Just feeling normal and then maybe not so much. (Pregnancy related issues this post)

I can't say that any of my first trimesters have been bad, because truth be told they have all been pretty mild compared to most women I talk to. But I can definitely say that this time has been the worst of the three. Tons of things contributed to that I suppose, being sick with a virus, IM recovery, 2 little ones already running around, 2 dogs, a full time job, a full time husband and other various part-time activities. I definitely had the worst nausea and fatigue and then just random "icky" feeling this time.

It started around week 6 and I thought it was done around week 9, but now that I'm at 15+ weeks, I can tell it lasted longer. It was only really last week that I felt good enough to do more than 2 days of exercise. I actually worked out 5 days last week, 1 of which was the Resolution run 5K. It's amazing how much better I feel just having been able to get some physical exercise in. Really, it's amazing how much more normal I feel. I mean the highlight of my week this week was being able to say, "I'm going to track practice tonight." Knowing full well that I wasn't going to do the workout, but I was going and was just going to run around that track with everybody else there. That's enough for me for now.

But during lap 2 of my run I had to stop to use the bathroom, which reminded me of the 5K this past Saturday morning, which reminded me why I eventually had to stop running in the second pregnancy with Brayden...the bladder doesn't quite have the same control as it normally does. I peed myself during the race pretty bad, and really without a huge urge to go. I mean really I had just gone 2 minutes before the start and I peed myself at mile 2.25 or something like that...like a good 10-12 oz...seriously???? Come on! Seriously?!?

Like I said, I had to stop running with Brayden because I had to wear pads to run due to the bladder control issue. It got to where that didn't help, so I just stopped. Although I shouldn't be surprised. It was an issue during the first pregnancy as well. I'm about to share a very embarrassing story about pregnancy with Ryan.

I was about 36 weeks pregnant and Tim and I took a trip to Home Depot for some random things. I went to the bathroom before walking out the door. We drove 10 minutes up the road and were walking around the store. Tim needed to go in one direction and I in another. So we split up. A few minutes later, Ryan kicks...really hard. I'm not talking a normal "oh, baby's got a strong kick", I'm talking break a rib kick. Fortunately, it was not my ribs he kicked. Unfortunately, it was my bladder. And at that moment I lost literally about a liter or more of urine on the floor of home depot.

As if this weren't enough, right at that exact moment, a very young (20 at the most, probably 18 or 19 yr old) man who worked there came around the corner and yelled out. "Oh ma'am...Oh are you ok. Did your water brake? Oh crap, don't move, don't move....I'll get help. Oh man." At that point other shoppers came flocking to see what was going on. Two older ladies came up to me and told me to sit down, that my water broke. I told one of them "I don't think it's my water, I think it's urine" to which she replied "honey, it's okay. You don't need to be scared, we'll get you to the hospital. It's not urine. You just need to accept that you're about to have a baby."

Well I started thinking: 1. I had just gone to the bathroom at home, no way I had that much urine in my bladder, 2. It was clear, not any tint to it at all and 3. There was no smell to it. Hmmm, maybe it was my water. The worker returned with paper towels and a wheel chair as a voice over the intercom said "Will customer Tim who's wife is pregnant please come to Isle 6 immediately". This caused yet another flood of customers. Then they put me in the wheel chair while the worker proceeded to clean up the mess with no gloves on. All the while I'm whispering to Tim that I think it's just pee. Everyone is telling Tim to hurry and get me to the hospital, and he says "I will right after I pay for this stuff." Crap, we're there, might as well get it, right? Idunno.

To the hospital we go. Monitors, internals and little paper tests....all say "it was just pee". But I did have Ryan a week later. For what it's worth, I did not step foot in that Home Depot for a good 8-10 months. Just couldn't do it.

Now, how does one work around a weak bladder during pregnancy in order to keep up running. I don't want to have to give it up again. Previously I just kept up with biking, the elliptical and some swimming, but I would love to keep running if I can.