HEIGHTENED SENSE OF SMELL

This little pregnancy symptom of mine deserves a blog of it's own. I have been lucky to not suffer many of the pregnancy ailments that a lot of women experience -- especially the first trimester ones. But this symptom seems to be plaguing me the most this time around. My sniffer is on serious over drive these days. It's so sensitive, in fact, that it is the culprit for my hormonal swings and shifts in mood. There are smells I just literally cannot tolerate. For instance -- the house -- despite how clean I keep it -- there always seems to be a "smell" about it. Our bedroom is the worst offender. I literally cannot stand the combination of smells that join in that room. No one else can smell a thing -- just me -- but good grief it drives me to intense irritation. The kitchen is another culprit. I can't stand the smell of the garbage can. It ALWAYS smells foul to me. ALWAYS!!! There's cigarette smoke, gasoline, unwashed hair, coffee -- so much more. But the weirdest one of all -- MEN!!! There's is something in the chemical or hormone that men put out that drives me absolutely batty these days. Maybe it's because I'm already pregnant and this is mother nature's way of telling me "keep those men away -- you don't need em anymore", but good grief it's so off putting. Each man has their own unique smell that drives me bonkers. Jason -- oh poor Jay Jay buns -- his smell is like a combination of coffee and alcohol -- both of which he does not drink. It can be really subtle or really intense. My good friend at work smells like bad coffee. Another man I know -- reminds me of motor oil. And for some reason the smells are very irritating to me. They set my nerves on fire. These poor men that I love so much -- what the heck???? I don't recall this happening with my first pregnancy. Although, I vaguely remember being sensitive to the way Jason smelled right after he got home from riding his motorcycle. He would absorb the smells of the road and it would take about an hour to dissipate -- but it never affected my mood like this. So strange -- it's unique to this pregnancy. I am really looking forward to getting some relief from this symptom. I know my sniffer will always be mom-a-fied, but I am certain that it will get less sensitive and less connected to my hormones. Damn estrogen -- oh well. BTW -- I read that they think this heightened sense of smell is linked to morning sickness. Thank goodness it hasn't affected me in that way. I'll take some irritation over nausea and vomiting any day!!!