***This is a sponsored post for The Continence Foundation of Australia. All opinions are my own, just like my bladder control issues.***
Speaking to my personal trainer the other day (“Hi, Elle!”) about the mind and body’s connection to self-confidence, she made an interesting point.
Our confidence doesn’t come from the heart or head.
The heart is too emotional; our head can be too clinical. Too much of one or the other doesn’t do anyone, least of all, ourselves justice.
We are at our most confident, making the best decisions when they’re based on intuition; what our gut tells us; from the source of our core.
When you think about it, your gut instinct never or rarely, lets you down.
Yet, our core is the first to go kaput once we’re pregnant and have children.
Our pelvic floor – the muscles that control our bladder and bowel – becomes non-existent.
Something like this…
Cannot be done without a sudden urge to rush to the toilet or the need to wear a Tena.
1 in 3 of us who have given birth have this problem. Eek! That’s a LOT of rushing to the loo…and not making it.
And that’s where our confidence went, girlfriends…with our pelvic floor.
Good news is like with any other muscle, the solution in getting them back is to exercise. The even better news is you don’t have to lift a single bar bell. Yeah, baby…
I guess it’s about remembering when to do them.
The Continence Foundation of Australia have released Pregnancy Pelvic Floor Plan, a resourceful and free app to be used during a pregnancy or post-natal journey.
If you are expecting, you can enter your due date, tracking weekly milestones. Also there are helpful tips on health, diet, exercise and general well being.
I wish this app was around when I was pregnant. I would’ve saved so much time, money and freaked out moments avoiding all those outdated, overwhelming pregnancy books.
I can set daily reminders to do my little down under work out, 3 times a day for a couple of minutes. At home, in the library, while I’m having a cocktail…
If only I looked this sexy while doing them…
For one lucky reader, I have a beautiful pamper Perfect Potion package (valued at $150) to giveaway! Filled with bath, body and skin care goodies, guaranteed the organic products will get you right back to your core and feeling fabulous!
All you have to do is:
Subscribe to With Some Grace by Email
Leave a comment on this post telling me:
“When was the last time your gut instinct was spot on?”
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Joining Essentially Jess for IBOT
The last time my gut instinct was right would’ve been when I booked accommodation for a mini getaway for my husband, myself and our three young girls.
The price for the stay seemed to good to be true, and once I paid in full, there were issues with communication, etc and I just felt like this holiday wasn’t going to end happily.
Boy was I right.
We checked in to the place and were greeted with what seemed like a relatively neat home. I made up the beds as we had to provide our own linen, but was shocked to see that a plastic plate with some sort of dried substance had been left under one of the beds. I removed it and went to unpack our groceries. The pantry had a LOT of chipped plates, which was really gross, and a saucepan had some yukky food still stuck in it.
By this stage, I was fuming. I decided to just try and relax with a glass of wine and a book whilst hubby went into town to buy a map as we had planned to do some day trips over our stay.
I sat down on the couch, wine in hand, book in the other, when a little friend decided to pay me a visit. A friend also known as a mouse. Or rat, even. I jumped up on that couch so fast I would’ve won an award and screamed so loud I would’ve been heard for miles.
My girls all came running in and we were all freaking out. There was no way I was going to stay there. I stripped all the beds again and packed up all of our things, and we were out of there. It is the shortest holiday we have ever had. It took us longer to drive there and back.
I luckily got a refund on the place, but have learnt that if something looks too good to be true, it usually is!
I use to think my gut instinct was pretty good but I’ve possibly been a tad too distracted because I’ve been missing the mark on a lot of things lately. The last time my gut instinct was spot on was last night. I had a weird feeling that we were being followed as we were walking back to the carpark from an event we had been out in town. I instinctively moved closer to hubby and without needing to say anything he instinctively put his arm around me and my handbag and we quickly moved to the other side of the street and into a restaurant that was open.
Who really knows what would have happened if we hadn’t but we weren’t taking any chances.
