Day 27

I noticed right away that Natalie's ears are different. (Compare the left ear in yesterday's photo to the right ear in today's. The right ear has a middle fold of cartilage.) Megan was born with this same feature, and I took her to the pediatrician to have it checked out when she was a baby. Her doctor said not to worry, and that people's ears are not always mirror images.

Move forward 12-plus years. At Natalie's two-week check-up, the pediatrician (a more conservative partner of the doctor who'd once assured me that Megan and her ears were normal) noticed Natalie's ear quirk. I believed she used the word "malformation" in describing it!

The good thing is, I've seen Megan grow up healthy and fine, despite her ears. (She does have a problem hearing when she is asked to turn off hand-held electronic games, but she has an exceptional ability to hear conversations, through walls, that are none of her business.) And the extra fold of cartilage has shrunk as her ears have grown.

We'll call Natalie's ears unique. Or notable. Or just like her sister's.