Storytime
One of the things we love to do with Livi is read to her. It’s one of our morning activities, and we’ll always read her a book before we tuck her into bed.
Sometimes they’re children’s books, or Tom and I will just read aloud whatever we’re reading:
Last night she learned about 357th Fighter Squadron heritage via “Two Days of Rolling Thunder.” She listened intently and looked at the pictures.. until she crashed out.
Some of the books we’ve read so far include lots of Eric Carle and Dr. Suess, “My Daddy Loves Me,” and “Look, Look!” (a gift from a very good friend).
She especially loves the pictures in this one because they’re black and white:
So much in fact that I may just ordered three similar books:
I really enjoy reading to Liv because even though I have no idea if she understands or not, she looks at each page and watches my mouth move as I read the words to her. I love pointing out the different animals and the sounds they make (and sound like a total goober), and teaching her the names of colors.
Some of the benefits of reading to babies:
(from this website)
Reading aloud:
- teaches a baby about communication
- introduces concepts such as stories, numbers, letters, colors, and shapes in a fun way
- builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills
- gives babies information about the world around them
Believe it or not, by the time babies reach their first birthday they will have learned all the sounds needed to speak their native language. The more stories you read aloud, the more words your child will be exposed to and the better he or she will be able to talk. Hearing words helps to build a rich network of words in a baby’s brain. Kids whose parents frequently talk/read to them know more words by age 2 than children who have not been read to. And kids who are read to during their early years are more likely to learn to read at the right time.
When reading, your child hears you using many different emotions and expressive sounds, which fosters social and emotional development. Reading also invites your baby to look, point, touch, and answer questions — all of which promote social development and thinking skills. And your baby improves language skills by imitating sounds, recognizing pictures, and learning words.
But perhaps the most important reason to read aloud is that it makes a connection between the things your baby loves the most — your voice and closeness to you — and books. Spending time reading to your baby shows that reading is a skill worth learning.
Everyone in my family read to me from when I was very small, which is definitely one of the reasons why I love to read as much as I do.
It’s funny because our first week back from the hospital, I felt like I might not have the chance to read again. Showering is a luxury. Reading? There was no way.
Finally, I’ve mastered the art of one-handed reading (and typing) so that I’ve been able to read almost an entire book this past week:
Thank you so much to those of you who recommended this one!
While I am still mystified by Livi on a daily basis, it’s given fantastic insight into her personality.
This is the type of book that is more helpful once the baby is here, because it describes 5 different baby personality types and the best ways to nurture and care for each type. According to the book, Livi is a combo textbook and spirited baby. She is very clear about what she likes and doesn’t like -her dirty diaper cry is INTENSE. She lets you know instantly when she needs to be cleaned up- and also very predictable about her schedule. When she wakes up, it’s eating time.
I’ve been reading the book in snippets during pumping time and it has been extremely helpful and fascinating.
Next on the list:
(I should have downloaded these on the Kindle, but wasn’t sure if they’d be the type of books I’d want to reference later- it’s more challenging to do that electronically)
Sleep is still a little helter-skelter over here, but once we get into more of a routine, I think this book will be very useful. “Happiest Baby on the Block” has also been good to us- lots of “shh-ing,” swaddling and swaying over here.
Please let me know if you have any more book recommendations- I’m always looking for late-night feeding and pumping reading material!
What was your favorite book as a child?
I was obsessed with the Angelina Ballerina books and also adored The Giving Tree 🙂
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Love how Olivia is just chillin’ on the pillow all wrapped up. With those big beautiful eyes! I always (and still do) loved Angelina Ballerina. Classic!
I used to read Eric Carle to my English learning kids/students in Budapest! Even though I read all these American stories, I didn’t remember any Eric Carle stories until I was ‘a grown up’, and teaching; but I absolutely love, love those stories. Infant stage/Baby stage/Toddler stage, there are real stories there. The caterpillars will love you.
As a teacher with a background in early childhood literacy, I want to let you know that you are doing EVERYTHING right. The earlier you start reading with Olivia, the better—and the more she sees YOU reading, the better! It’s such an important step that will set her up for success later on.
