Playing music for the belly

[amc80]

There's a big section in one of my baby books this week about how important it is to let dad talk to the baby. It also mentioned several studies where babies seemed to calm down when they listed to the same music after they were born as they listed to while still inside the belly. My friend told me that the first time she met her baby was in the NICU. She walked in and said "Hi Reagan," and the baby immediately turned her head towards her.

What do you guys think? Personally, I place this in the "it can't hurt" category. However, I decided to try it out...so I put a classical station on my computer and stuck my earbuds down my pants, so the belly panel is holding them in place (yeah, this probably looks sort of interesting). Well, within about two minutes, the baby was kicking like crazy! Of course, I don't know if they are "wow, what nice music" kicks versus "I'm trying to sleep, shut that crap off" kicks. But I thought it was pretty awesome that I got a response!

 

[Haven]

How cool, Amc!
I totally thinks this seems like a "Can't hurt" thing to do, so why not?
I love the story of your friend's baby recognizing your friend's voice.

(Great image of you with the earbuds in your pants, by the way. )

 

[Enerchi]

I played music for my first son while I was pregnant. I loved the Evita sound track with patti Lupone. I would listen over and over and sometimes put the headphones on my abdomen. It would get him moving which I thought was pretty cool! After birth, when we'd put it on, he'd settle down!! We thought it was amazing! Can't hurt to give it a go.

 

[amc80]

I tried it again tonight, same reaction! Took about a minute and he was kicking like crazy. It's so awesome!!

 

[KimberlyH]

I sang You Are My Sunshine to my daughter every night before bed while pregnant, then started singing other dogs to her after she was born, she still reacts to that song differently than any other at age two. We also saw Memphis while I was pregnant with her (it's a musical) and she went nuts through the whole play. So funny.

 

[Puppmom]

DH is a musician and was insistent that we play music for DS as soon as the doctor said he could hear. We did it every day just about. If ever I was worried about lack of movement, I would just pop those buds on my belly and he would wiggle around. DH even made a special playlist and, based on how DS reacted, he would change up his playlist. He also played guitar for DS while in utero. He was a little nutty about it.

DS LOVES music and has since he was born. There were times when NOTHING could calm him and he would grin as soon as DH started to play the guitar. Now, he won't sit still long enough for DH to play the guitar for him but he'll dance to just about anything.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

DH insisted on playing Bach to my belly. I insisted on singing Christmas carols ('twas the season) and Adele. Now that she's outside the womb, she still loves Bach, but when I sing Adele she cries. How can she not like Adele?!?

When she wakes up in the mornings I put her in the Ergo and we have a little dance party (usually to oldies) while I tidy up the house and wash bottles/pump parts. She doesn't seem to mind my singing as much then, but for some reason the dancing puts her to sleep. Again, how can you sleep through a dance party??

 

[monarch64]

So here's a spooky story: when my niece was almost 3, she told my brother and SIL one day that she could hear them talking when she was in mommy's belly. (She brought this up on her own, with no prompting whatsoever.) When they asked her to tell them more, she said, "all I heard was blah, blah, blah." No joke. She was dead serious. A few months later my mom was asking my niece about it, and she said she could see inside mommy's belly too. She told my mom she had a candle. SO WEIRD.

My husband talks to the baby several nights a week through my belly button, or as he calls it, "the intercom." There isn't usually much response...

I have music on constantly whether I'm at home, in the car, or working. I think they can hear without having ear buds attached to the belly, so. I sure hope she is musically inclined as both my husband and I are musicians and sing, but I can bear witness to the thought that musical inclination sometimes skips a generation (my mom likes to play piano and sing but she's self-admittedly terrible at both--my maternal grandmother was a concert violinist and pianist) so we'll see.

 

[Mannequin]

Go ahead and earbud your bellies, ladies! It definitely can't hurt and it's fun to feel baby respond! You can also read to your belly or talk to it often, and baby will hear you.

My baby boy knew both my voice and my DH's voice at birth. I used to talk to him all the time, especially on the drive to work in the morning. DH used to talk to my belly after work in the evenings, and he would play piano for the baby occasionally. I have a great video of the baby where he recognized his daddy's voice at two days old in the hospital and turned his head to track the camera my hubby was holding.

The kid loved music in utero. My son kicked and rolled to the music in the play Wicked when I took my mother to see it over this past holiday season. When I was pregnant, we were out with friends at a bar with a live band and Baby W kicked like crazy to Guns N Roses. He is his mother's son, lol! He seems to like classic rock, as I listened to it a lot while driving when I was preggo.

 

[Mannequin]

My husband talks to the baby several nights a week through my belly button, or as he calls it, "the intercom." There isn't usually much response....

Intercom!

My mother tells me that my daddy used to talk into her open mouth to speak with me. The whole time I was preggo, he would talk to my belly and tell W to "say Grandpa!"

 

[monarch64]

MQ--I have noticed in recent weeks that when my husband and I are talking at the end of the day, she goes wild and moves the whole time he is talking. The time of day varies, so I am pretty sure it's that she's responding to daddy's voice--so cool! I was telling my friend (who has an adult son) about it and she said "that's what kids do whenever fathers come home--they act up!" I thought that was really funny. I remember my brother and I used to wait up at night for my dad to come home and we would vie for his attention. Maybe it starts in utero!

ETA: It's weird that she doesn't respond much when he tries to talk through the "intercom." Maybe she prefers hearing his voice from a few feet away rather than yelling in her ear.