It's HOT... whine...

[SilverFish]

We live in a top floor apartment with no air-con. My 4 month old and I are dying here! I don't know what to do though. I'm cautious about going outside to get anywhere... we went out yesterday and I think I nearly dehydrated her. We could go to the mall or something, but I feel like the amount of time we'd need to stay there to make it worth the extra heat of getting there would be excessive, since she's been fussy about sleeping lately.

pool? mall? library? just wait it out at home? What are other moms doing in the heat?

ugh... I'm also coming to terms that if I didn't have her with me, I could be lounging at the beach getting a nice tan without worrying, the way I did last summer. Growing up sucks!

[PatioGardener]

mine is 3 mo old. we went to the grocery store yesterday and walked all the isles twice! it is too hot!

[tzs]

i took a drive in the car the other night with the AC because i just. couldn't. stand it. bad for the environment, i know, but i was about to lose it.
i've done cool baths before and you could take the babe in the bathroom or in the tub with you (although mine doesn't like cool water even when it's smeltering hot out)

[jabeen]

Cool baths definitely. I'd probably take her to a matinee (my 4 month old can nurse/sleep through a shorter movie ok). We actually did go to the beach yesterday but later in the afternoon/evening and I kept him in the shade mostly.

[Knitting Mama]

Yep, baths for sure. It gets as high as 110+ here, and while we do have A/C, if we've been outside we'll often take a bath together to cool off!

[PatioGardener]

So you Mamas who are used to the heat... how do you carry your baby without overheating? Mine loves his Moby but it is just too hot right now for that thick fabric.

[Knitting Mama]

I have a cotton gauze wrap, and it works wonderfully. I never got used to the stretchiness of the Moby. I like the unstretchy wrap so much better.

[SilverFish]

ooo... movie! i think we'll try that later this afternoon. the apartment still has some of the morning coolness left in it, so i think we'll hunker down until later. the late afternoons, early evenings are the worst!

also, wooo! she took her first nap without being swaddled. i've been dreading the "big nap" (the 2 hour one she usually takes at 11) because i really don't want to swaddle her, but she rarely sleeps long enough without it. but she was in the bouncy chair while i made lunch, and when i looked over, she'd dropped off. i hope it sticks!

[SunRise]

There is a heat wave where we are; unusual temps as high as 100.

We
~sit outside under a tree - its often hotter inside then out. you might catch a breeze.
~local pool to cool off
~walk around the mall; dine out
~movie
~fans
~lots of ice cream, water and freezies - I have frozen breast milk that was frozen in a finger like mold - baby sucks on these and cools off,

[sonicfrost]

Good suggestions so far, I have a few of my own to add. We don't have a/c.

I freeze his teething ring for both teething relief and for him to hold and put in contact with his skin. He seems to really enjoy this and it works.

A bowl of cold/cool water and wash cloth to wet his/her skin periodically. This is sort of like a bath, but you can do it all day.

Since you live in an apt, is it a complex with a common area? Some complexes have living room type areas with tv's for anyone to come in and hang out. Usually there is a/c.

If you have a house with a basement, spend some time down there. Basements can be 20 degrees cooler than the outside temp. Even if the basement is unfinished, you could bring a chair or something and read a book while wearing your baby.

[SilverFish]

well, we went to the mall. apparently every other mom in montreal had the same idea. phew, what a mad house! anyway, it was really nice to stroll around in the air con. didn't realize how much of my general fatigue and ill-humouredness was because of the heat! but getting there and back was a bit of a gong show. the car is hotter than hades and the car seat is even hotter, so i had to run the car with a/c blasting for a few minutes just to get it cool enough to get her strapped in. blah... and even so, she was pissed off and sweaty by the time we made it home, got all the stuff out of the car, etc.

[Laneybug]

Originally Posted by SilverFish

ugh... I'm also coming to terms that if I didn't have her with me, I could be lounging at the beach getting a nice tan without worrying, the way I did last summer. Growing up sucks!

haha! I think of this often...the days when hot weather was an opportunity, not an obstacle! the feeling of being trapped inside just b/c of the availability of ac is so new. I caught a glimpse of myself in the huge mirror at our music class and couldn't believe how ghastly and anemic my Italian skin looked. Ugh. I'm actually craving the fall.