Contemplating Madeleine's Navel

Just now, Ian was explaining to Madeleine the history of her belly-button, and I lurking in the next room, madly transcribing it, like a stenographer who had drunk one too many cans of "Jolt":

"When you were inside Mommy, there was little cord that went from - it connected you - it was part of your belly-button. It went from here [demonstrating], and then all the way to Mommy - to a part of Mommy."

Madeleine asked with great excitement, "

"To a part of Mommy?"

Ian continued: "Yeah it connected to part of Mommy and then, Madeleine, guess what would go through it?"

Madeleine duly asked, "What?"

Ian resumed, "Food. When mommy ate food, some of the food would go through the cord into you, and that's how you would eat, but then when you came out of Mommy, Daddy cut the cord, and since you were outside of Mommy, you could eat by yourself... but you didn't have your teeth yet, so you'd drink Mommy's milk." Ian then went to point out for Madeleine where milk comes from, first on her, and then on himself...

"I have at least two, but mine don't grow into breasts... And so they cut that cord, but you could still eat, but now you could eat with your mouth, so - since you were out, but after they cut it what happaned, well, they took - it slowly came off of where your belly button was, but that left a hole, so that left a hole in your body, but then Daddy and Mommy - the grownups - they tied it together, so the hole isn't in you, but there's sitill a little bit of a hole."

Ian completed the lecture by summarizing that that was how Madeleine came to acquire a belly-button.

(July 4, 2011)