Life Without A.C.

No, not A.C. Slater. I'm talking A.C. as in air conditioning. And no, mine's not broken. It's non-existent! Your first question might be, "ARE YOU F*ING CRAZY???" and my answer to that is "Um, yeah." But to be honest, for about 330 days out of the year we really don't need it. We are grateful to live in a pre-war brick apartment building with about 3 feet of concrete between each floor, which means it's super quiet and for some reason, it stays relatively cool in the summer. It is not cool, however, when it reaches over 85*F for a couple days in a row. Then it can get downright uncomfortable. But it still doesn't justify (in our eyes) buying a window AC unit or 2 or 3 and jacking up our expenses and contributing to global warming, yada yada yada.

Your  next question is probably, "So, how do you live without air conditioning???". So here are my tips:

1) Fans. These are essential. They don't have to be expensive or massive or installed in your ceiling (though that would definitely be great for saving space!). If you're in a tiny apartment, as we are, you don't want too many fans because they take up too much space! And what are you going to do with them in the winter? We went with 1 per person (pre-baby) which means 1 in the living room and 1 that gets moved between the bedroom and kitchen depending on what time of day it is. Now with little one napping in the bedroom during the day, I'm considering buying a 3rd fan but so far we just have the 2.

2) Dark curtains. These will help keep out the sun's harsh rays and added heat. If you want to really go for it, get the thick black-out curtains! We just have regular ones which let in a bit of light, just enough so you can get by without turning on extra lights in the house during the day, cutting down on more added heat. Curtains have the added benefit of giving you privacy because no A.C. on a hot day means no clothes. Just make sure you have something laying around that's quick to slip on when the FedEx guy comes a ringing!

3) Cold showers. These will cool you off and get rid of the yucky stick-factor! I recommend taking one when you wake up in the morning, after any outside ventures, and before you go to bed. Then take it slow after coming out of the shower - it's not fun to start sweating before you're even dried off from your shower!

4) Hydrate. Be sure to drink tons of water, ice water is especially cooling. Monitor your pee - it should be pale and often! If you are breastfeeding, as I am, drink even more water since little one is sucking tons out of you. Also be sure to monitor your baby for dehydration: sunken in soft spot, less wet diapers, wet diapers that are yellow and/or smell. If you notice any of these (or these), contact your pediatrician. I go ahead and sneak in some extra feedings if I notice my little one has been sweating (which he sometimes does while sleeping or while outside).

The past 2 summers in this apartment were really not bad, except for 1 or 2 weeks during a heat wave. But this is my first summer with baby and I'm a wee bit nervous. This week was hella hot, and so far so good...fingers crossed!!

Too hot for the sleep sack which means Kenzo is doing night time acrobatics!!

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