While I was pregnant with my son, I read a lot of books to my daughter. Like any child, she had favorite books that she would want read over and over again. During my pregnancy, she became fixated with one book: Good Night Gorilla.
The book is captivating and inviting as a little gorilla helps all the animals in the zoo quietly escape from their cages and they all follow the zookeeper home. One part of the book that she loved was when the zookeeper’s wife realizes all the animals are in the room – she wakes up with eyes wide open.
I’ve always wondered if babies are aware of what’s going on in the outside world while they are in utero. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was so excited about having a baby. I read books to my stomach, played music and pointed out paintings at the Louvre while I was pregnant. We bought a music box that played Champs-Élysées
But when I was pregnant with my son, I was too tired, busy and overwhelmed to pay attention to him. I basically ignored him as a person, and focused on just getting through the day.
I’m convinced that babies are aware of what’s going and are influenced by what they hear in the womb.
My son, who is 11 months old, started walking last month. Like most infants, he loves to explore everything, gets excited and has become very expressive. I recently pulled out the book Good Night Gorilla to read to him and something clicked. I’ve never seen him so excited before. He pointed to the gorilla, shouted when he saw the giraffe and wanted the book read over and over. I picked out several other books and put the Good Night Gorilla book underneath the other books – he threw the other books aside and picked up Good Night Gorilla. Now, if I want his attention, I show him the book and he emerges from a corner of toys. It’s fascinating to see him so excite by a book. I wondered what would have happened if I had been reading War and Peace every night?
— Eunice Park
poche de maman 