I’ve always had a pea-sized bladder. It’s a family joke;  we kids all have small bladders which meant lots of rest stops on family vacations.

I was the kid on a field trip who never had to be asked, “Are you suuuuure you don’t have to go” and who never needed prodding to “try.”

Even today, road trips are pretty challenging for me (and my companions who have to stop every other hour…!).

To say I know every single rest stop by name (and can tell you which food you could find at each) along I-95 between D.C. and N.J. would be a dramatic understatement.

And when I lived in El Salvador (or visit) and we would drive to the beach, always I knew where to find the nicest Esso stations along the way.

As a matter of pre-emption, I usually try to (duh) not drink a lot on road trips and to limit what I do drink so as not to need to stop multiple extra times (hey, a girl’s gotta hydrate!). At work and at home, I drink a ton of water, but I have easy access to a bathroom in both places.

Being pregnant has, as anyone can imagine, taken my pea-sized bladder to a whole new level.

I wake up 2-4 times a night to use the bathroom–even if the last water I drank was at 9 p.m.

There’s a constant feeling of pressure on my bladder at all times.

And I literally can’t run right now. Not even a small interval with my pup! I immediately feel the pressure and it’s like that annoying “Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now” TV spot on overdrive.

In fact, at the gym, my (now) 40-minute workouts are typically interrupted at least twice for bathroom breaks. And I’m only 21 weeks along!!!

I’m not sharing this to complain but rather note that my baby girl must be dancing on my bladder or something, and it’s impacting how I sleep, exercise … heck, even leisure activities are impacted! The thought of being in a public place with no access to a bathroom is terrifying.

At RibFest this weekend I had to go so badly, but am freaked by Porta-Potties (not only cauz they’re gross–I got locked in one when I was nine at an anti-radon rally in my hometown. I’ve never forgotten that fear!).

So I waited til we got to my office to use the bathroom; to me, in this case, holding it was the better option.

I know this will only get worse before it gets better and obviously I’m in for the long haul, but it’s kind of wild how much havoc something the length of a banana and weighing about a  pound can do to your body!!

I know in the end it’ll be worth it, but for now, if you see a red-headed girl darting for the bathroom who has just gone twice in the past hour … just might be me!