Hey, there’s still a person in there!! A bigger one, with a gorgeous spine, a four-chambered heart, kidneys and toes and a brain! While I’d gotten accustomed to seeing the heart beating in these foggy grey images, I hadn’t imagined I’d be looking into my kid’s skull. Clearly this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see your offspring all close up and translucent without even venturing under the bed or into the diary. Almost makes up for the fact that we can’t yet wander out into the sun together.
So here’s that kid -
getting the hitchhiking thumb prepped…
developing that lovely human profile…
and being a happy ghoul!
I should have asked for an image of the spine – it was the best part. When we first zeroed in on it, the baby was sleeping on its belly, those vertebrae all lit up and distinct, heart beating below. We woke it up with a few expert pokes and took a close look at hands and feet, internal organs, spun it around so we could look into the heart – like the empty shell of a walnut, or a fruit cut cross-wise.
Turns out I haven’t been feeling it because the placenta has made a home on the front of my uterus – which is apparently better than hanging out near the exit, but which also interferes with our nascent attempts at morse code. Who knew?
I got the usual sense of relieved assurance that the kid is still in there. Everything was perfect and I was glowing happily, still lying on the table with green jelly on my gut when the Head Doctor Guy came in. White lab coat buttoned up, embroidered with his name, he shook my hand and introduced himself. He said the pictures were good and he wondered when I’d have my second blood draw for the Bad Genetic Juju search. I said I wasn’t feeling it. Done with that. And anyway, I said, “it feels good, doesn’t feel like anything’s wrong.” Apparently changing subjects, he pointed out that my gender guess about the kid had been wrong. I laughed. He replied “See, so much for mother’s intuition.” Badum-ching!
Oh wait, was that supposed to help me reconsider my choice not to pursue second-stage screening? Woah. So much for the older generation of pig-headed doctors making their way out of the stone age.
He went away and I made my way into the sun to tell my story to mom and dad and my most enthusiastic childhood friend. Then I wandered into a local baby store to find something to celebrate the fabulous new person, only to be confronted and confounded by severe Gender Expectations. More on that later. I left empty-handed and soothed my grrrl-ness with a couple items tossed defiantly into the babywit cart. We’ll find our way through this pink and blue minefield yet…
hmmmm… maybe some alien genes in there somewhere! Amazing hands. Must be about mango sized by now, right?
My enthusiasm knows no bounds – just wait for it! That is a good looking little person you have brewing in there. I think it has your nose…
Heirloom tomato, they’ve elected this week. Bad choice, I’d say, considering how un-round fetuseses are at this stage!
There’s a great book by Kevin Henkes called Chrysanthemum, about a little girl mouse who goes to kindergarten only to discover that her name doesn’t fit on her name tag, her classmates think it’s “dumb” and that she’s named after a flower (of all things!). Of course, in the end, she bonds with her teacher whose name is, Delphinium! Gotta love kids’ books.