Reading to your baby?

krystleshel · January 2015

I am an avid reader. I remember as a child being read to & finding an old set of encyclopedias that had a kid section with ALL the old stories & being enthralled. I would love to have this for my child... So did you read to your baby in the womb, or are you planning on it this pregnancy?
(Thinking of reading some Harry Potter {baby is named after Emma Watson} or fairy tales books from grandma.)

hjdaniels0415 · January 2015

I am so grateful to be a reading teacher. So all day Monday-Friday my Lil D is read to. I didn't even think of that until you posted this. I read young adult books (I teach middle school) at home too so I read out loud at times. For my baby shower my mom wanted to request a book instead of card. I'm ok with that and will read those to the baby too before they come-if not too many. From a reading teachers perspective read to you baby now, when they come and daily it really does equal success in life and a love of learning! Happy reading!

housewifebecomesher · January 2015

We didn't with DD but I wish we had! Now LO gets to hear when I read to DD.

DH doesn't really like reading aloud but I have heard its a great way to get baby used to SO's voice since they get to listen to us all day.

Bednarova · January 2015

I read to DS1, does that count?

I did not read to DS1 in utero, but I talked to him. We started reading nightly to him as part of the bedtime routine around a month old. His teachers have all commented on how awesome his vocabulary is for his age (almost 4).

WifeDeAngel · January 2015

I never read to DD in utero, but I read to her all the time now, so I guess DS is/will be hearing too.

More importantly (at least for newborn stage) is to sing to your belly. Choose a couple of songs/lullabys and sing them all the time now. Then when baby is born and needs soothing. You can sing those songs, and it will very quickly calm them down (at least in my experience).

mcp6286 · January 2015

hjdaniels0415 said:
I am so grateful to be a reading teacher. So all day Monday-Friday my Lil D is read to. I didn't even think of that until you posted this. I read young adult books (I teach middle school) at home too so I read out loud at times. For my baby shower my mom wanted to request a book instead of card. I'm ok with that and will read those to the baby too before they come-if not too many. From a reading teachers perspective read to you baby now, when they come and daily it really does equal success in life and a love of learning! Happy reading!

I'm a Reading Specialist too, and my bestie had the same idea for my shower. We've already started a bookshelf in the nursery (don't have a crib built yet so you can see where my priorities lie) and both grandmas regularly add to it, which I love.

hjdaniels0415 · January 2015

Any reading is great reading!!! Keep it up ladies. What a great thread this is. We have our book shelf all set too. And my husband and I brought our baby's first books. It was such a sweet experience we will cherish always!

erbear84 · January 2015

Not planning on reading in utero; I teach second grade and I read aloud every day. We already have a bookshelf full of books for baby when he/she is here.

Also, please don't ask people to bring a book instead of a card. It sounds cute, but it's poor etiquette. Lurk the baby shower board for more on that. I registered for a ton of books on Amazon to hopefully give people the idea we would love books.

Trampslikeus · January 2015

Also end up doing this unintentionally by reading a lot with kiddos at work. And lots of artic drills too, baby might come out going "sssssssssilly ssssssnake" And will know her tongue needs to "stay in the cage"

lwyz · January 2015

Definitely planning on reading to baby in utero. MH and I are both big readers, and are so excited to pass that love on to our LO.

esampson1983 · January 2015

krystleshel said:
I am an avid reader. I remember as a child being read to & finding an old set of encyclopedias that had a kid section with ALL the old stories & being enthralled. I would love to have this for my child... So did you read to your baby in the womb, or are you planning on it this pregnancy?
(Thinking of reading some Harry Potter {baby is named after Emma Watson} or fairy tales books from grandma.)

We read Harry Potter to minion every now and then so that he hears our voices.

girlymama79 · January 2015

I don't specifically read to the baby but I do a literature based curriculum with my girls so I spend 1+ hour a day reading to them on school days. On non school days they are always asking for library books and for bedtime I read them a chapter or two of whatever book I'm reading them every night. I'm going to call that good.

thelittlestbee · January 2015

I read a lot, but it feels weird to do it out loud. I do spend a lot of time on the phone at work and I talk a lot at home with DH too. Right now I just play music for my belly and I do plan to read to her after she's born. Does that count?

ktornabe · January 2015

My DH and I are reading Harry Potter hopefully start to finish during the pregnancy for LO

KonaCoffeeBean · January 2015

erbear84 said:

Not planning on reading in utero; I teach second grade and I read aloud every day. We already have a bookshelf full of books for baby when he/she is here. Also, please don't ask people to bring a book instead of a card. It sounds cute, but it's poor etiquette. Lurk the baby shower board for more on that. I registered for a ton of books on Amazon to hopefully give people the idea we would love books.

This exactly. Everyone on earth knows that books are very welcome gifts for babies, no one needs to be told this.

cnoelle92 · January 2015

I have read to both of my kids and I still do. They love it when I read to them, so I think LO gets enough of my voice lol.

karaelaine1991 · January 2015

Just wanted to say thanks for making this post and thanks to everyone who gave advice! I've been wanting to start reading to baby but have been feeling awkward about how to start. Reading this thread has definitely been helpful!

mcp6286 · January 2015

erbear84 said:
Also, please don't ask people to bring a book instead of a card. It sounds cute, but it's poor etiquette. Lurk the baby shower board for more on that. I registered for a ton of books on Amazon to hopefully give people the idea we would love books.

Definitely second this. My friends suggested the idea, and I told them that while I'd love to get books rather than cards, I don't want that put on the invitations. I told them that if people ask them if we'd rather have a book, they can say yes (it's become pretty common in our circle to do books instead of cards so most people probably will do so on their own), but I don't want to dictate it.

blu-eyedwife · January 2015

DH and I took turns reading to our son in utero - Rudyard Kipling, Aesop's Fables, and the entire series of "Cricket in Times Square."

We'll read to this one further along too. But Babe #2 will have the added bonus of the stories we read to our son too.

shannaberr · January 2015

I read to our baby.

ombradellarosa · January 2015

+1 to NO book instead of cards. Telling people what to bring you, asking for an additional gift, and implying that books aren't a gift on their own but more equivalent to cards are all inappropriate. Not to mention that the quality of books you will get this way rarely makes it worth it. Better ways to make sure your child has access to plenty of reading material include registering for books as previously mentioned (even if no one buys them, completion coupon!), buying books as you come across them, and my personal favourite, taking your child to the library! Tons of books for free! Making going to the library together a family tradition is one of the best ways to instil a love of reading, in my opinion. My mum started taking me and my brother to the library when we were tiny and now we take ourselves!

In answer to the original question, I try to sing and talk to baby. I haven't started reading aloud yet, but I think it's a good idea. I don't know if it will do anything except get her used to our voices. I think it would be a good way to get DH to talk to my belly though because I think he feels silly doing that. He likes to read to me anyway, so I'll just try to sit close to him.

leenziepops · January 2015

karaelaine1991 said:
Just wanted to say thanks for making this post and thanks to everyone who gave advice! I've been wanting to start reading to baby but have been feeling awkward about how to start. Reading this thread has definitely been helpful!

One of the awesome things I'm looking forward to about my baby is no judgment will come from my baby til later on! Do what you want- Read to LO in utero. Talk to LO. Sing to LO! I'm looking forward to performing silly songs and dances for my LO! And I'm definitely reading to LO in a few more weeks

Christinej2101 · January 2015

Not reading out loud to baby but if he is picking up on what I say his first sentence will be, "I don't wanna go to work today!"....might need to adjust that

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