Today, a guest post that makes me think of how Mary must have felt all those years ago. Was it only eight years ago that I too was ready to burst, full of baby and hope and fear? It changed my approach to Christmas, that’s for sure. How did you bond with your baby before his or her birth?

mom to mom series

Bonding with Baby Before Birth

By Melanie Jean Juneau

Prenatal babies have personalities before they are born. As any mother can tell you, some babies move around energetically both in and out of the womb, while other infants are physically passive. Some infants are night owls both in and out of the womb and others actually sleep well at night.

Nurses will point out to new parents that their newborn quickly turns towards the voices of their mother, father, siblings, and even grandparents. That means that an unborn child hears what is happening and remembers what he has heard while he was still in the womb. These memories are conscious for the first couple of years of a young child’s life but later they lay deep within their subconscious.

bonding with baby

For example, some musicians, when first introduced to a piece of music, already know how to play it without even rehearsing. Later they discover that their mother had practiced that very same piece of music while she was pregnant with them.

Understanding the implications of these tidbits of trivia, I convinced my son to try this experiment with his pregnant wife a couple of months before the birth of their first child. This is something I did during all my pregnancies. Often my kids laugh and dismiss some of my beliefs, but this time David took my suggestion and put it into action.

David gently placed his hand on one side of his wife’s stomach and then spoke aloud to his unborn child, welcoming her into their family. He told unborn Eva that both of her parents loved her already and that they would protect her and supply all her needs, physically, emotionally and spiritually. He concentrated on pouring love into his unborn baby’s spirit.

As David loved his baby by talking and placing his hand on Erica’s right side, unborn Eva kicked and pushed on that side of the womb! When David placed his hand on the other side of Erica’s stomach and repeated the prayers, their unborn daughter placed a few good kicks on that side instead! Obviously, prenatal Eva heard everything and she was happy and excited by what she heard.

As a result of Eva’s parents consciously soaking her with nurturing love while she was still in the womb, she is a peaceful, content baby who is a joy and a delight to everyone she meets. None of their friends can quite understand how Eva can be such a good baby. Basically the answer to their question is that my son and his wife connected with Eva’s heart, mind, and spirit before she was born. After birth they knew how to respond to Eva’s none verbal communication. David and Erica were in fact Baby Whisperers.

In the hospital, while holding his newborn daughter, David turned to his dad and said, “I think this is the best thing that I have ever done!”

Melanie Jean Juneau is a writer from Canada who raised nine kids on a hobby farm. In addition to having superpowers I can’t even imagine, she blogs at joy of nine9.

Read more posts in the Mom to Mom series.