Lesson #8

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I just finished lesson #8 last week and am already on lesson #9. It is exciting, and nerve-wrecking, to see how fast the time is going by. I feel like the second half of this pregnancy is going much faster than the first half. For anyone out there who has not shared their news yet, it seems like that was the longest part of my pregnancy. After 20 weeks, time has just flown so fasten your seat belts and get ready for time to fly! If you take a look back at some of my past posts, you can see this how this incredible journey has gone for me so far.

I feel great and am so thankful for such a healthy pregnancy. I’m also grateful for all the benefits my baby girl is receiving from BabyPlus including:

  •     Are more relaxed & alert at birth
  •     More readily nurse
  •     Display increased ability to self-soothe
  •     Are more interactive & responsive

If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.

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Lesson #7

Last week, I finished lesson #7 of BabyPlus and am already flying through lesson #8. It’s amazing to see how much bigger I’m getting each week. A few things I’ve noticed while using BabyPlus over the last few weeks:

  • It just gets more soothing with each use. In fact, it almost puts me to sleep each time.
  • My baby girl loves it! Besides walking and consuming cold foods or beverages, this is something that gets her excited and on the move. It’s so fun to feel her move around when wearing BabyPlus!
  • The cat might like it even more than the baby…as you can see from this picture. The second he sees me start to put it on, he’s on my lap ready to begin!

I’ll keep you posted as I approach the half way mark with my lessons! Have questions about my experience or just want to know more? Feel free to leave a comment or email me!

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Early Learning For Your Baby Begins At The Fetal Development Phase

During pregnancy, your body begins to change in preparation for bringing a new life into the world. Part of the preparation is laying the brain building blocks for your bundle of joy while the child undergoes fetal development. An article on BrillKids.comexpounds on the importance of early brain stimulation to the development of a child:

“YOUR BABY IS BORN WITH MOST OF THE BRAIN CELLS SHE WILL EVER HAVE, BUT DURING HER FIRST 12 MONTHS IN THE WORLD, HER BRAIN WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY COMPLEX. BY THE TIME SHE REACHES THE AGE OF TWO, HER BRAIN WILL ALREADY BE 75 PERCENT OF ITS ADULT WEIGHT. BY THE AGE OF THREE, IT WILL HAVE REACHED 90 PERCENT OF ITS ADULT WEIGHT.

ALMOST 50 PERCENT OF THE BRAIN CELLS YOUR BABY IS BORN WITH WILL WITHER AND DIE DURING THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF LIFE. THIS PROCESS, KNOWN AS NEURAL PRUNING, ORGANIZES THE BRAIN AND MAKES IT MORE EFFICIENT.”

The fetus’ brain starts functioning early in the pregnancy even though cognitive functions are still not complete. Neurons, or the nerve cells that comprise the brain, start coming together around a month into the pregnancy. The number of neurons accelerate their formation to around 200 billion by the time of birth, with each neuron packing dendrites that can make up to 15,000 synapses, or connections with other neurons. (Think of a synapse as the spark that arises when the ends of two electric wires are connected; the wires’ reactions enable stimulation of the entire electric circuit.)

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In that sense, using a prenatal audio system like the BabyPlus can help jumpstart auditory learning and bolster brain function at various prenatal development stages.

A newborn child’s brain weighs around 12 ounces but increases to 2.2 pounds by the time he or she turns a year old. The extra weight comes from the additional brain mass which develops within 12 months to produce the neurons that will handle specific body functions and cognitive skills.

With such a large number of neural pathways, the level of activity the baby is able to participate in after birth determines which of them would become fully functioning and which would be rendered inactive. Once some of the permanently inactive neurons are severed, the brain is able to devote extra resources to keeping the more active neurons at peak capacity. The neurons that are continuously stimulated may expand into more branches.

With studies finding that early brain stimulation gives children advantage in later years in life, parents recognize the need to educate their child early on by talking to them, teaching them skills, and using prenatal programs like BabyPlus. Early and proper stimulation helps advance children’s learning capabilities.

 (Source: The Science of Early Learning, Brill Kids)

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Three Important Things To Consider When Playing Music For Baby In Womb

Since mothers want their babies to grow up healthy and smart, they obtain comprehensive prenatal care services for a trouble-free pregnancy. Some also play music for baby in the womb with the hope of promoting their child’s mental development. The Washington Post writer Meeri Kim reports on a research’s findings that babies in utero do recognize the music played by their expectant moms.

“THE RESEARCHERS HAD 10 EXPECTANT MOTHERS PLAY “TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR” LOUDLY MULTIPLE TIMES PER WEEK THROUGHOUT THEIR LAST TRIMESTER OF PREGNANCY. A FEW DAYS AFTER BIRTH, THEY TOOK ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM, OR EEG, RECORDINGS OF EACH NEWBORN’S BRAIN BY USING 12 ELECTRODES SCATTERED OVER DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE HEAD.

UPON HEARING THE LULLABY AGAIN, THEY HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER BRAIN RESPONSES THAN A CONTROL GROUP OF NEWBORNS WHO HAD NOT BEEN EXPOSED TO THE SONG. THE EXPERIMENT WAS REPEATED AFTER FOUR MONTHS WITH SIMILAR RESULTS.

STUDY CO-AUTHOR AND UNIVERSITY OF HELSINKI PSYCHOLOGIST MINNA HUOTILAINEN REFERS TO THIS PHENOMENON AS “PRECONSCIOUS LEARNING.” THE BABIES HAVE NO AWARENESS OF IT — NO “OH, THAT OLD SONG FROM MY INTRAUTERINE DAYS”—BUT SOMEHOW THEIR BRAINS CAN STILL PICK UP ON THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE HEARD IT BEFORE.”

Playing music for in-utero babies is nothing new. In fact, doing so is commonplace that even a popular media management software offers several albums designed specifically for that purpose. Moms-to-be who intend to follow this practice, however, must take into account three critical points first.

newborn-babies-in-study-recognized-songs-played-to-them-while-in-the-womb

Type of Music

Most expectant mothers prefer classical music over any other type of music for their unborn baby. However, pediatric specialists say any type is suitable. A good option to add to the in-utero baby’s repertoire is natural womb music that mimics the rhythmic and comforting sound of the mom’s heartbeat.

Volume

Playing music on speakers is recommended. However, if headphones are used, moms-to-be should remember not to turn up the volume too loud as this can stress their unborn child more than soothe them. The ideal volume is below 60 decibels (an iPod or iTouch can produce up to 115 decibels). The sound level of the womb’s continuous maternal bloodpulse is 95 decibels.

Duration

Pediatricians recommend that expectant moms practice prenatal music stimulation in moderation, ideally during their rest or nap time. Overstimulation won’t cause physical harm to the unborn baby, but it could overwhelm him or her. Meanwhile, natural womb sounds can be played for as long as one hour, twice a day.

Mothers want the best for their kids, and who’s to say that they can’t start early? These days, they have the option of making their unborn child listen to music through headphones, or to womb sounds through an especially designed electronic device that is placed onto the mom’s abdomen, available from prenatal education specialists like BabyPlus.

(Source: Newborn babies in study recognized songs played to them while in the womb, washingtonpost.com)

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