A view from the inside

We live in an age where technology grants us so many opportunities to watch God's hand at work. Sure, some people use technology to explain away occurrences and how God isn't really all that He claims to be; however I choose to see technology as a microscope showing us the intricacies and attention to detail of the Master Creator.

Last Monday Chase and I went in for an ultrasound of our Little Bit. The ultrasound was "to check for potential for genetic disorders" like spinabifida and downs syndrome. The reality was that Chase and I really just wanted another look at our little person growing inside of me, and the screening for defects was a plus on the side. I can honestly say it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

And here is our Little Bit at 11 weeks, 5 days:

We're going to have a very good baby, I can tell already, because Little Bit was very still during the first 5 or 10 minutes of the ultra sound. That gave the technician plenty of time to get the measurements she needed to determine the potential for genetic birth defects. She measured top of head to bottom of rump, the fluid at the back of the head, and a lot of other stuff I wasn't really paying attention to because I was so mesmerized by our baby.

About 1/2 way through the 15-minute ultrasound, Little Bit started moving. The technician said that babies, even at 12 weeks (the age we were when these were taken), sleep for a while, then wake up and move, then sleep, then wake, etc. So Little Bit woke up and gave us a little show, moving around and stretching! At one point it even looked like the baby sneezed or something (which is obviously impossible, because baby's not breathing air yet...), because there was this quick, jerky motion. In the image above, you can literally count 5 microscopic little fingers and see that the jaw bone is becoming more dense than the rest of the facial structures.

The picture above is the "best" one we got of Little Bit. You can see a little of everything - and you can see that Little Bit is already a ham. As this shot was taken, the baby put his or her hand up by the head as if to communicate, "Oh! I'm so weary of showing off already! Give me a rest!" Anyway, you can obviously see the head and the body, and the little leg and foot. The white-ish blot suspended above baby's tummy is the umbilical cord, and then, of course, the hand is up by the face.

Chase, being a psychology major and highly interested in brain development, asked about the structure of the brain at this point, and the technician showed us a shot from the top of the head. It was INSANE! You could see left and right hemispheres and all the connective tissue in the middle. Then she showed us the butt-shot, and though we couldn't yet tell gender, we could definitely tell that our baby takes after us - long-legged! :)

If they sold ultrasound machines to the public, I'd probably purchase one and cancel the cable. It was just that awesome to watch. Suffice it to say that The Office, American Idol, Top Chef, and NCAA March Madness have NOTHING on our Little Bit. At about 2.5 inches long and weighing about .5 oz, this tiny baby is already the apple of our eye!