You are singing to your tummy,aren't you??

The world will always have pregnant women, thank goodness!!! And I believe that instinctively, women feel the urge to softly sing or hum when they're pregnant as they move through their days, weeks and months of having a little angel growing inside. The instinct has now been scientifically documented to be a good thing. Let me explain: The growing infant's ear becomes functional as early as the beginning of the second trimester! When baby hears Mama singing or humming, she automatically associates this with comfort, nurturing, safety, and love. If you're singing or humming on a daily basis for most of the pregnancy then these same tunes and songs are going to be an immediate "calmer" for your baby. Once born, if you sing to baby softly while nursing her it will be yet another calming and loving association. Have you tried this? If so, please share your experiences with us!

A New Year for Preemies

Do you have a newborn preemie? Are you scared? They're so tiny, so fragile, so helpless, but there are lots of easy and very helpful things that you can do! It's a new year and a new era for preemies. Research in music therapy, music medicine and music healing continues to demonstrate that what baby hears in utero has a crucial effect on later bonding with mother and other family members. It is so important to keep a health sonic environment for baby and not let her be bombarded with loud rock music, fighting, screaming, yelling or other unpleasant, chaotic sounds. Instead, singing to your unborn child can create a permanent bond of love, safety and security. Research has shown that preemies who had been sung to in utero and who continued to be sung to, gained weight faster and left the hospital faster.

Even if your preemie was not sung to in utero, it's not too late to start now. Yor voice is most familiar and will be comforting and encouraging. Give it a try. Let me know if I can help!

Did you have a baby on Christmas??

Did you have a baby this Christmas season? So many babies have been on television this holiday season in the cutest little outfits. All of the babies born in one hospital here were wrapped in Christmas stockings and put in the viewing window like little stocking gifts. They did look cute but I wonder how the babies felt about it? I've seen lots of names for these babies like Carol, Noel, and Holly. I'm sure parents, family and friends get a lot out of this but down the road, the kids may not be so thrilled with their Christmas names.

As always, my message is just this: Sing to your baby, play music for her and have certain songs for certain activities like bathing, nursing, sleeping, and out for a walk. She will learn to recognize the time of day and activity by what music is playing and will contribute to her sense of security in the world. Give it a try!

Are you pregnant this Christmas?

I was pregnant with my first daughter over the Christmas of 1975. It was a beautiful memory that I'll never forget. She was born in April of 1976 and the Christmas before she was just beginning to move around so that I could feel it. We played lots of Christmas music for her and sang lots of carols and other music. I don't know whether there's any correlation but today she is a professional violinist!

If you are pregnant right now, please enjoy all the holiday music and enjoy this wonderful season! It's a joyous time of anticipation for everyone!

How early can baby hear?

Throughout my three pregnancies I wondered, "can my baby hear the music around me; can she hear my conversations with friends and family?" Well, I didn't know the answer then, but I do now! The developing ear is beginning to be functional by the beginning of the second trimester! Research shows that around the beginning of the 4th month, baby can hear Mom's heartbeat, digestive sounds and circulation sounds. Over the next six months hearing grows and by the last trimester baby can pretty much hear what you hear! What does this mean for the health of the baby? If you sing or hum a carefully selected 6 or 8 tunes for baby, these very same songs, sung after baby's birth, will calm and soothe baby immediately! They will be associated with warmth, nurturing and feeling safe. If perchance your little one comes early these songs will help her to gain weight faster, stabilize body rhythms and temperature and go home as much as five days earlier! According to hospital bills, one day in the neonatal intensive care unit is over $15,000 per day!! So start singing!!

If you don't know any lullabies, order my CD "Lullabies for Healthy Bonding." Link to this CD above.

Music and Preemies

Did you know that there has been quite a bit of clinical research on music with preemies? It's true. Several decades ago a man had the idea to make a tape for preemies that would be lullabies and nursery rhymes with a mother's heartbeat in the background. The tape was called "Baby Go to Sleep" and with the help of a grant from J.C. Penney, he gave thousands of them away to hospital NICU's as well as the regular newborn nurseries. The nurses and the mothers said the tape was miraculous in terms of instantaneously stopping crying and quieting fussy babies. Babies in the NICU gained weight faster and left the hospital days earlier as a result. It's so easy that most people overlook it as a therapeutic intervention. Give it a try!

A Musical Pacifier?

Now I've heard everything! Personally, I believe that a mother singing to her baby is the ideal way to soothe and comfort, especially a healthy newborn. But what about the preemies who must spend hours away from Mom, tucked away in a cold, sterile, hospital neo-natal intensive care unit? What about these poor little babes?

Well, it appears that someone has put a lot of thought into that and has come up with the musical pacifier! One of the serious problems of preemies is their inability to suck strongly enough to get the nurtrition they need. Preemies are, by definition, underweight and underdeveloped. They need to gain weight quickly so that their lungs can develop and they can breathe on their on.

Jane Standley, a music therapy professor at FSU has created a pacifier that actually plays music when the baby sucks on it and therefore reinforces the baby's desire to suck. Apparently, baby's have a natural appetite for music!