1 and 1

It was the obligatory 20-week ultrasound earlier this week, and we decided to bring Elise along because what kid doesn't like a silent movie in black and white? Actually, it was Anni's idea to bring her; I was opposed on the grounds that it'd be messing up her breakfast routine. (That's the most important meal of the day, you know.) In the end, common sense prevailed, rigidity was defeated and, well, Elise just ate early and then tagged along for the screening.
Since it's Child #2, I'll admit there is a bit of the going-through-the-motions feel to these appointments. At least there is for me, anyway. However, I still get hit with a profound pause-in-awe moment when that monitor turns on and out of nowhere you see a child scooting around in there.
And was that child ever scooting around. The body was floating around, the arms were moving and the legs, those seemingly long legs, were lounging and then kicking, scrunching and then extending.
The nurse (she's probably got a different title, but I haven't the slightest idea what it is) did all of the measurements -- leg bones, arm bones, head circumference and diameter, brain, heart, kidneys, etc. -- and everything checked out fine. Amazing that the little blurb of dark, dark gray you see on the screen is actually the child's aorta.
They weighed the baby -- or estimated the weight, I suppose -- and put it at 1 lb. 1 oz.
"That's like a package of ground beef," I said.
Anni and the nurse weren't amused by the comparison.
Here's what amused us: That child was stubborn enough to keep one of its hands in the way so that the nurse couldn't view one of the legs. You know how you fix that? Apparently you bonk the ultrasound wand on the belly a few times. It worked. The baby moved and the fibula was measured.
The ultrasound lasts about 15 to 20 minutes, and I still think it's the best silent film you could watch.
So what did Elise think? Well, she sat on my lap for a while and watched as the nurse lathered up Anni's belly with ultrasound jelly and then started the ultrasound. After about 5 minutes, though, Elise treated the ultrasound monitor like she does the TV at home -- got bored with it and started looking around for something else to do. Soon she had a new obsession: the hand sanitizer mounted on the wall by the door.
Bottom line: Anni's feeling pretty good, the baby looks to be doing well, I got to watch a great movie and Elise, well, she discovered hand sanitizer.