knew it wouldn’t be too long.

But the damn thing kept beeping every 2-3 minutes!

My dogs were freaked out. I couldn’t sleep. Luckily my two older kids slept through it, but (of course) my baby woke up.

So, me and baby cuddled for a while until my husband got home with the battery. If I had a 9 volt at home I could have replaced it right away. Or, even better, replace those batteries every year on the same date so I never have to hear that stupid beep again.

Sure it was just an hour of inconvenience, but it also could have been life or death. Make sure you check your smoke detectors often, change the battery every year and replace the alarm every 10 years.

Next steps

1. Buy a 9 volt battery AND a backup battery (for each alarm you have)
2. Pick a date you will remember (a holiday or a birthday) and replace all the batteries on the same day.
3. Put the date in your calendar.
4. Rinse and Repeat.

Help your friends

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Question: What’s your special battery day?