The Internal View by Kate

Almost five weeks late, Fosbella foetus finally got her second proper scan. Actually, it's her fourth, if you count the ultra-sound part of the amniocentesis test and the quick check our local obstetrician gave her since we first saw her picture.

This time we had to take the train to yet another hospital in Madrid (Ramon y Cajal) where we had been told (the day before) we had a ten o'clock appointment. As it turned out, so did about twelve other people so, in fact it was another hour and a half later that we finally got ushered in to see the radiographer.

Once more, my belly was slathered with cold lubricating gel and the scanner was slid and pushed against various parts of my abdomen while Theo (with the best seat in the house again) got a variety of views and cross-sections of our fast-developing offspring.

"Lively, isn't she?" commented the radiographer (my translation) in a mixture of admiration and exasperation as our progeny wriggled and squirmed and resisted all attempts to capture her best side.

After about fifteen minutes, the radiographer gave a satisfied nod and told us everything was fine. She then gave us a tour of various cross-sections through Fosbella's bits and pieces, which all appear to be present and correct at this stage. The one thing I didn't get to see was a full head and body view, or even a sense of her face, which was a disappointment, although I did see inside her nostrils, which was something I suppose.

Any hope that the stills taken by the radiographer would offer some sort of clue as to Fosbella's external features were also in vain, although the inside view of her spine is pretty impressive. Theo, who did get a quick glimpse of her face assures me she has my nose (I'm not entirely convinced that's a good thing), although he also says she bears a striking resemblance to Skeletor. At least her internal organs all seem to be aesthetically arranged. True beauty, after all, is on the inside.