Crocs and Orange Popsicles

The Northwest "Heat Wave" continued yesterday, but luckily, the temperatures were about ten degrees cooler. It seemed to make a bit of a difference, not only in how much my feet were swelling, but also in how fast I could get the temperature down in the house when I got home from work.

Speaking of work, that is getting a bit more challening lately. My job is not physical in a lifting or straining sense, but it does require a lot of driving and plenty of walking around. I work in hospitals, so usually I have to park my car out in the boonies and then walk to all of the different departments that I call on. I switched to a rolling bag for my supplies at about six months, and that definitely has helped, but I still feel "The Waddle" coming on about half way through the day. I also haven't been able to find any decent work shoes and open toes are definitely not allowed in patient care areas like the ICU or ER. I also just wouldn't feel comfortable walking into a professional appointment with flip flops on.

I had purchased a pair of shoes that I thought would accomodate my swollen feet, but they stopped fitting by around noon yesterday. I went into a nearby shoe store and bought a pair of Cro.cs. I am still not sure how professional these are, but at least they are close-toed and all of the nurses wear them, so I fit in. They are also really comfortable and I went a size larger to accomodate future swelling, so hopefully, I have found a solution.

I also have to wear professional clothing. Yesterday, all I wanted to wear was a loose sundress or shorts and a tank top. Of course, this was not an option. I ended up settling on a pair of nice black cropped pants and a loose fitting dress shirt, but it was still a lot of clothes. This actually isn't my company dress code, either, which is for suit pants and jackets, but my maternity suits no longer fit. They are too spendy to buy any more for just a few more weeks, and my boss approved me to wear "work appropriate" non-suits. I am not sure cropped pants would fall under that category, but luckily, I wasn't working with her yesterday!

I don't know how pregnant women in truly warm parts of the country do it! The lucky thing for me is that this heat is a passing thing. I know most of you commented that you would have to have AC or die, but really, most of our summers here are quite mild. It's rare for temperatures to get about 80 degrees, and even then, most nights the heat dies down by the early evening. We can usually control the temperature in our house by opening windows and using fans.

When I got home from work yesterday, I put out the little kiddie pool that we have for our lab mix, Rocky. He loves to "paddle" in the pool, which is hardly big enough for him to actually get swimming in. But he will lay down in the six inches of water, lap at it, and then move himself in circles as if he is swimming. I put my own feet in the cold water and ate a popsicle and felt comfortable for the first time in a few days. My husband laughed at me when he came home to find me sharing the kiddie pool with a sixty-pound dog and my lips all orange from my popsicle.

I didn't mind the laughter - I felt great! If you need me, I'll be in the kiddle pool. With a popsicle.