Baby Interaction

JayElleJayCee

I definately talk to LO and rub my belly and poke at her when she pokes me.. lol. However today I was thinking two things...

 #1 - I definately do not do the music thing as much as i'd like to. I thought for sure i'd be one of the moms to put the headphones on my belly or rock out in my car.. However, It's the opposite! When i'm in the car lately, i have so much on my mind that the radio never even comes on because it interferes with my million thoughts. I always forget to turn it on when i'm on the computer. I'm a little bothered by this even though I know it's not really a big deal. I hope my baby has some kind of ryhthm when she's older! lol.

 

#2 - I have cats. 3 to be exact. One is female and she is a mommy's girl and an attention whore. However, she only ever wants my attention. Since she has been my "baby" for years.. I have always talked to her how you would talk to a baby. Anytime I use that baby voice.. she comes running... Well now... that I have a real baby growing and I talk to my belly that way.. she comes running and thinks i'm talking to her. That weirds me out because I feel like i'm talking to my baby like an animal anddddd it worries me that she's going to be jealous of the baby. Should I talk to LO like a regular person? Or just see what happens? Or stop talking to my lil kitty that way? The thing about kitty is that she can be mean. If I don't pet her, she will swat at me as i'm walking by (she has never used her claws doing this) but it worries me. I don't want her swatting at the baby out of jealousy.

 

Just wanted to share what was on my mind this evening...

Syncronicity09

I think it is best to talk to your baby the way you want her to speak when she learns to speak, so in other words, using the correct pronunciation. Your baby will learn to talk from you, might as well teach her the right way form the start.

I have been doing the music thing, but it is sporadic. I do listen in my car though, and I am sure he can hear it, so at least he is getting to rock out on my commute. My cat is an attention wh*** too, we are a bit concerned about his reaction when the baby is here, he already has a hard time when we give attention to our other cat. He also does the swiping thing if we aren't giving him attention, and a few days ago I was ignoring him and he actually jumped onto my shoulder!! I didn't even know he could do that. It will definitely be an adjustment for him, but I think he will be ok.

JayElleJayCee

I definately think proper pronounciation is important. It's so hard not to use I high pitch voice though when talking to babies! Or animals.. haha. I will have to sort that one out..

Your cat jumped on your shoulder?? Was he on the floor? If so he is super kitty! I could only imagine.. haha.

 

Syncronicity09

JayElleJayCee:

I definately think proper pronounciation is important. It's so hard not to use I high pitch voice though when talking to babies! Or animals.. haha. I will have to sort that one out..

Your cat jumped on your shoulder?? Was he on the floor? If so he is super kitty! I could only imagine.. haha.

 

Yes he was....he REALLY wanted my attention. Took both MH and I by surprise, he has never done that before.

JayElleJayCee

That's crazy!!! hahaha. It's kind of scary.. makes you wonder what they do when you're not at home... lol.

 

ilovebabyblue

I dont know about the baby talk, but if you have an android phone there is a FREE app in the market called "Prenatal Lullibies."  It plays the sweetest relaxing music.  I put the phone on my belly for about 30 minutes every night.  I put it in airplane mode first just in case the radiation is bad for them.  Not bad for a freebie!

JayElleJayCee

I wish I had a cool phone.. lol. I hate my phone... but thanks for the suggestion! Hope it helps another mama!

shanbrite2

Have no idea about cats or music (although I'm sure your baby will be fine!), but I have studied language development a lot, and there's actually quite a bit of research showing that "baby talk (or, in fancy science terms "child-directed speech" or "motherese") actually HELPS babies learn language. I think as long as you aren't talking to your 4 year old in baby talk, you'll be fine from a language perspective!

supermom83

shanbrite2:

Have no idea about cats or music (although I'm sure your baby will be fine!), but I have studied language development a lot, and there's actually quite a bit of research showing that "baby talk (or, in fancy science terms "child-directed speech" or "motherese") actually HELPS babies learn language. I think as long as you aren't talking to your 4 year old in baby talk, you'll be fine from a language perspective!

I was just going to say the same thing! A lot of research has been done and it's found that "baby talk" with the high-pitched sound (called motherese) is actually very beneficial to early language development. I guess there is actually a biological reason why people use squeaky excited voices when speaking to infants because it catches their attention and makes them look at faces and mouths more which enhances social interactions and leads to more interest from the baby in speech in general. 

This is great for when baby is young, but as they grow older and get into the toddler phase you can then start to be more strict with the pronunciation. Proper pronunciation is great and will be very beneficial for your LO, but don't feel guilty if in the first year you do lots of baby talk! Your baby will only benefit from it! )