Baby's Startle

Kelly and I have a debate. The baby book, or at least one of them that we now own, please if you are planning to have your own child, let me know, I think I can sneak one out when kelly's sleeping. Just kidding :) The baby book says that now that our child's three ear bones--the horn, the shoe and the anvil, I think, are now formed. Formed enough that the baby can sense sound, though perhaps not hear sounds distinctly. Not only that, but the baby doesn't even know what the different sounds are, to the extent that the baby ONLY responds to loud external sounds. The book says the baby reacts, as in a reflex, to a loud sound. How wonderful, beautiful that God built in this reflex because I am sure it helps to develop the brain.

OK that last part I made up or rather inferred, I really don't know that these startling reflexes build up the brain. But I think that they are not bad for the child. Kelly, on the other hand, thinks that startling the child is not good.

She thinks that making a loud sound "scares" the child. And she thinks that should I do this, which I want to, I will later regret it and feel sorry. I think that it is my one way to interact and reach my child while he is still in the womb. As we know from the book, it doesn't recognize or react to anything but a loud external sounds. (The exceptions to this are internal sounds Kelly's voice, Kelly's stomach, Kelly's breathing.)

Now, for my own purposes, I have spoken to my child via inter-abdominal channels. I have poked and prodded Kelly's belly in attempts to reach my child. But according to the book, the loud sounds are my only shot at communication. I'll keep reading though.

In our debate, I think I'm right. I can only hope that others in the blog-isphere, agree.