I had an amazing experience today. I was invited to accompany a young mother to her prenatal ultrasound. My kids were all born in Neanderthal times, so the only way to tell anything about the baby was to... Well, to be honest there wasn't any way except x-rays which were known to be harmful. Of course, every woman I met had her own idea of boy or girl. Even though the predictions were many, each of my children still came sight unseen. Sort of like not peeking at Christmas presents before Christmas. What the doctor handed you, you marveled at, then unwrapped to its count fingers and toes. One, two, three, four, five!
Today I got to marvel at and count fingers and toes on an unborn baby. Right off the bat we learned her gender. Remember the days of Xerox butt shots? That is what we saw today--a perfect butt shot of a little girl. It definitely wasn't a boy.
As the technician slowly moved the sensing device around, I saw her (the baby's) legs, then her curved spine, little ribs,and beating heart. In the blink of an eye, an arm appeared from out of nowhere and settled by the baby's cheek. I was mesmerized as that tiny little thing moved her fingers one at a time. It was as if she was holding them up for us to count. Then her little chin moved. It wasn't random movement. For several seconds she opened and closed her mouth in a nursing motion. She was drinking amniotic fluid. Amazing.
Her eyes, nose and ears were all there--so small and perfect. The skull and brain were the right size for her age, 20 weeks. Every measurement was within normal limits. Back and forth the scan went--from head to butt and back. Suddenly, the baby stretched out her legs. There it was, a perfect little foot pushing on mama's bladder. Mama couldn't feel it yet, but knows from experience what is coming. The tech finally moved the scanner around to get a perfect photo of the sole of the foot--sort of a pre-birth print for her records. One, two, three, four, five. All the toes there accounted for.
Perfect she is, weighing in at 14 ounces. There is so much more growth to take place over the remaining five months. The whole process is almost beyond comprehension.
How two special cells can combine, then share DNA that produces a complex individual, yet a blend of both parents is a wondrous thing. God did an amazing job when he created us and made us capable of reproducing. We may be capable of reproducing, but it is God who knits us together. Psalm 139:13. He does good work.
He knows the plans he has for this little girl. I wonder what they are. Jer. 29:11
Still in a state of amazement,
Jan
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