Mystery Case recently posted..Because I’m social media FREE to do what I want…… any old time
I love this explanation and so true, it really is our gut instinct that is spot on. The last time my gut (and it was pretty big at the time!) really spoke to me was when I was 31 weeks pregnant with our now 13mth old and I just knew something wasn’t right. All afternoon I’d been having braxton hicks contractions and while they would stop if I change positions, I still knew something was going on. After two previous prem deliveries I rang the hospital and without asking if I should come in, I said I was on my way. My husband was a little dubious and thought I was over reacting and was just anxious as we’d never been that pregnant before (and also told me he that – a dangerous thing to say to a pregnant woman!) so I drove myself the 30 min trip to hospital at 10pm at night, parked in the ridiculously expensive carpark and toddled over to the Mothers Hospital. I was quickly hooked up to a CTG which was showing I was having ‘real’ contractions and was quickly jabbed with steroids and given meds to help stop them. I was then admitted and just a few hours later my waters broke. We managed to keep our baby boy inside for another 5 days and once he was born and all the drama died down all I said to my husband was “I told you so” 🙂
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It was today. I’m toilet training my toddler and I just *knew* I should have made him sit on the potty before driving to pick up my daughter from school. He said he didn’t want to so I didn’t make him… so then just as I entered the school grounds he produced this hot steaming mess of liquid poo all down his legs and all over my jumper (yes, I was holding him at the time. Stupid me.) Sooo embarrassing and gross and stinky and I never want that to happen again!!!
My gut instinct was right with my daughters allergies. The drs kept telling me that her vomiting, colic and rash was all normal reactions for a newborn and even though I was a first time mum it just didn’t feel right. Finally after over a month of dr and hospital visits they finally diagnosed her with a cows milk protein allergy. We’ve since found out that shes also allergic to soy, eggs, apple, pear and avocado.
Toni @ Finding Myself Young recently posted..Mummy Must Have | Pretty Little Closet
If only that app was available when I was pregnant, but even then would I have realised how important it was to use it?! You know what I can’t for the life of me think of an example when my gut instinct was spot on. Will come back if I think of something :/
Renee at Mummy, Wife, Me recently posted..8 signs you’re more addicted to Frozen than your child
Phoaw. You can lift some weights, lady. My gut instinct is frequently misleading, I swear it’s telling me to eat those chocolate cannoli most of the day x
Cybele recently posted..Geisha face and body treatment
My gut instinct was spot on last week, when I thought it was going to rain, so I got the washing off the line right on time 🙂
Got to love a well working pelvic floor 🙂
EssentiallyJess recently posted..‘Cause That’s What Writers Do #IBOT
I totally agree. I frequently teach / explain pelvic floor exercises and they WORK – (as long as they are done)
As for trusting my gut instinct – it’s been burnt to a crisp over the years. Critical thinking is now my best friend. Sad isn’t it…
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A while ago, a family member had a new boyfriend. There was something not quite right about him. He was a bit off, weird and he had took an unhealthy liking to my som. I knew he wasn’t right and we made sure we saw as little of him as humanly possoble (it wasn’t possible to never see him), we never let our son out of our sight, and I was right not to.
Actually, I did my Kegel exercises faithfully, ever since my sister told me her post natal “fart-piss” dilemma. As Murphy’s Law would have it, I had C-sections. Got any suggestions for an itchy scar? Ha, ha!
Nami recently posted..Doing The Right Thing in Underpants
I had a gut instinct my friend was pregnant because she cancelled on a seafood buffet due to a “cold”. I was right. She was only 8 weeks at the time.
Years ago, I felt uneasy about a friend of a friend getting that dirty vibe from him if that makes sense. And boom, I walked into my bedroom when they were over one afternoon and there he was looking through my undies drawer, holding a pair to his nose SNIFFING THEM. Spot on with the gut instinct, revolted by his actions. But now we laugh about it, and no haven’t seen him since.
When I was pregnant with my little guy I knew within a week of conception no symptoms I just knew 🙂
Last week when I felt that we should postpone our trip away by an hour as I felt uneasy – about 20 mins later my Mum rang to say Dad had suffered a heart attack and I was lucky to be able to see him before he passed later that day
When I decided to quit my job and move 3000 kms to be with the guy I’d met just a few week earlier. 14 years od marriage and two kids later, my gut was certainly right.