Coping in hot weather....?

[beansprout]

Am 30 weeks now and am not enjoying the current heatwave!! Am already drinking 3 litres of water a day, using fans etc but any tips on how to get through would be appreciated!! Thanks!

OMG I hate this hot weather - I very selfishly hope it rains - I would be happy if it snows! My house is like an sauna and my thighs and bottom are too fat for summer clothes...ho hum. No advice - just lots of sympathy!

Eating ice cubes but only works for a temporary period and also run the risk of getting 'ice cream' head aches!
Really don't want it to be like this for all of August not sure how I will cope!!

i found washing my hair and letting it dry natually very cooling

I would say sit in the air conditioning, but I guess not many people have it there. When I was pregnant last year, it was over 100 degrees F for 21 days out of 30. I did all my errands early when cooler, put cold washcloths behind my neck and on my head, used a spray bottle of water and sat in front of the fan. The pool idea is great, but made me feel like a beached whale. Do you have a shopping mall nearby? Sometimes just finding a bench to sit on and watch people go by in the cool is ok. Sometimes I took 3 showers a day. We had lots of salads and things you didn't cook for dinner, too.

Hi

I was pregnant during last year's heatwave and remember how awful I felt. I found that taking copious showers during the day was a lifesaver, sitting in air conditioning (freezer isle in Tesco was a favourite), and drinking loads of water. Also there is a fab cooling leg lotion by Clarins which is an absolute must and your dp should be sent out imediately to purchase some (sorry can't remember the exact name of it but it's a very tasteful shade of green!)

HTH - stay cool!

Where exactly is this heatwave

I'm in London Tinker and it is still going strong!! Boo!

Going to be 30 degrees today, I heard.
I'm dreading how hot hospital is likely to be. My only tip is don't try and go anywhere after midday - stay in shady garden near paddling pool.

The temperature on the ward I work on reached 40 degrees last summer, so you are right to be worried Dinny! I hate just constantly feeling sweaty and clammy and uncomfortable.

There is a problem with the building I work in (wasn't built as an office for humans to work in!) so it routinely gets to 90-100 degrees in hot weather! Arghhhh!!!!

Surely they can't expect you, pregnant or otherwise to work in that weather? It must contravene some health and safety things? Poor you!

Flossam - unbelieveably there is no upper legal limit to temperatures! I can work at home if I ask to but it's not always practical and a series of meetings keeps me here for the next couple of days.... grrr!!!

Am just off to the water cooler (again!!)

beansprout, although there is no upper legal limit for temps at work (it covers guys who work in boiler rooms etc) there is legislation that limits the amount of time you can work once the air temp goes over a certain reading.

I can't remember what that temp is.....sorry.

A humidity reading is taken as well and, combined, you will only be allowed to work,say, at 25C for 15mins followed by a mandatory 10 min rest (I made that up - have left the tables back in the UK). There are limits per hour for how long you can work at the excess temp.

If you're really suffering, your company should have access to an Occupational Medicine physician who will assess your workplace

Symopathies to all preggie people in hot summer weather .
I spent a miserable last two months of my pregnancy in the NZ summer ... fat ankles, sweaty everything (particularly under the boobs and buttock - nice!!) ... I think there was a thread somewhere that I started which everyone gave lots of great advice ... I'll look for it ...

Am I alone in preferring to have a nice summer pregnant or not?
It was really annoying me in July when people kept telling me how lucky I was that the weather was shit. No. I want sunshine like everyone else.
OK, my feet are pretty swollen and I'm getting through a lot of talcum powder but I don't mind.
The best way to stay cool I find is to stay home and as naked as possible as much of the time as possible. I hope the neighbours can't see in .

sponge

you're not alone!!!
Actually I find this level of temperature quite pleasant and can't understand what people have to complain about, then I remember where I live and it all makes sense!
Still this summer has been pretty horrendous so far and a couple of days of hot weather can't be that bad, surely????

Well I'm off to Italy next week and I'll probably eat my words then, and I'll be quite happy to return to rainy England!!!

Look on the bright side. You aren't coping with a new baby in this weather. Lurked behind curtains all last glorious summer, in sleep deprived fog, very different from my planned maternity leave of sitting on the grass with a beer (second child and all, was I TOTALLY bonkers?)

I was pregnant during last years heatwave and found the spray can of Evian v useful - took it with me to hospital and I bought it at Boots. I always put my fan by the window to blow the cooler outside air in (until DD started crawling- now bottom windows firmly shut. Lots of mini milks also nice.

My sympathy goes out to all of you who are pregnant in this weather. I was at the same stage last year so just surfing now.
SOmeone mentioned the Clarins leg gel, again I cannot remember the full name but it was brill.
I also took loads of showers and often put my feet in cold water with lots of salt. (it was recommended to me by someone at work) It helped when my feet and ankles were feeling a bit swollen. I never got really swollen ankles.

We've also got a dehumidifier that really helped with fans to make it cooler inside the house.

Again I would much rather be pregnant thank have to deal with a baby in this weather

There is a new baby in the flat above us, and I agree, I would rather just have to cope with myself than a new baby. On top of everything else, I would just be worrying about Bean regulating his own body temperature....

I went to The Red Sea a couple of weeks ago, and that was bloody hot, in the mid to late 40's!!

But the difference is the heat is dry, what is so difficult here is the humidity. I just feel like I'm suffocating in the still air. The heat would be better if there was a breeze..

not sure if anyone else has suggested this - but ice cold watermelon chunks!! I cut the melon up all at once and keep in the fridge. Am going through a lot of watermelons these days though. Yummy.

I have found that Magicool spray from Boots or Supperdrug realy works. I had my hair cut today as I had allowed it to grow rather long. Hoping this wil help also.