A New Portrait

At our last appointment with the obstetrician, he was mildly concerned about Kim's size- that she was perhaps a bit smaller than she should be at this point in the pregnancy. (He had a hard time convincing Kim of this, mind you.) So he ordered another ultrasound be performed to determine if young Herman Melville Claspy is growing apace as he should be. This morning the ultrasound was performed.

University Hospital is, of course, a teaching hospital. So the technician did the ultrasound, performing all of the body measurements required- measuring the cranium, cerebellum, heart, ulna, etc. Then, after a moderate wait, the doctor came in, trailing a resident and a medical school student. We- mostly Kim and little Ahab- then became the object of study for a half-hour worth of ultrasound technology, obstetric method, and fetal anatomy. It was all quite fascinating. We learned about measurement of the cerebellum, spinal cord development and the topography of the four chambers of the heart. He also reassured us that everything with young H.M. Claspy is normal.

He also produced this 3-D portrait of the young lad. It looked even more remarkable on the screen but this printed version is just too cool not to share.