by Sarah Hall
Nov 23, 2005, 9:45 AM PT
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Tom Cruise has already claimed to know the history of psychiatry. Now he's working on getting acquainted with OB/GYN.

The couch-jumping thesp has acquired a sonogram machine with which to personally track the progress of the fetus currently incased in his fiancée Katie Holmes' womb.

Cruise revealed the purchase during an interview with Barbara Walters taped Oct. 30 for the veteran newswoman's upcoming special Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005, scheduled to air Tuesday on ABC.

"I bought a sonogram machine," Cruise told Walters. "I am going to donate it to a hospital when we are done."

Somewhat startled, Walters replied, "Wait, you are going to do your own sonogram?"

"Yes," Cruise replied, chuckling.

Sonogram machines, which use ultrasound waves to monitor a baby's development, can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $200,000. No word on how much Cruise shelled out to purchase his own.

Cruise told Walters he did not yet know the sex of his first genetic offspring.

"Barbara, I would tell you," he said. "I would say, 'I know if it's a boy or a girl and I'm not telling you.'"

"So what do you see?" Walters asked. "A little baby," the actor replied.

Fascinating, indeed.

The War of the Worlds star also told Walters that he and Holmes would wait to get married until after their child's birth, though it's unclear exactly when that blessed event may occur.

"We are going to get married next summer or early fall," he told Walters. "We don't have a date set yet."

The affianced duo recently departed for Shanghai, where they'll spend a couple of weeks while Cruise films scenes for Mission: Impossible 3.

According to the Shaghai Daily's Website, Cruise and Holmes have been taking in the local sites, including the Chenghuang Temple, a resort featuring old-style architecture, as well as dining heartily on Sichuan cuisine.