Pee, Pee, Pee All The Day Long...

So sorry for delay writing again (if anyone is even reading this half-academic/half-preganancy brain ranting). It has been a busy/sleepy series of days, and that includes Peeing Constantly!!

Pregnancy (n): sensation of having to pee all the time.

I used to be the kind of woman who could go loooong stretches without peeing. Commuting to teach over an hour away from home, with a schedule often packed so tight I would only get to pee at 8am and then again at 730pm, I had an ironclad ability to hold it in.

In addition, whether a sign of craziness or not, I always feel like going to the bathroom is a waste of time. Yes, I know its a natural part of human biology, but when I am in the middle of something important the stop to run to the bathroom feels like some twisted evolutionary quirk that we should be able to figure out a way around... Whatever my past slightly crazy Type A personality beliefs, I now feel like my life is dictated by peeing.

Throughout the day is ok, but I also wake up twice a night: once between 4-445am, and then again when the husband gets up to walk the dog at 645am. This feels crazy!! While sleeping, right before I am to wake up, I dream of water, of having to pee badly, of pressure on my stomach making me uncomfortable, then Boom. Right on cue I wake up and stumble to the bathroom to pee before eventually falling back asleep within 15min to half an hour.

At first this felt like another of the torturous events to pass over the gigantic petrie dish that I now call my body. However, a wise wife of a childhood friend who now has three girls, told me it was my body prepping me for what is to come. Waking at random hours to breastfeed the baby would be part of my life soon, so my body was getting me ready to wake up and be a fully sentient, conscious and able human on a moment's notice, and then be able to return to deep sleep quickly as well!

Then, my husband also read that the baby's amniotic fluid is actually recycled within the womb every few hours during the first trimester. During the second trimester, the baby begins excreting urine within the womb and then drinks it back in throughout the pregnancy, working out those kidneys!! So especially early, but actually throughout pregnancy this means that you Really Need to adhere to that whole 8-10 glasses of water a day since you're acting as a living, breathing waste treatment facility for the little person squatting in your belly.

Well wonders of nature never cease!! I feel a little better about the Why of all this peeing now, but lord knows rising at 430am after going to sleep at 12midnight has been coo-coo-bannanas at times. Plus I miss my dreams of randomness and fantastical happenings - my dreams used to be pretty warped and fun. Ah well. At least my body knows what's best even if I don't.

How are other women dealing with this?? Has anyone taken to wearing Depends?