I love Dr. Seuss, personally!
Agreed! As an educator myself, I will also add to keep reading to her even when she learns to read because it builds vocabulary and reading fluency.
I have a 9 month old who just last month started sleeping through the night. I read Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, then also read Ferber’s book, Solve your Child’s Sleep problems. I definitely learned so much from each book, but when it all boiled down to it, we weren’t comfortable with the way Healthy Sleep Habits wanted you to let your 5 month old baby cry it out for an hour. (and our little guy was relentless) I just felt like Ferber gave a few “more gentle” options, and once I started using his methods it was no time at all before we had a great sleeper. Now Jamie sleeps 11+ hours every night, and has a very happy mommy!!
Goodnight Moon! My favorite children’s book of all time & I give to all my friends with kids now!
Love that you are reading to her! You are right, it is so important. I started reading to my son when he was 3 days old. Partly because books were cool, and the other part so that he could always hear my voice. He is now 15 months, he LOVES books. He will pick up books on his own and look through them or bring a book over to me for him to read. Down the road if you are looking for more books to read to Livi, my son loves “Bear snores on” and “Barnyard Dance.”
Love your blog…been reading for a year now and never commented but I saw “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child” was your next read and I had to comment b/c I swear by that book. We lived in Chicago when my first was born and the author, Marc Wiesbluth, was my pediatrician. I have two boys (4 and 3) and I used his method for both. When they were little and started sleeping through the night (which was 6-7mos-ish) I would have them in bed by 5:30 and they would sleep til 6 the next morning….no one I knew could get their kids to do this! Sometimes the book and the advice seem overwhelming and I think with one kid I couldn’t either kid onto a program until about 6-7 mos (I think the book recommends 4 mos), but regardless, I highly endorss this book and it will make for a happier mommy and child in the long run.
Baby Whisperer saved my life!!!! I used it for both of my children, and in no time they were sleeping through the night. Love, love, love it!!!!
when i got a little older i loved the “shoe” books, by Noel Streatfeild, especially “Ballet Shoes.” My versions of the books used to come with a little charm necklace, too! ( I hope they still do that!)
I don’t have kids yet but my next door neighbor SWEARS by “The Contented Little Baby Book.” It was written by a British nanny and her 18 month old has slept from 7pm-7am since he was 3 months old. I had the chance to see it in action the other night – at 7:00 on the dot he went up to his mom, said, “Night night!” and then walked over to the gate at the bottom of the stairs. Oh, and he takes 2 naps a day! I know the whole “scheduling” vs. on-demand eating thing can be controversial, and I was always determined to be an on-demand feeder when the day comes, but seeing how happy and well-rested their family is has totally changed my mind! I love routines so I will definitely be reading this one!
i followed dr. weissbluth’s sleep training and it worked wonders, and i also felt like it was the right fit for our family. i personally felt that baby wise was too aggressive. weissbluth felt like a nice balance. i enjoyed the book so much and still break it out at different times. it is a great resource. good luck and enjoy!
also – i tried at 4 months and my baby did not respond to it. we waited a few more weeks at by 5 1/2 months he was sleeping 6pm – 6 am and has been every since (almost 9 months). his sleep schedule is completely predictable and he gets the amount of sleep that he needs. its wonderful!!! and very important!
This is a book and a puppet combination. I gave it to my friend who had twin baby boys and they LOVE IT. 🙂
http://tinyurl.com/78r2rhk (<—Links to amazon.)
I really loved the book "King Leonard's Celebration" when I was little. Beautiful illustrations.
The Giving Tree! I loved Shel Silverstein and still have quit the collection of his books. I loved poetry more than anything when I was little because of the patterns.
Also, any kind of fairy tales. I loved listening to stories that had been told over and over for hundreds of years.
Both of these books have been my Bible with Jack, who is 14 weeks. We have started the sleep training process from Healthy Sleeping Habits and so far, so good. The sleep thing is soooo hard…Jack just fights going to sleep and he is definitely a combo of spirited and grumpy, hee hee.
You are so lucky Livi has some textbook on her:)
Thanks for this post, I need to start reading to him PRONTO!!!
Have a great weekend!
