Another day in the mid-90's. We're visiting Tom's sister in Erie, PA tonight when he gets off of work, and tomorrow we're going swimming in the lake. Just for a few hours, but it's going to feel fantastic.
How did I ever survive a pregnancy in this type of weather? Being pregnant is already draining enough, especially during the last couple months (which is where I am finally - YES!). But when it's so hot and humid everyday, it can be debilitating. It just saps me of all my energy.
We keep all doors and windows shut during the day. The curtains are all drawn to keep out the light (i.e. heat). Some of the curtains are semi-sheer, so we put up big sheets of cardboard behind them. As soon as the sun goes down, all the windows and doors are thrown open, and Tom sets up his complicated series of fans in various windows to push air through the house (I still don't understand the logic behind all of it, and he gets frustrated when I try to mess with it). I seems to help.
We have one AC window unit in the bedroom, but really try not to use it unless its really necessary. The electric bills are just way too much. On other nights, we have one oscillating fan at the foot of the bed, and one box fan aimed right at me and my gigantic stomach. When I got to bed last night, I saw that Tom had moved my box fan to Sly's window. I tried to sweat it out with just the one fan going at the foot of the bed. But I woke up feeling like I wanted to die in the middle of the night, and cranked on the AC.
It would be awesome if I could just set up a tiny baby pool outside or something. But we literally have NO yard, and our tiny porch is too narrow to fit one. I've taken a few cold baths, though.
For weeks now, I haven't cooked anything that requires an oven. I'm surprised by how many meals I've actually been able to come up with that are entirely made on the stovetop. It might not be so bad, but we eat in the kitchen, and turning the oven on just gets it way too hot to stand. I wish houses were still built with "summer kitchens".
Tom walks home from work everyday. It's about a 35 minute walk in nice weather, but takes him about 50 minutes in the heat. He comes home dripping in sweat, and jumps right into a cold shower. I had to institute a "no walking around the house in just underwear" rule because he was trying to come to the dinner table too scantily clad!
Some days I've been finding excuses to get into air-conditioned places. Taking not-exactly-necessary trips to the supermarket, etc.
I've been doing a good job staying hydrated, though. I drink glass after glass of ice water. So far, my feet and ankles haven't even swollen up at all!! I want to feel proud of myself for that, but I can't actually remember when it started happening during my pregnancy with Sly. So it might just be that the terrible edema hasn't struck yet.
I probably shouldn't complain so much. We live in the "north" anyways. I know there are plenty of people - probably some reading this blog - who live in much hotter climates. Although I'm guessing most of them do have air conditioning....Anyways, it really puts me into a state of amazement when I think about people 100 years ago, living in the south with not so much as a fan, and wearing WAY more clothing in the summer than we do now. I guess you just get acclimated to it??
I feel for you. This is the first summer in 4 years for me that I am not pregnant, and i am still so hot. Here in Ohio it was 102 yesterday, and 100 today. It's unbearable.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was pregnant in the summer, one thing I like to do is to stick just my head in a cold shower. It's quicker and easier than a full shower and having a head of cool, wet hair seems to help. I didn't even unfix my hair sometimes...just wore it clipped up and soaking wet.
I let my hubby come to the table in his boxers in this weather. And the summer before last, when I was due in October and it stayed hot all through September, I wore his boxers myself in the house all summer, throwing modesty and femininity to the wind in an attempt to sweat less.
Four pregnancies over the summer! I can't imagine! I like the wet hair idea. I may have to give that a try :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you're sweltering! Just a few hours in AC seems to make a difference. You and Sly both need to stay cool. I fully endorse trips to the supermarket. We have air conditioning, but it's so inefficient I sometimes wonder if it's worth turning on. We don't even use Anthony's room on hot hot days because there is NO air flow, and he can't be trusted around a fan. I confess I was looking forward to children's adoration today because it would be cooler there!
ReplyDeleteIn the Old South, homes were designed to maximize air flow. It's amazing what they were able to do with architecture. One plantation house we visited in Mississippi had huge dome in the middle that created an updraft, sucking up all the heat essentially. It was easily 15 degrees cooler in the house. Older homes in general are designed with cross breezes, etc. In mind for summer cooling. I've also had reennactors swear to me that the clothes were much cooler than one might expect. I'll take their word on that one!
Oh you poor thing! I would have died while being pregnant and not AC! I was one of those horrid ladies who started getting edema around 20ish weeks. We live in South Texas and the AC is a must. I had a friend the other day post a temp reading of 118!
ReplyDeleteHope y'all have a great (and cool :) weekend!
xoxox
I agree with the wet hair or even wet dish towels around the neck. Even better, freeze them for a bit, then put them around your neck. That's how I survived without A/C.
ReplyDeleteYes, you do get acclimated. I grew up on Long Island, where 85 seemed oppressively hot, then I moved to western Maryland, and found that the air did not move at all, so it hung in the valley and made things worse. Now I live in Florida, and the high 90's aren't so bad, even when the power goes out or the A/C is on the fritz. We went three months with ours broken, and survived okay-with lots of cold showers!
I hope you get some cooling breezes, night time thunderstorms to cool things off and some relief from the heat.
So, as I carried a fan to an outlet to plug it in, I thought of this post and told Keith about Tom's complicated system and how he wouldn't let you move the fans. Right after I told him, he looked at me and asked, "Where did you put that fan?" And proceeded to explain to me why I'd put it in the wrong place. :-P
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