4/17/05 - Scents and Sensitivity

Even at 35 weeks, the world continues to smell funny. I've always had a pretty sensitive nose, but it got worse when I got pregnant. I can smell someone smoking a mile away. For the first seven months, the smell of Starbucks made my stomach lurch. Coffee has only begun to smell good to me again these past few weeks. But now I have a new and strange revulsion: asphalt. For some reason pavement smells like dirty gym socks to me, so I can't stand the stink of a parking lot or driveway. Isn't that the weirdest thing? The other thing that's really sensitive these days is my skin, especially the stretch marks on my belly. Even though I slather it with lotion twice a day, my belly feels very raw and sensitive, and I'm constantly adjusting the waistband of my pants to keep it from rubbing tender skin. I'm also beginning to feel bloated towards the end of the day (as if I didn't feel huge anyway!) My rings feel tight and my feet get swollen. I can't figure out if it's caused by the warmer weather or the extra weight I'm carrying. I figured being this close to delivery, I was done with surprise symptoms. I guess my body just likes to keep me guessing. I also keep forgetting how far my belly sticks out and end up bumping it alot, often with painful results. At work I have trouble reaching across the counter, and I barely have room to squeeze past a co-worker in the walkway. A few days ago my boss accidentally opened a drawer and hit me right in the gut. Boy, did that hurt! I've lost track of how many times I've smacked myself by turning around too quickly or misjudging how much room I had.