First of all, that picture is adorable. I love how Olivia is very intently listening ha
I used to love Angelina Ballerina books too and I remember my very favorite book being Eloise.
Goodnight Moon. I read this to both my boys. (I still remember most of it by heart) And they are both teenagers now! They both loved it so much and it was so calming to them.
We love, love, love “The No Cry Sleep Solution.” We’re not big fans of the whole cry it out thing and this method works wonders. Whenever we get off schedule, we always revert back to the methods in the book even with my preschooler! The only thing that puts some people off is the book talks about natural sleep times for babies and children. THey are much earlier than most people think and you have to find your child’s sweet spot. Both our kids go to bed at 5:30! We love it because it gives us time together as a couple and allows us to go out if we want without missing the bedtime activities. My 3 year old used to go to bed around 6:30 or 7 but then she stopped napping and goes down at 5:30 like my 15 month old. It’s great! There are some things we can’t do, like late night barbecues and such but we’ve decided it’s just not worth it because we were sooooo exhausted before! Sleep is nice! THey also wake at the same time in the morning (around 7 right now) regardless of when they go to sleep. The later they go to bed, the earlier they rise because they are so over tired. It’s an interesting science!
That’s so interesting! Whenever Ella goes to bed at 8 because we go out and get home at 7 or she just refuses, she will get up at 230 or 3 or 5. If she’s out BY 7 then she sleeps til 7. Never thought of the over tired thing! You’re always full of good info, Jessica!
Livi is so so cute watching Tom read!
Both my kids love “Brown Bear, Brown Bear”…it is the only book my 2 year old son will actually sit down for. He carries it around with him. My husband loves to read to our kids.
That picture is beyond adorable! She is such a cutie.
Make Way for Ducklings, the Madeline books, but by far and away the one I remember most reading with my mom (and snuggling!) was Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. It is the sweetest mommy story ever.
Can I just say how adorable Livi is! My son liked to be swaddled as well and boy was it a lifesaver!
thank you!
Huh! Obviously I knew reading to children is great & beneficial, but I didn’t know that those benefits kicked in so early on. Very interesting!
You should buy her some Olivia The Pig books!! I’m an adult but my mom buys me them all the time cause they’re so cute! And, same name!
she has a couple, and they’re adorable!
Thanks for putting early literacy and language information out there! I am a Speech-Language Pathologist who works in schools and early intervention and I spend a lot of time educating parents on language development and early literacy, as well as trying to help school age kids strengthen their language skills.
Hey Gina!
One of my favorite books as a child was Max Lucardo’s You Are Special.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&gbv=2&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=402l2164l0l2952l15l12l0l4l4l0l159l1008l1.7l8l0&q=you+are+special+book&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16983256632676410435
It’s a sweet little story about not letting others label you and just knowing that everyone is special.
Dana
Olivia is so cute and alert! It looks like she totally knows what’s going on but just doesn’t have the ability to participate in the conversation yet.
Gina – Olivia is your clone I swear! She looks so alert and adorable – I love those big eyes! Awwwwwwwe!
I still love being read to – and Rob does that for me…it is so relaxing – do you and your hubby read together?
Liv probably loves the sound of her Daddy’s voice.
Have an amazing weekend.
thank you!
and yes, she loves the sounds of toms voice 🙂
Ahhh I LOVE The Giving Tree! I get the biggest smile on my face just thinking about it.
Another fave book from my childhood is “I’ll Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch. I dare you to read it without crying 🙂
I LOVED Jillian Jiggs books. They flowed well, were completely silly and I love rhyming sing-songy type books. I made sure to get them once I had kids and surprised myself by still remembering all the words.
Are you bilingual? If so, you should also read and talk to her in another language, as it’ll make it IMMENSELY easier for her to become bi/multi-lingual when she gets older (an invaluable skill!)
cute cute cute! unreal how cute. 🙂
I’m a Boston gal (go patriots!!!!) and Makeway For Ducklings is a book that every Boston child had on their bookshelf as a kid. I still adore it and I buy it for all my friends who live here and have babies.
