“Nothing,” Maya said, her voice clear and strange to her own ears. “I can smell her. I can actually smell my baby.”
“Thank you for that poetic diagnosis,” Maya replied, dabbing at her raw nose with a menthol tissue. pregnancy symptoms stuffy nose
But the next morning, the left nostril had switched shifts with the right. Then, by noon, both had declared a permanent strike. Her head felt like a balloon, her voice had taken on a nasal, almost cartoonish quality, and the only way she could taste her coffee was to hold her breath and slurp. “Nothing,” Maya said, her voice clear and strange
Maya sank onto the bed, a grin breaking through her exhausted, puffy face. “Apparently. It’s called pregnancy rhinitis. Your body increases blood flow to all the mucous membranes. Everything swells up. Even your nose.” But the next morning, the left nostril had
She took another breath, just for the joy of it. Then she looked down at June, who was already scrunching up her tiny face, rooting for milk, utterly unaware that for her mother, every clear breath from now on would feel like a small miracle.
“Are you… okay?”
She laughed, then immediately had to stop because laughing made it harder to breathe through her mouth. “It’s a small price.”