This pregnancy has imparted on me a deep, deep thirst. I seem to be thirsty at all times, regardless of the amount of liquid that I have had to drink. And I’m not a sipper, I’m a gulper. I understand that this is common in pregnancy; I was surely thirsty during my first, but not, as I recall, quite this thirsty.
And this leads me to a dilemma. What do I drink? Water would seem to be the obvious choice, particularly as I’m drinking so much liquid. But my choices among water options are troubling:
Tap water: As countryfolk, we have well water. And we live in the land of industrial agriculture. Bad choice.
Bottled water: Last pregnancy, I bought bottled water by the case, but felt really bad about all of that plastic waste. Even though we were recycling, it’s just a shame to add that much more plastic onto the pile. And besides, I couldn’t really be assured that the liquid in the bottles was any better or worse, contaminant-wise, than my tap water. Non-optimal choice.
Water Cooler: This seemed to be a decent solution to the plastic waste problem of bottled water. Move up to the 5 gallon system, reuseable bottles, cool, fresh water. Okay, I still don’t really know about its quality. But it’s heavenly for chugging. The hitch: The bottle is stamped with a #7: polycarbonate plastic. Contains BPA, an endocrine disruptor, which can leach into the water I’m drinking. Ugh. Non-optimal choice.
Cans of sparkling water: Over ice, heavenly. But having stayed abreast of the BPA story for some time, it has finally come to light that aluminum cans are also lined with a type of plastic coating which contains BPA. Bad choice.
What’s left? Water in glass bottles. Heavy, hard-to-find. But if anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears!
Try San Pelligrino (sp?) mineral water. Sounds all fancy, but you can get it at Sam’s for not too much money. The bottles are large and glass, so may not work for you. But I love them.
Yes! Love San Pellegrino. I wish that it was available in water cooler size.
It may well be worth stocking the fridge with as many bottles as will fit.
Why not use a filter? You get the cheap convenience of tap water with most of the bad stuff removed.
If your water is really bad, or you’re ready to make a small investment, get a reverse osmosis filter. It would fit under your sink and filters all the water you use for drinking and cooking better than just about anything else.
Jason – thanks! We do have a whole house filter, and a second filter on the faucet, but even so, I’m wary of their combined abilities to filter out everything.
I’ve heard of reverse osmosis filters, but don’t know much about them – thanks for the suggestion – I’ll get cracking!