When people find out that I have just moved from Hawaii to Denver, they invariably comment on the cold.
"Oooooh, are you freezing all the time?"
"It must be so hard to get used to the weather."
"You're crazy."
But the cold doesn't really bother me. It's not like I grew up in Hawaii. I've never lived anywhere with really harsh winters (except when we lived in Michigan the year I turned 7), but I've experienced plenty of snow and blizzards and ice storms. Most places I've lived have required me to own sweaters and a winter coat. It ain't no big thing.
No, what's really kicking my ass is the dryness.
The first night I was here, I woke up at about 1:30 in the morning feeling like I had been lying exposed in the sands of the Sahara in the heat of the day. I chugged 2 large glasses of water, and started to feel better about 20 minutes later.
This went on every night for about 2 1/2 weeks. I kept a full bottle of water by my bed, and invariably woke up between 1 and 3 needing to drink the entire thing.
And this was with keeping a full bottle of water with me throughout the day that I could constantly sip from. So it's not like I was neglecting my hydration issues during my waking hours.
I think my body has adjusted, because now I rarely wake up during the night needing to drink now.
No, now the bane of my existence is boogers.
No matter what I do, multiple times a day I have to excavate giant, dried up boogers from my nose, or risk not being able to breathe. The air is so dry that no matter how much saline spray I squirt up my nose, no matter how much cocoa butter I try to line the inside of my nostrils with, I end up with these boulders that block my airways. It's gotten to the point that I'm not even embarrassed about constantly having my finger up my nose.
We'll see if my body adjusts to that aspect of the dryness, but I'm not holding my breath.
In the meantime, the pregnancy is going well. The crazy nausea I had between weeks 6 and 8 miraculously went away about 2 days before we left Hawaii, which was a godsend. Now I feel fine, with some occasional days of crazy exhaustion where it takes every ounce of energy I have to get up to pee.
The big difference between this pregnancy and my last one is how quickly everything is happening, i.e., the pooching out of the belly. Last time I didn't start to show until about 13 or 14 weeks. Now I'm 10 weeks along and already well ensconced in my maternity pants and holding my non-maternity pants up with rubber bands. I'm not eating an inordinate amount, but am resigned to the fact that I'm turning into the chubby girl way earlier than last time.
Which made it a pleasure to meet my new OB. I had a routine appointment last week, and everything went fine. All is well. But when she saw that I had gained almost 10 pounds by week 10, she said, "well, let's just call it water weight. After all, in this climate, you've been drinking alot more water than you're used to."
Yes. Yes, I have.
Maybe she'd like to start a medical practice in D.C.
ReplyDeleteI spent 8 days in Denver for a trial advocacy training, and although it was 99 degrees (I seem to take record heat waves with me wherever I travel), there was no humidity. Many of the other students were complaining about the heat; meanwhile, I was refreshed by the vacation from August humidity in South Carolina! And my hair looked BEE-YOO-TI-FUL! No frizz! I hardly had to use product.
ReplyDeleteThe contrast was mind-blowing.
I didn't notice the dehydration or bat in the cave issues..perhaps I was too dazzled by my fluffy, frizz-free hair!
I'm certain it's water weight. Keep hydrating!
ReplyDeleteAnd get a humidifier. We started running one recently and it's made a big difference.
As for the stuffiness and boogers and such - I have the same, althought not as dry. And upon Internet investigation? It's one of those must be hormones kinds of things in pregnancy. Who the eff knew that hormones were invovled in, well, everything?