Put Your Gloves On
While it is cold enough where I am to literally freeze your tongue to a pole (see A Christmas Story), it’s definitely cold enough for mittens and gloves. Which I wear every time I leave the house…and also to bed.
I did make it through my best friends’ baby shower without any further damage to my hands (thanks to the gloves and LOTS of lotion). She then surprised us all by delivering nearly 3 weeks early, just days after the baby shower. Talk about timing!
My hands right now are just REALLY dry…makes me look about 8 years old. I’ve been sleeping with my gloves and lots of lotion at night and it does seem to help, except it’s difficult to work the remote, change diapers, and nurse with those gloves on. Then as soon as I’m up in the morning and the gloves are off, my hands are under water nearly all day. Between dishes, laundry, diapers, potty time, and other household duties, it’s nearly impossible to go more than 30 minutes without submerging my hands. Believe it or not, I’ve even held off going to the bathroom because I just put lotion on my hands. I usually wait and time it with a diaper change or trip to the potty for my older child.
I did have a follow-up visit with my rheumatologist the other week, and besides the dryness, we discussed a ganglion cyst that has developed on my left ankle. Turned up a few months ago and has gotten progressively larger as the days have passed. She didn’t think too much of it, but did send me to xrays to confirm it wasn’t anything other than a cyst (which it was). Her prescription – to go to a special store about an hour away to get fitted for shoes with better arch support. Arg. I love my clogs. I’m in slippers most of the day. What kind of ugly shoes are they going to have for me? Not to mention I’m a 12m, so the selection at that size isn’t all that great.
I did call the other day to confirm they actually carry my size before I make a trip there and find out that they can’t help me. She had also suggested arch supports for my shoes, so maybe they can start there and we can see how that helps. I guess between the two pregnancies and the extra baby weight I’m still carrying (but whittling down thanks to another bout with Weight Watchers and some willpower) my arches have started to let go. I know it’s only going to get worse, especially when I’m able to start running again…which is why I’d prefer the arch supports as I can tuck them into my sneakers. I’m VERY picky about sneakers as there’s just one brand (Nike) that I’ve found is the most comfortable/best fit for my long narrow feet.
Well, we’ll see how soon I can get to that store as my weekends are packed and it’s not something I’m going to try alone with two small children. That’s a recipe for either a snap (wrong) decision or a complete and utter meltdown on all of our parts.