Reading and Music

Kyra mentioned that we've been reading a book to the baby. It's called "Oh, Baby, the Places You'll Go!" by Tish Rabe, based on the works of Dr. Seuss. It was a wedding (shower?) gift. I can't remember who gave it to us, but it's a great gift. (Thank you!) It gives the three of us an opportunity to bond, which is better than any material gift. Kyra and I have been alternating reading the book to the baby every night, and we both get a little choked up at the end, which says something like, "as for me, I can't wait to meet you!" Even now as I write this tears come to my eyes.

Mommy and daddy are looking forward to the day you arrive, my son. We love you.

Last night, Kyra's back was hurting again, so she decided to take a hot bath in epsom salt. While she was bathing, I decided to read the book to the baby. He kicks when either of us read, so it's a lot of fun to experience. I hope he likes to read and can read as well as his mommy does. (She reads faster than I do, probably with better comprehension, too. After all, she did better on the ACT than I did.)

The idea that inspired the book is that babies who are able to hear in utero may be able to remember and recognize their parents' voices after birth, especially the mother's voice, of course. They may also recognized words, phrasing, and other parts of language, which may assist language development. Some research has shown that, after birth, babies continue to respond to books read to them in utero. The book states that Dr. Seuss had an interest in prenatal development, so the author wrote a Seuss-based book for babies in the womb.

Thinking about this today, I thought it would be interesting to read a book like Finnegans Wake to the baby to see what the response after birth would be like. Would a baby recognize such a seemingly absurd book? If so, what would their response be like? What about learning? Would they learn any words from the book? Phrases? Would it confuse their learning of language, since it's so strange?

I hope our son likes music, too, so I'm going to try to play piano for him, as well as recorded music. Music is very important to both of us, especially me. I studied music in college (piano), and I have listened to classical music for years, albeit my grandma was the only one in our family that ever listened to it. I had a number of cousins that played piano, too, but they all stopped after a few years, and I don't think they ever had much interest in classical music. As I can recall, I was the only one to obtain a degree in music, so far. It's a mystery why I like classical music so much, but I'm glad I do. It's been a part of some of the most beautiful experiences in my life.

In other news, I'm still working on the wedding photos and videos. I'm having trouble connecting the video camera to the computer. If anyone knows why the video camera isn't being recognized via the Firewire port, please comment or email me with any help. I purchased a used Firewire card that is being recognized by my computer as a network port. I'm not sure why. At any rate, I should have some new pictures online from our friends soon. Stay tuned!

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