A Must Have for Your Surrogate!

One of my favorite memories from Ruby's birth was the moment Rick finally said something aloud. It was crazy . . . Ruby, just a few minutes old, turned towards Rick because she recognized his voice! Doctors and Nurses were talking, craziness was all around (remember her delivery?) but the moment she heard her father's voice, she knew.

Remember, babies can hear in the womb and some studies have shown that at 34 weeks they can even recall that information after birth! There has been lots of research on prenatal hearing/development. This is why a lot of expecting parents decide to "pipe in" music, foreign languages, etc . . . and it just got a lot easier!

I recevied this great item called bellybuds™ and I can't praise it enough. Basically, bellybuds™ are wearable speakers for pregnant women that want to play prenatal music and sounds to a developing child in the womb. They plug into any standard digital music device (I'm using it with an ipod shuffle) and are "specially designed to adhere gently to the varying curvature of a pregnant belly." So instead of having to hold headphones to your belly you can stick them on . . . beneath clothing or in full view and go about your day.

For any expecting mother it is a great item, but for Intended Parents and Surrogates . . . THEY ARE PERFECTION!

Depending on how far away and how often you see your Intended Parents, chances are the "Ruby Moment" I remember so clearly, won't be happening for them. Their baby/babies will have heard 9 months of you and your family, not their own. The surrobabies I have/am carrying will recognize my voice for sure. They will also be born recognizing the “da dum” from Law & Order, and they will, no doubt, recognize the most played CD’s in my car which currently are a burned CD of my kids’ favorite GLEE songs, RENT, and Depeche Mode.

So here's my thought- I think all Intended Parents should buy bellybuds™ for their Surrogate. They can accompany this with a digital music device that is full of hours of their own voices. It can just be any random conversation between the parents (mom, dad, other dad, other mom, etc) or, even better it can be a recording of the parents reading children's books or singing lullabies. You could even have messages from your other children or family members. So your baby will recognize your voice, even though you can't be there everyday to talk or read to them. Of course you can also fill the device with classical music, french lessons, whatever you want to share with your growing baby.

Now, some of you are thinking this might be embarassing if the ipod (or whatever you choose to use) is "listened to" by someone other than the occupants of your surrogates womb. Maybe . . . but just explain this to your surrogate. It's also the reason it may be better to fill the device yourself instead of emailing her tracks to download on her own ipod. And, if you don't want to buy your surrogate a brand new MP3 player look around for an old one you have, there are several older versions available on ebay or just tell her that she can borrow it. If my IPs had said, this is for the next few months, we'll get it back after birth, I wouldn't have bugged me a bit!

I like bellybuds™ so much, I emailed the company to see if I can sell them in my own baby boutique.