PSA: Make sure you drink water in the heat

Yesterday my little girl ended up with heat exhaustion and I spent the rest of the 4th of July evening tending to her, trying to keep her cool and get fluids into her. We were concerned as she was vomiting up everything she would drink (and what little she ate), but finally, she was able to hold down some Pedialyte and started feeling better towards the end of the night. This morning she was doing a lot better.

Why did this happen? Yesterday we had temperatures in the mid to high 80s with some humidity here, and my daughter was outside, riding her bike with her friends. I thought she was drinking water but apparently she was not, because when she came inside, she told me "I feel nauseous, can I lay down?" I told her yes and asked if she had been drinking water, she said no and asked "Is that why I don't feel good?", I told her that is why I have her drink water all the time.

While I took care of her, I ended up with a bit of heat exhaustion because I realized I wasn't drinking enough water or looking after myself, so I started drinking a large cup of water slowly. In the end, I hope she learned her lesson about the importance of drinking water and keeping hydrated, because yesterday's events were not fun, especially for her!

Despite that, we had a great 4th of July, and a wonderful BBQ on a tiny budget! I'll post about that one tomorrow!

Everything in moderation, right?

Another problem I have during the summer is making sure I drink more water than iced tea. During the summer there's always a pitcher of sweet iced tea in my fridge, which makes it easy for me to go straight for that (since it's refreshing) instead of what I should be drinking more of- water. Typically speaking, I drink anywhere from 4-7 gallons of water a week, depending on my intake. During the summer it will dwindle down to 2-3 gallons a week due to the fact that I'm probably chugging more iced tea than anything else.

Also, I don't use aspartame sweeteners in my tea- I use sugar. Not that most healthy thing, but I'd rather use sugar than aspartame. I am anticipating the opening of Trader Joe's here in Bellingham so I can see if they have the Agave Nectar or Stevia so I can use that as a sugar substitute instead.

The main thing I have to remember is that moderation is key, but when it's a nice warm day and you're just relaxing, who doesn't want to go for something a little sweet and refreshing? Maybe if I keep my freezer stocked with ice this summer I'll drink more water. I always find that drinking water with ice makes it easier to actually enjoy drinking water and makes it easier to forget about the sweet iced tea.