Happy St. Patrick's Day

[Written in March, neglected until August] We listened to the heartbeat about a month ago, and that was pretty great, but the ultrasound today was just amazing. Counting the right number of everything, watching tiny fingers wiggle and grab at the face. We saw brain, heart, kidneys, diaphragm, spine, arms, legs, fingers and toes, eyes and lips, and all of that. Seeing our unborn child's skull evoked a very strange sensation; in addition to the happiness and intrigue, there was a slight aversion. I suppose that makes sense when you are juxtaposing a symbol of death with medical observation and the joy of life - happy and curious at the sight, but hoping that there's never another glimpse.