Little Spirit

Ultrasound machines put out a whooosh whoosh sound, fill the whole room with underwater noises.

I closed my eyes to hear the heartbeat. I heard whoosh and felt movement and heard tiny crashes amidst the din of the whoosh.

No heartbeat. All the motion and pressure amplified on my belly and in my ears.

The doctor said the baby was moving fast, moving away from the ultrasound monitor. My eyes closed, wet noises surrounded me, I laughed and heard the belly laughter amplified in the room. Tried not to laugh. Tried to let the doc pin the kid down.

Finally, a fast poundpoundpoundpoundthumpthumpthumpthump. A regular heartbeat coming from a cave.

Baby, I thought, You are gonna be one strong kid. Your ma hasn't even thought very much about you for the past four months, and yet here you are, playing with the doctor, doing somersaults. Letting me know you're there, enjoying your time in the spotlight.