I’ve been reading everything to my 14 month old, since she was born. Even just read her this post! 😉
Goodnight Moon, I’ll Love you Forever, and Runaway Bunny!
we’ve always done lots of reading to our boys and now at ages 2 1/2 and almost 4years, they will both sit with me for an hour and hand me book after book. they LOVE when we read to them still! so keep on. my current favorite that gets a lump in my throat when i read it is, You are My I Love You. It’s one of the sweetest books every and would make a great baby gift too!
http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-My-Love/dp/039923392X
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch was definitely a favorite! I’m not a mom yet, but already I get teary reading it sometimes!
I think reading to Livi will be some of your most cherished memories. And when baby number two comes, you and Livi can both read to the new little one! I used to LOVE reading stories with the kids I baby sat and nannied. I love anything by Dr Suess, Hop on Pop is still one of my faves.
My FAVORITE book as a child was Harold and the Purple Crayon and the Tomie dePaolo Strega Nona books (http://www.amazon.com/Strega-Nona-Tomie-dePaola/dp/tags-on-product/0671666061). My favorite book to gift is And Tango Makes Three (http://www.amazon.com/Tango-Makes-Three-Justin-Richardson/dp/0689878451/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328300387&sr=1-1). Such a beautiful story and message. When I taught preschool the children loved Strega Nona and they loved to talk about And Tango Makes Three and what makes their families unique and special.
Its funny, I don’t really remember being read to by my parents, but I loved the Roland Dahl books my teachers read to us in school.
We’ve read to our boys since they were teeny tiny, and now that my oldest is school aged, I really believe its helped him in the classroom. Brag moment: at the beginning of Kindergarten, he was reading on a 2nd grade level…and I really believe its because we started reading to him at a young age! Good job, Fitnessista & Pilot. 🙂
Not a book recommendation, but since you mentioned Happiest Baby on the Block I thought I’d suggest the ‘Baby Shusher’ app. Seriously, the BEST $5 I have ever spent! It has a timer and you can even record your own sh sound for it to play. It has helped my baby learn to fall asleep quicker and settle himself back to sleep and has been great for those times when nothing else seems to be working. I think there is a free version with limited features if you want to try before you buy. Good luck with the sleeping… It is so hard at the beginning, but, I promise it will get better soon!
the amount of cuteness in that picture is insane! she is so lovely… i can’t even stand it.
my parents read to my sister and i every night before bed until we could read. then we read to them. 🙂 our dog at the time actually knew the word storytime and she’d always come listen too. they’re some of my favorite memories!
livi’s a lucky little lady. 🙂
I love the children’s book “Ish” which focused on enjoying the process over the outcome…. might be a fun one to add to your reading routines!
i LOVED the “secrets of the baby whisperer.” we chose not to let our son cry it out when we did sleep training and this book worked great for us. i just wish i had read it in the beginning and not in month 6. it would have been SO much easier!
I was just going to say The Giving Tree was a must! I actually got my master’s degree in Literacy Education and one thing that was talked about in my classes… a lot… was the importance of reading to kids and getting them engaged early. Olivia sure is one lucky girl to have two parents who value reading and spend the time every day to read to her 🙂 Some fun books for you to look at, maybe more when she’s older, are wordless books like Flotsam or Tuesday by David Wiesner. Because there are no words, it would really get the imagination going for them and you would end up with a different story every time 🙂
that is a great idea!
As a teacher, the no.1 help with early reading, phonics, phonemic awareness…is parents reading at home. Thank you for starting young!!!
I would definitely recommend The Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford. I was a baby nurse and a nanny for quite a few years and this is the book I would always go back to for tips on getting little ones on a schedule or to sleep through the night. Her methods haven’t failed me yet, and I’ve had babies as young as 4-5 weeks sleeping through the night consistently!
http://www.amazon.com/Contented-Little-Baby-Confident-Parenting/dp/0451202430
The Baby Whisperer was so helpful to me. E.A.S.Y. was a lifesaver!
I loved “The Velveteen Rabbit” (and still do!) as a kid. It’s one of my favorites to read to my two boys.
Olivia is absolutely beautiful! And just from reading your posts, you ARE doing a great job and seem like such a wonderful mommy! 🙂