Could you be lacking in trust if you think he is pulling a "trick" on you? It sounds like it would help if you guys talked this out more. I think you should be the one to decide if you are ready to go every other week or not. If you do go every other week, is there the option to go back to weekly if you need to? I went to every other week for a while but am back at weekly now, since I currently need more support.

The timer ringing would drive me nuts! Especially if he suddenly out of the blue started using it one day. I would definitely ask why. And if it was annoying or disturbing, I would ask him to not use it with me, if possible.