MJM Books has a big announcement.  No, we’re not having a “blowout clearance” sale, and no, there is no recall due to spontaneous combustion of our products.  My wife, Krista, is pregnant with our first child!  We are extremely excited and, of course, nervous.  Like most modern parents we turn to the wisest, sagest, entity we know (the Internet) to research the safest cribs, the greenest diapers, and the latest parenting and development research.

For our readers, I was interested in when parents should begin to read to their unborn baby.  Right now, our baby still looks like a seahorse, so I feel comfortable that it will not be traumatized by my nightly reading of detective noir stories.  (Yes, I really do read them out loud before we go to bed)

According to a few articles, while fetus’s ears form earlier, they can be seen reacting to sounds at about 30 weeks.  For those moms rushing out to press some headphones against their bellies hoping for the “Mozart Effect”, no one is sure exactly what a fetus can actually hear/comprehend.

This article claims that unborn babies can comprehend steady beat patterns (like a heartbeat or a steady rock and roll 4/4) and notice if a significant downbeat is missing (tests are still out on whether they can tell that fifths moving in parallel motion are bad counterpoint).

In my opinion, if your baby is listening, it’s hearing you talk all the time.  Regular prenatal story times are probably better bonding for Mommy and Daddy than it is an imperative lesson for baby, but that is still a great thing!  Besides, it’s not until you’ve named the baby so that you can order one of our custom kids books to enjoy together, and that’s when the real fun happens.

Rock on…