I saw the first pictures of Lily last month.
My niece is set to arrive in September, but we saw her clench her fists and kick her feet during my sister’s sonogram, which turned out to be more entertaining than the last one.
When I went with Ashley during her first pregnancy with my nephew, Nicholas, now 5, I almost passed out. As soon as the sonographer said the baby was healthy, normal and of the male persuasion, I started fading fast.
The room went wobbly, I saw stars and a nausea washed over me. I left the room, and a kindly nurse at the hospital offered me juice.
I declined, and said I had again embarrassed myself. Weak stomach, I told her. I’m just squeamish.
“Oh, honey. Don’t worry about it. Lots of people get light-headed when they have blood drawn,” the nurse answered.
When I informed her that I had not, in fact, come into contact with one of her needle-wielding colleagues, she sneered at me, let out an audible huff and stomped away.
I thought that would forever be The Funny Sonogram story, but alas, I was dead wrong.
The second time around, no one was as giddy as Nicholas to find out if the new baby would be a boy or a girl. He had announced early on that his mother was going to bear him a little sister – so the sonogram was seemingly a formality.
I warned him before the sonographer lubed Ashley and started poking around her belly that we had to be quiet and be good during the appointment.
The quiet part lasted as soon as the image of his yet-to-be-born sister came up on the screen.
His eyes went wide and a smile crept across his face as he saw the baby open her mouth.
“Look at that, Aunt Mandy,” he laughed. “It’s like a baby TV.”
I stifled a laugh, shushed him and turned my attention again toward the screen, listening as the woman told us about the size of the baby’s brain and other parts.
A few minutes longer I noticed Nicholas squirming in my brother-in-law’s lap – a sure sign of boredom and a pending spaz attack.
“What’s the matter, bud?” I whispered.
He gave a huge sigh before answering:
“Aunt Mandy, why do they call it a ‘babysound?’ She’s not saying anything.”
My sister's sonogram
After explaining that he was getting babysounds, sonograms and ultrasounds confused, he nodded and went back to watching.
Just as the appointment was wrapping up, and the technician gave Ashley a towel to wipe off the jelly from her burgeoning belly, I asked Nicholas if he wanted to go outside and wait for Mommy and Daddy there.
He jumped off his dad’s lap and ran toward the door, emphatically waving for me to come hither.
I knew this look. Nicholas either had a bombshell to lay on me or an extremely important question.
“Uh, Aunt Mandy? When are they gonna pull her out?” he asked.
He thought the baby would be able to sit by him on the way home.
I explained that Lily still had to get big and strong before she makes her debut.
And I think that was one thing he actually understood that afternoon.
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