The Things They Never Tell You

This is sponsored content written by me in partnership with Depend^®. All opinions are my own.

Alright ladies, let’s talk about our bodies. Guys, you are more than welcome to join us in this conversation, I’m just giving you fair warning that it is about to get personal! The female body is one that is born ready for battle. We go through a significant change during puberty, our hormones are all over the place for much of our lives, we have a monthly reminder (and often annoyance) that we may be fertile (something you never actually know, but you get your period nonetheless), and some fight through the birthing process. We are warrior chicks, my friends. We put on our armor at birth and fight our way through each stage, knowing that it’s never going to be a totally smooth ride. That said, no one really talks about what happens after each battle, we only talk about the winning. Well, we’re going to change that today.

I have two children, 9 and 12. They are the lights of my life and I say a regular thank you to the universe for giving me the gift of getting to be their mother. I was able to have a vaginal birth with both children, although my son’s birth was more complicated. I pushed for 3 hours with him and, due to potential complications with both him and me, there were 21 people in the room by the time he came out (with a little help from a vacuum). It was about ten minutes into the pushing stage that I realized that I no longer had any shame. I wouldn’t have cared if hundreds of hospital staff walked through my room; it just didn’t matter anymore. My body was doing something that I had no control over and if they were going to help, they were my new best friends. Luckily, both my son and I came through the delivery just fine, the staff was relieved, and we went on our merry way towards getting cleaned up and bonding.

I had read book after book in preparation for bringing my new baby home. I learned pretty quickly that the books give you very little real life application, but they made me feel that I was in control of the situation. At least a little bit. That said, I had read nothing in regards to what my own body would do. I didn’t know what a third degree tear was, how to care for myself or what would happen after. We have these bodies that are ready for battle, but man, they do get pummeled sometimes! My amazing nurse showed me what pads, ointments, and ice packs to use and I was given a few pairs of my very own cheese-cloth underwear. Happy birthday to me!

I began healing from the tear very quickly, but I encountered a few other bumps in the road. First, the medication stopped up my system. I’d never experienced this before, but I’m going to be candid with you – it took me seven days to use the bathroom. And that was only because I called my doctor in hysterics saying that I couldn’t go and was in pain. She prescribed me a prescription elixir, and a number of hours later that issue was relieved. I can’t have been the only person this happened to, right? I can honestly say that I’ve never discussed this with my closest of friends, so sharing it with you is me shedding the veil of secrecy. It’s embarrassing! But if I went through it, I know that some of you did as well.

So finally, I was really healing. I’d used the bathroom, the stitches from my tear had come out, and I was down to using a regular pad for anything that might show up that I wasn’t prepared for. Life for my body was getting back to normal – except for one thing. The urine leakage. NO ONE TELLS YOU that this might happen!! You hear the stories of people sneezing and leaking, but that’s someone else. That’s not me. It doesn’t even make sense. My body always knew what to do, this had never happened my entire life, and here I was with random leakage that was ultra confusing. HUH?? Which is when my doctor suggested using Depend®.

I will admit, when she first made this suggestion, I was taken aback. At this point in my life, I thought that bladder leakage was something that happened as you got older or as a result of other physical challenges. I thought that was what products like Depend® were for. I am extremely grateful that their advertising has changed over recent years in order to show that women that all ages can benefit. This is something that can happen not just to older people, but to people of your age group – to you. As such, thank goodness that there are products out there to help.

So, I bought some Depend®. I used them for a few weeks and did my Kegel exercises until it seemed that my muscles remembered what to do. A huge sigh of relief at that point! When I had my daughter a few years later, I already knew the drill. I had everything ready and without much fear this time, did what I had to do in order to get my body back into shape.

It is now years later and my body is a different body. When I get sick, I make sure that I have Depend® Silhouette® Active Fit® Briefs on-hand. While I typically don’t have problems on a daily basis, when my body feels weak or super sneezy/coughy, I see leakage happen again. What are you going to do? You’re going to use the products that have helped in the past and are there for you to use into the future. We all know that the last thing that we want is anything holding us back, so this sure won’t be that “thing.”

I would love to hear more about your story! And if you haven’t looked into Depend® briefs, it’s time to give them a try! They are slim and no one will notice you wearing them. You’ll have the confidence to do what you need to do so that you can go back into battle.

For more information about incontinence, Depend® products and for product coupons, please visit: this link and follow Depend® on: Depend.com, Facebook.com/Depend, Youtube.com/ kc10dependchannel and Pinterest.com/dependbrand.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Depend®. The opinions and text are all mine.