Smells Like I'm Going to Puke

A dear, pregnant friend of mine emailed me a hysterical story last week.  Hysterical to me, not so much to her.

A client walked into her office sometime after the breakfast hour reeking of Dunkin Donuts.  Apparently there is a potent and recognizable "smell of Dunkin Donuts."  I say "apparently" because my sense of smell sucks.  It's been muted my whole life and I'm used to not appreciating the smellier side of life, in fact I consider it a blessing of sorts.  On top of The Double D being a pungent restaurant, my friend's sense of smell is wildly heightened as a side effect of her pregnancy.  With all this in play, the client barely made it through the office door before my friend was fighting an extreme need to projectile vomit.

For many pregnant women, normal smells are potent and potent smells are an all out assault on the nostrils.  While many people consider nausea a telltale symptom of pregnancy, it is sometimes not a independent symptom but just the response to an overwhelming smell.  Things that would be a mellow or even pleasing scent under normal (aka non-pregnant) conditions can become revolting when whiffed during pregnancy.  This smelling super power is a result of elevated levels of estrogen.  Blame it on the hormones - the cause of most overwhelming and heightened female behaviors.

So, my pregnant friend is on the verge of barfing all over her client because all she can smell is an extra light, extra sweet hazelnut coffee and Boston Creme donut.  She is literally turning her back to hide the retching.  By some small miracle, she manages to hold it together until the meeting is over and he finally leaves.  Crisis averted.  Or not...a young boy comes into her office for her next meeting of the day and within seconds vomits all over her shoes.

Her story ended there.  And so does this one.