Take a peek at your hands; they really are incredible pieces of work. Five
\nnice long digits each, an extremely flexible muscular structure,
\nand more joints than you shake a stick at make up one of the most
\nimpressive pieces of the human body and
\none of the most impressive tools in existence. Add in that whole
\nopposable thumb thing and, well, what a cool thing I have attached to
\neach of my arms.<\/p>\n
They are even more incredible when they are attached to your child and you
\nare peering at them for the first time through the wonders of a sonogram.
\nOne of the first recognizable shots of my baby, in fact, included one
\nof those hands seemingly waving to and fro, welcoming some visitors
\nto its little world for just a couple of moments.<\/p>\n
What a world it was. Images of our child faded in and out. There’s the
\nhead. There’s the heart. Are those toes? Is that a foot? A frontal view
\npeered deeply into its eye sockets. A side profile was marked with a nose so
\ncute that it could only have come from my wife.<\/p>\n
The thing that got me the most was the fact that it moved. The arms
\nmoved. The legs moved. The heart pumped away. At one point, it covered
\nits face with its arms, playing a child’s game even then. This wasn’t some
\nabstract thing poking at my wife from inside her belly. This was a human being.
\nThis was alive.<\/p>\n
We were so happy to include the mothers in the experience. They quietly
\nstood by, oooing and aahing at all the right moments; eyes lost in the picture
\non the screen. This just wasn’t possible when they shared the baby making
\nexperience. Now that it is, neither lacked enthusiasm for seeing it first
\nhand (they both showed up about 45 minutes early). Moms, thanks for coming.<\/p>\n