For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated with music, myself, and just as interested in other people’s responses to music. In fact, I sometimes wonder, if I had stayed single, if I would have someday gone into some branch of music therapy. With that mindset, when my husband and I found out there was a little person growing inside of me, I was curious to see how this unborn child would respond to music. This one would be available for round-the-clock observation, and she would be everywhere I was, so I would have opportunity to keep track of different responses to different music.
Right from the get-go, this baby has been surrounded with music, almost 24/7, because she was (literally) stuck with me. In reality, the incessant music input didn’t require a whole lot of adjustment on my part. I had a minimum of a 45-minute drive to and from work, and my desk job allowed for quiet, calm music of my choice in the background, so there was about eleven hours of music per day, right there, with lunchtime usually consisting of an hour’s nap in the car, with the radio or the CD player going the entire time (so I didn’t oversleep). At the time, I was also the organist for our church, so that added a significant amount of time, between practice and services.
Unless my husband was in the car with me and we were talking rather than singing together, there was pretty much always music in the car. It didn’t stop when we got home, either–I’ve always loved to have music throughout the house, especially while taking care of household chores. Right there at the end of the pregnancy, the chores became increasingly more important than usual, especially the home-renovation projects, so the stereo was going almost non-stop.
While packing for the birthing center, we included a selection of some of our favorite CDs, so the music that we’d been playing throughout the pregnancy continued throughout our time at the birthing center. Granted, I didn’t really notice it during the pushing and actual delivery, but I distinctly remember the music before and after. Once we had our baby home, the music–especially the quiet and calm–continued, at bedtime, for sure, if not also throughout the day.
So, has all that music saturation had any effect on our daughter? I don’t yet know. She actually seemed to be more responsive to changes in music before she was born. Most noticeably, in church she would be still all during the song service and then get very squirmy when the music stopped. Also, with a CD of piano and organ solos, her activity level would often shift significantly with switches between the two instruments.
At this point in her development, it is clear that she enjoys having music–she’ll get and keep her musical toys going while she’s playing with other toys. We’re just not yet sure of her general attitude toward music. Time will tell, I suppose (and my curiosity hopes).
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