There was a time when I felt relatively in control of my life, in the days before kids. I wanted to waste half of Saturday in bed, so I did. I felt like taking my husband out to dinner; no problem. I listened to whatever CD I wanted on every car trip. I could decide to take a car trip and be on my way within moments! Sometimes thinking back on the ease of controlling situations back then is almost an out of body experience. Was it really that easy?
At some point my time, and my body, slowly started becoming harder to control. I recall it being approximately the same day two little lines revealed themselves on the pregnancy test. If I wanted to sleep through the night, my body convinced me otherwise and I would be up to use the toilet regardless. If I wanted to eat a cheeseburger, my body would decide in and of itself whether said burger would stay down or come back up again. And after the birth, if I wanted to fit back into my skinny jeans, my body would take its own sweet time until the zip was able to secure tightly at the top of its teeth. Most of the time I have told myself that old parenting adage ‘this too shall pass’… and most things have resolved themselves within a year of the birth (however, by that point you’re fighting toddler battles that also feel out of your control!)
Kids (and the whole process of having them) are a sure fire way of making you feel out of control. Just try to control your day from start to finish once it’s not just you and your partner in the family equation. I dare you to make it past breakfast. ‘I wouldn’t change a thing’ is usually tacked on to sentiments like mine about the transition from before to after kids. It’s true, the joy a child brings you is something you’ll sacrifice almost anything for. But my continence? Really, body? You can’t keep that one under control?
Usually when pregnancy throws one of those hurlers at me that I’m convinced is my problem alone, I refer to my trusty pregnancy guide: I’m Not Fat, I’m Pregnant! by kiwi celeb, Jaquie Brown. The index reveals no fewer than four references to incontinence. Phew! I’m not weird. Well maybe I am, but not based on this small fact alone. Asking, at first with a little trepidation, around my pregnant peer group I found out that indeed I was not a lone sufferer.
Actually, one in three women experience light bladder leakage, and 40% of those whose undies aren’t coping with the sudden onset of urine are under 45. Well, what do you know, I’m right in the middle of the bell curve. I know from experience in my prior recovery from a birth that in the long term, my sporadic dedication to pelvic floor exercises will make the difference in this area of control.
In the meantime, in order to stay feeling relatively normal, I need to get on with life without feeling the hassle of those involuntary moments caused by a sneeze, a laugh or treading on my son’s lego. So, how best to minimise the LBL disruption? I didn’t want to fork out more money on ‘nappies’ for myself as well as stockpiling for the New Arrival. Changing my undies several times a day was also not practical, given I only fit what I would consider the narrowly-populated granny nanny panty area of my underwear drawer by mid pregnancy, anyway.
Bringing it back under control actually turned out to be relatively simple. You can try what worked for me for free here: becarefree.co.nz/plus. It was such a nice surprise to see Carefree in the light bladder leakage section on shelf. A familiar brand from my easier days! If you’ve found something has really helped with LBL, please feel free to share it below and maybe it will help others who are going through something similar – after all, we know there are lots of us out there! Hang in there, light bladder leakers!
This post was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Ltd.
