[organicpapayamama]

With ds I didn't really do kegles. Maybe here and there but nothing that I thought made a difference. So my question is who has done it in the past? Did you find them beneficial? How so? And how do you know it was the kegels that helped and not just the way your body recovers? I guess it doesn't hurt to do them but I always forget. And I'm in such a rush to pee all the time the last thing I wanna think about is delaying peeing lol so what are your thoughts?

 

[Jelinifer]

I do them in the car. I have a 3+ hour commute daily (depending on how many of my clients I get out to visit each day) and I do them whenever I hit a stoplight. This is my first kiddo though, so I don't really have a past experience sans-kegels to compare it to!

 

[Kuba'sMama]

Ugh, I hate Kegels!
I don't know why, I hate them with a passion! On the other hand, every time I mention it to my midwife, she says "that means you need more Kegels", ugh. I'm not sure if it's because of my lack of Kegels, but I do experience some incontinence this time around (it's my third). Kind of sucks too, especially for those surprising sneezes, lol.
So I guess I'm saying do as I say, not as I do (because I'm still not doing them!)

 

[May-Baby]

I do them while lying in bed, reading before bed. I hope it helps!!!

 

[Starfish11]

One of my best friends is a midwife who specializes in vagina care

She is vehement about those kegels so I do mine all the time. My vagina can only thank her for her diligence to its care.

She has a blog, btw, if you want to read it called "The Vagina House."

 

[emnic77]

Constantly. They've proven themselves useful in the bedroom, and I hate peeing when I sneeze.

 

[jecombs]

I did them with my first. This time around I got lazy and just didn't do them as regularly as I should. Then I started leaking some urine (sorry TMI)... I've been doing them constantly for the past couple of weeks and the leaking has stopped! So yes, I think they are very beneficial.

 

[tippy]

ok, you ladies are making me feel bad.
gots to start doing mine...
i like the stoplight method that jelinifer does. maybe i'll do them in the car!

 

[elyag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuba'sMama Ugh, I hate Kegels! I don't know why, I hate them with a passion! On the other hand, every time I mention it to my midwife, she says "that means you need more Kegels", ugh. I'm not sure if it's because of my lack of Kegels, but I do experience some incontinence this time around (it's my third). Kind of sucks too, especially for those surprising sneezes, lol. So I guess I'm saying do as I say, not as I do (because I'm still not doing them!)

I *know* I should be doing them but I hate doing them. I really need to also.. I hate surprise pee when I sneeze as well. Plus all the women in my family has had problems with uterine prolapse and have all needed hysterectomies pretty early in life which I want to avoid. I'll start tomorrow.....

I've read all about doing them and how to do them but I still don't know if I'm even doing them right.

 

[theoldmommers]

I was very good doing them when pg with DS. This time very lazy. I can however stop a pee stream from a full bladder absolutely dead if requested to pee some off by medical personel, so I think I'm in pretty good shape.

I ended up with an episiotomy and level 3 tear with DS, so they obviously didn't help me with the birth, but I was religious about them afterward. I wrote "kegels" on the toilet seat in lipstick as a reminder!

 

[brooklyn_warbler]

i have been the worst about kegels both time. i just can't remember to do them! this is weird because i work out regularly and am very aware of my body...i just forget to do kegels. any recommendations on remembering?

luckily no problems (knock wood) either time. so far anyway!

 

[thefreckledmama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emnic77 Constantly. They've proven themselves useful in the bedroom, and I hate peeing when I sneeze.

I do them all the time, even when not pregnant.

 

[LilMama23]

I'm so lazy. I did them religiously with DD and had a really quick recovery. This time, I haven't done them at all yet.

 

[Tenk]

I do them as per my physical therapists suggestion and I still pee when I throw up LOL

 

[DeChRi]

I didn't do many when I was pregnant with DD1 or DD2. But I have a good excuse. Ahem.

I am very conscience of my weight lifting routine, which I maintain throughout pregnancy. I've realized that when I do things like decently heavy squats, and tighten my core when pressing back up (or lunges, or whatever) that I naturally do a kegal.

Therefore, I maintain my lifting, while being mindful of the core tightening to get the double benefit. I had an small episiotomy with my first, 11 yrs ago (before I knew better) and with my second I had a very minor tear (like 1-2 stiches). My "muscular" bounce back in that area both times has been excellent and I have never had sneeze/pee issues at all.

I really attribute it to the bodies natural tendency to kegal when doing much lower body strength training.

Or at least I will tell myself that as I love to lift and hate to kegal.

 

[NullSet]

Man, I need to start back up with those.

 

[Starry-eyedMom]

This is my third and I've only done them sporadically. (TMI ahead

this time with my violent nausea, I would pee almost everytime I threw up! That hadn't happened before, so I'm thinking I'd better get crackin' on them Kegels!

I think a note in the bathroom or in the car would help me remember. Gotta do that.

 

[wobit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emnic77 Constantly. They've proven themselves useful in the bedroom, and I hate peeing when I sneeze.

Let's all underscore this reason to Kegel. If you have very strong pelvic floor muscles, the fun contractions of orgasm will be more powerful and apparently feel much stronger (according to the urogynocology docs). So instead of thinking of your Kegels as something you're doing just to avoid peeing on yourself, think of it as sexual training you can do anywhere!

Also, I don't know how closely related kegels are to not tearing, but they're definitely related to having a good return to urinary control after delivery, and 10-15 years down the road when you're aging and everything starts going a little slack. There are surgeries, but a good Kegel regimen sounds better to me.

It feels naughty but I've actually been looking at some of the wide variety of "tools" that can be used. I'm more likely to do the exercises if there's a geek component with feedback, and I'm also (probably excessively) anxious that I'm tensing the wrong parts. You can actually get little weights to hold in, which require that you perform the exercise with perfect form.

35 years after having her babies, my mom started having symptoms of pelvic floor weakness, and the only risk factor she had was big vaginal babies. She did not get into Kegels prior to her menopause. After a year of trying with actual physical therapy (where they simply teach you Kegels), she had the surgery. It's worked well for her, but I'd rather do the Kegels now and prevent the whole thing.

But I do tell myself it's all for sexual health.