Is this really normal?

The lore of the bladder woes experienced by pregnant women is not foreign to me. The constancy of a rounded belly making a well-beaten path to a potty is an icon of American pregnancy. So, I am not taking lightly the stage wherein I am currently living out that stereotype. At this point, however, I have to ask with a sincere heart: Is this REALLY normal?

I CONSTANTLY have to tinkle.

I have attempted to abstain from describing those bodily functions I usually do not discuss. But, I am kind of in awe of my bladder's recent requirements of me and must now engage in a slightly more public forum about this topic.

Take this scenario, for example:

Yesterday, we ate dinner. About an hour and a half after that, Nathaniel and I decided to go to the gym. I changed my clothes, bound my chest, and emptied my bladder. By the time we got to the Y off of Hillsborough St. (a 3.6 mile trek according to Google maps), I had to relieve myself again. After washing my dried-out hands, I joined my husband in a warm up by power walking around the indoor track. After no more than 10 laps, I had to go again. I missed 2 laps as I excused myself to the bathroom. I rejoined my husband and, 3 laps later, felt the urge again. I could not find a cardio activity wherein the pressure on my bladder was relieved enough for me to fully engage, gave up and moved to weight lifting instead.

I am not required by my bladder's expulsions to remain a long time in the potty, but I am there so frequently that I'm starting to think of it as a second office. Today as I walked around my office and the grocery store, the bouncing of the activity made me feel that oh-too-familiar urge yet again. Is it possible that I will feel that pang relatively continuously for the next 11 weeks?

Is this REALLY really normal?

I am now in the third trimester. The final stretch. The long road home. 29 weeks today. I am getting the nursery painted, the bedding stitched, the clothing gathered, the classes registered, and the other endless details attended to. I am getting together a guest list for a baby shower (I PROMISE I am, Mary and Heather!). I am poking my finger no less than 4 times daily and, in a new development, administering 8 units of insulin overnight to address my liver's sleeplessness. I may never go through this stage again. Feeling strongly about adoption, I may stick to the original plan of grafting in our next children instead of popping them out. I am savoring these moments whether they be painful, stressful, delightful, or peaceful.

But, really... in this whole bladder scenario, I have got to ask: IS THIS REALLY NORMAL?