Author: MASadmin

Today after church, K and I took a trip to the Lower East Side. We visited our favorite dumplings place (Vanessa’s), ran a few errands, and then popped into a new store: Jane’s Exchange: Children & Maternity Consignment.

With K being 19 weeks along, the need for new clothes is rather high. Luckily K was raised by a mother who loved thrift stores and passed those genes on down. While she rummaged through the wide selection of maternity clothes, babby clothes, toys, and games, I sat and read for Seminary (a feminist perspective on Matthew and Luke-Acts anyone?). The longer I sat, the more clothes, books, and other items were piled on top of me to “hold”. Before you knew it, I was buried in babby goodness. A book about pregnancy, a couple of Richard Scary board books, two really tiny books about Noah and King David (sadly missing the Goliath and the Bathsheba incident), and a ton of onesies covered me. With my reading done, I called K to dig me out.

As we headed to the check out, we noticed behind the counter a used Sophie Giraffe. As its maker claims, it is the most famous baby toy IN ALL THE WORLD. This Giraffe that squeaks (Twinkie is under the mistaken opinion that it is for her) will run you around $25 retail (a little cheaper on Amazon). It is the toy that when I run into expectant mothers at seminary, I ask whether they received one at their baby shower. Most think the toy is silly but we all agree that we must have one and Lord have mercy on the woman who does not get one. So there it was, behind the counter, staring at us, for only five bones. We snapped it up, no questions asked. A used teething toy that’s in great shape and looks like it never was used? Heck yes.

While walking towards our next appointment, we got to joking with each other. K said, adamantly and loudly on Avenue B that our kidling “deserves all the best things! … Well, used best things.” And it’s true. He does. And based on the pictures I took of K while waiting for the L train, he’ll get them.

THERE ARE SHARKS ON PANTS.


And pirate sharks on the shirts


And frogs and bears holding out on all the onesies.

Last week, K and I went in for the anatomy scan. Well, she’s the one that was being scanned. I was there for moral support and coat holding. The idea behind everything was that they would poke around using the ultrasound machine and take measurements of the little person growing inside her. We arrived at the office, checked in with the ultrasound technicians, hung up our coats, and BAM! time for the examination. K laid down on the examining bed, with a screen above her, letting her watch what was going on. I sat at the foot of the bed and tried to look over the technician’s shoulder. I got comfortable on my little stool and waited. But I didn’t have to wait long.

And then I saw a spine; a femur; a heart; a head; more spine; and then a hand. It was awesome.

Babby stynxno was curled up, resting, and seemed to be using the placenta as a pillow. The technician took the measurements she could but we weren’t able to see the face. The little baby wouldn’t uncurl. The technician tried everything, going in from the left, the right, the underside, and even asked my wife to wiggle around and see if it would wake up. But every time the technician tried to take a scan, babby stynxno would raise up its first and try to push the annoying thing away. It refused to uncurl.

“It’s stubborn!” the technician said.

“That’s my kid!” K cheered. It seems our kid got both our stubborn streaks.

At the end, we were told that K would have to come on back to try and get more measurements of the face. We were given a stack of 8 sonograms in one long strip, like what you’d get at a photobooth on the boardwalk. We weren’t asked what pictures we wanted – the technician just tried to take the best ones she could. And, in the middle of the batch, was a picture that I didn’t expect. Because, you see, we found out the sex of the child. And they took a picture of it. So right there, in the middle of the strip of pictures, right there, is a picture of my babby’s nether regions.

I don’t think that one is going up on the fridge.