Turn 129 of 233

Ask Dr. Parekh if Kimo's growth pattern is healthy or if there's cause for concern. she says its fine. Like mama like son

Lena watches Dr. Parekh scroll through the chart. The graph on the screen is a line that goes up and to the right and it is steep and it is above everything — above the ninety-ninth percentile line, above the line that says *normal*, above the line that says *large*. The line is Kimo's line and it is climbing and there is no plateau in sight.

"Is this healthy?" Lena asks. The question is simple but the weight behind it is not. She is five hundred eighty pounds and she is asking a doctor if her son's body is okay and the doctor's answer matters more than any number on any scale.

"He's three weeks old and he's nineteen pounds. That's not — is that normal? Is there something wrong?"

Dr. Parekh turns from the screen. She picks up Kimo from the table and holds him — one arm, easy, the way a doctor holds babies all day — and she looks at Lena and her face is the calm face. Not the cautious face. Not the hedge-your-bets face. The face of a woman who has been watching this body grow for nine months and has the data and knows what the data says.

"There is nothing wrong with him," Dr. Parekh says.

"His reflexes are normal. His muscle tone is excellent. His organs are healthy. His heart rate is perfect. His breathing is clear. He is nursing well, sleeping well, growing well. He is exactly where he should be."

"Nineteen pounds at three weeks is where he should be?"

"Nineteen pounds at three weeks is where HE should be," Dr. Parekh says. She bounces Kimo gently and the boy hums and his dark eyes track the fish tank and his fist opens and closes around the doctor's thumb.

"I've been practicing for eighteen years. I've seen babies above the ninety-ninth percentile. I've seen big babies. This is different. His growth curve isn't following the standard charts because the standard charts weren't built for him. He's following you."

"Like mama like son," Lena says.

"Like mama like son," Dr. Parekh says. "Your body grew the way it grew. His body is growing the way his body grows. I can tell you it's unusual. I can tell you it's extraordinary. I cannot tell you it's unhealthy because it isn't. Every metric I have says this boy is thriving."

Kimo is on the examination table now and he is naked and he is kicking and the humming is steady and low and his belly is round and full and his thighs are thick and his feet are kicking the air and the feet are wide and the toes are curling and he is the image of his mother — growing without apology, growing without permission, growing because the structure says grow and the structure is sound. Dr. Parekh writes notes in the chart and the pen is quick and the handwriting is small and the chart says *healthy* and the chart says *thriving* and the chart says *continue*.

"Come back in two weeks," Dr. Parekh says.

"Same schedule. We'll keep tracking. If his curve holds — and I expect it will — we'll adjust the monitoring frequency. He's going to need his own chart."

Lena lifts Kimo from the table and settles him against her chest and his face is against the tribal ink and the humming vibrates through her skin and the boy is warm and heavy and the weight of him is nothing. She is five hundred eighty pounds and he is nineteen pounds four ounces and they are both growing and the doctor said *thriving* and the doctor said *continue* and the structure holds.