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His fontanel, the soft spot on the top of his head, was flat — as it should be.

Her fontanel was sunken in, a telltale sign of dehydration, and her ribs and the small bones of her spine had been visible under her skin, like a string of beads.

I was gobsmacked by my babies: their meaty beauty and smell, the doughy smoothness of their skin, the pulsing crater of fontanel.

I peeled one and rolled it all over the baby’s head, his eyes, his lips, off his bump of a nose, his cheeks, his dear bald head and fontanel.

Once the fontanel grew over, however, the hat could be safely removed.