Imitating Real Life

UPDATE: I should add that the real life ultrasound went well. This baby has a funny in utero personality of not liking to be poked, so he or she played hide and seek for much of it. When the sonographer had him/her cornered to get a picture of his/her face, he/she promptly put his/her hands in front on his/her face and kept them there. We did get the shot, but after much poking around. And as you can tell, we didn't find out the gender.

One of the best parts about being a parent is watching our children work out their interpretation of the world by acting out what they see and experience in real life. A week or so ago we took them to the ultrasound appointment. We did this only because we didn't have anyone to watch them when we went and Eric didn't want to miss it. Thankfully, the sonographer was very welcoming and enthusiastic about bringing in the entire family. And if I knew how much they were going to get out of it, I wouldn't have hesitated.

Joshua was a bit confused that the baby couldn't see us, but mostly he was fascinated by all the equipment and how we could see the baby's hands and feet. When he first came in, he came right to my side and held my hand, looking very worried. Once I reassured him it didn't hurt a bit, he was much more relaxed. Mari, once again, was disappointed that the baby wasn't coming out that day. Both children were intrigued with the gel they put on my belly and were excited to goop it on themselves when the appointment was done.

But the best part was the next day when they decided to "play ultrasound" for almost an hour. And they did this everyday for three days.

Sonographer Joshy explaining to Mama Mari what will be done:
"Now this is where your baby is. It won't hurt you or the baby."



Applying the gel...











"See, Mari? Here's your baby's head!"

"So coot!" ("So cute!")





(Using this toy computer of his, Joshua had actually drawn a square to represent the baby's head on the screen!)