Today I went to the dr's office for my weekly routine checkup. Thankfully everything is ok so far. I'm still waiting for my culture test to return to see if I have any infections. I was relieved to hear that the doctor wants to see me on weekly basis until I reach up to 25 weeks. 25 weeks is usually the age of viability. Once again it was reassuring to hear the baby's heart especially having some cramps and tummy ache over the weekend.
On top of all that that State of Massachusetts is on "boil alert" which means you need to boil your water before use. My good friend H. called me on Saturday to warn me about the tap water being contaminated. And even though I always use our PUR water purifier, its not good enough. I can't remember if I drank or washed or cooked with the water on Saturday. I probably did. I know that hundreds of pregnant moms probably drank the water already.
After my dr's appt. I went grocery shopping. The bottled water isle is completely empty and sold out. All Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are banned from selling coffee. All fast food chains are banned from selling fountain soda. Just recently I went to pick up free bottled water (thankfully it was only down 1 block from my house) but there was enormous traffic. Police and cars everywhere. We're off the highway I can see the 4 way intersection backed up with traffic. Luckily I know the back roads and was able to pick up 1 big case of free bottled water in less than 15 minutes!
I was upset on Saturday because I thought it was ok to brush my teeth with tap water as long as I don't consume it. I was wrong. We received strict guideline to boil water to wash our hands, brush teeth, etc. We're not suppose to wash fruits or vegetables with tap water either. I worried if I gave my dog tap water that day. And most of all if my baby was infected by the contaminated water. But after I spoke with my dr. today, he advised to continue to boil water to kill any bacteria or e. coli. I'm not showing any symptoms of infections. My dr. said to look out for any signs of diarrhea or vomiting.
The thing that really shocked me was we can not wash our dishes with tap water either. If we do, we are to use chlorox and gloves. The bacteria from the contaminated water can still be on the dishes. Out of fear of using bleach, I took the time to boil all the utensils and dishes in boiling water. Another thought crossed my mind of using disposables but the grocery and convenient stores are all out of disposable cutlery and bowls. Thankfully I have some left over from the strict bedrest last week which made my life a little easier. It's really amazing how humans can not live without water.
I'm glad I'm heading to NY before the end of this weekend. So far, I have enough water to last me a few days for consumption and cleaning. And of course for my dog! =) We're unsure how long the tap water will return to normal. I know once the state gives the green light to use it again, we will need to replace our water filters and flush out our pipes according to MA Dept. of Public Health. If anyone in MA is reading this or have any questions about the safety rules, you can visit http://www.mwra.com/
A ‘catastrophic’ rupture hits region’s water system - The Boston Globe
Posted using ShareThis
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Oh my!! That sounds terrible. I can't imagine not being able to use water!! However, I am glad you and baby are doing well.
ReplyDeleteThat's horrible! I can't even imagine! But in better news--I'm glad that you and the baby are doing well. That's so reassuring to hear that your doctor wants to see you every week. I was appreciative of every two weeks--but what a blessing to see the baby every week! Take care of yourself...let me know if you need me to send you disposable dishes/utensils!
ReplyDeleteoh wow this is the first time I'm hearing about this! Water is such a vital resource it's used it all aspects of our lives and to not be able to trust it is just awful! Glad to hear you are doing ok - going to catch up on the rest of your recent posts!
ReplyDelete