Provocations

By pbobby

Birth was a traumatic and fearful time for every one of us who lived through it and certainly for those who died at birth. Our first senses had been of floating in perfect waters while a muted drum gave us a steady beat to live by. Now we begin to hear a special inner voice that over time becomes, not only familiar, but also comforting. We will hear other voices from time to time, but none quite so salient and affirming as that familiar inner voice of our Mother.

As our senses and body matured, we began to feel and hear a pulsating within our own chest. Now, there is an orchestra of two muffled drums to give us rhythm as we freely move our arms and legs while we frequently hear that unique voice. We are not able to analyze what our brain now is recording in our subconscious.

This is why the recalling of these beginning experiences is so rare. As an adult we are trying to remember with our cognitive, verbal senses that which was recorded in feelings during gestation and birth. I believe that we can relive those feeling experiences if we get in touch with our subconscious. (See my article in the April entitled, The Ides of March.)

Over time we felt our space shrink in around us firmly. Just days ago, I saw my granddaughter, McKinsie, immediately after her birth. She was red and a bit pasty looking, but it was hard to notice anything except her ear-splitting, rapid-firing cries. She was mad and confused about the shocking changes in her environment. Soon the pediatric nurse had attached a heart monitor to her ribcage, cleaned her face, head and nasal passages and put drops in her eyes. All through these needed procedures the crying never wavered. It was a good sign of powerful lungs and feisty spirit.

The nurse then wrapped her tightly in a receiving blanket, picked her up and held her close to her bosom. The volume waned, but the crying persisted a bit longer. Then her father came into the nursery picked her up to let all of see her face. McKinsie's face was wonderfully symmetrical as she opened and quickly closed her eyes.

The Big Brother, Connor, couldn't stop looking at his new sister and asking questions. His main concern was whether his sister was bigger than he was as a newborn. He was so proud when he was told that her head was smaller, and that she weighed less than he did at birth.

I remember how so singularly proud I was to have given Connor his first bottle about four years ago. When his Mother was brought into the recovery room, she was fully awake and ready to cuddle her firstborn. He had been somewhat fussy until I placed him full in his Mother's arms. The feel and the sound of that familiar voice spread peace and serenity all over him like a warm glowing.

Even though I have been present for the births of six children, and been blessed with fourteen grandchildren, the awe of it all is still growing. The genetic miracle of our Life-Giving God thrills me the more I ponder it.

I took a peek into Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia so that I might be able to intelligently discuss the wonders of human reproduction. I realized immediately that I just would not have the space or mental acumen to do it justice. As I read along, wonder after wonder occurred, from fertilization of the ovum by a sperm to chromosomes in the nucleus of the zygote accurately and minutely directing embryonic development. From the color of the eyes, to the facial features, to every describable feature of the ultimately born child, all are guided internally. It is so awesome to me that God created so much of every living thing and built in the road map for future generations, each born as a combination of its parents. (True for plant life also.)

Females have 23 pairs of chromosomes and the members are much alike; males have 22 similar pairs of similar chromosomes, and one pair of chromosomes with members that are different in size and structure.

It is this difference that determines the sex of the embryo. The identical sex pair in females are called X chromosomes. The male has an X and Y chromosome. The X in males is identical to the X in females. The male Y chromosome is shorter. If the fertilizing sperm is an X chromosome, the zygote formed will result in the birth of a female; if a Y, the result will be male.

Well, that's about as far as I can go for now. The formation and development of the brain, heart, lungs, other internal organs, the immune system, the arms and legs are too mysterious for pbobby to talk about. I'm not even sure that the information I have related above is free of errors.

And the really mystifying nature of McKinsie's birth is that she is, and will be, a unique and on-going combination of Lori and Scott Watson.

The same wonder permeates my soul as I cherish the same marvelous births of my children and their children, and their grandchildren.

One thing I am sure of is that it takes a God to cause all this to happen. I am simply awestruck!