by Emma Riley Sutton

Created on: May 27, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2008

The doctor in the emergency room barely got out the words "you're pregnant" before I began bonding with my baby. All of the strange symptoms I had been experiencing - the rapid heartbeat, the exhaustion, and the strange rash on my right side - all seemed to disappear. I was pregnant and all I knew to do was talk to my baby; express how much I loved him or her and how much I couldn't wait for him or her to arrive.

As time past, I talked more and more to my baby. I got the strangest looks as I explained to the little life growing inside of me about all the vitamins and minerals in the foods we were buying at the grocery store. I apologized over and over for all the cheese we were eating, carefully explaining how Momma couldn't keep milk down and we had have our calcium. The check-out girl thought I insane was explained to my unseen baby that there were twenty-five pennies in a quarter and four quarters in a dollar as she handed me my change.

I read aloud constantly. Anything I could get my hands on, I read to my baby. The one book I read from the most was the Bible. Everyday, I read Deuteronomy 28, stressing verse 12 that told us that we are the head and not the tail; above only and not beneath." My son or daughter was not going to struggle with self-esteem, self-confidence and the sense of self-worth. Once I learned my baby was a girl, I read Proverbs 31 to her several times a day. She was going to know what it took to be a woman whose value was far above rubies.

She and I listened to music together. We listened to my church favorites like "Power in the Blood", "Hold the Fort" (my grandfather's favorite song) and "Not By Might." We also listened to Celtic music. Not only would my daughter know about her spiritual roots, but her family roots as well. Don Henley is one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all times, so we listened to his music also.

I told all of my friends and family from out of town to make audio tapes so we could listen to them together. I wanted her to learn all about words and they way people from all over spoke them. A dear friend from Poland even sent us tapes of her speaking Polish and Russian. I had no idea what she was saying, but my baby was hearing every word. When I would talk to people I knew on the telephone, I would hold the phone to my enlarging tummy and have them talk to my daughter.

As a first time mother, I was told by many mothers that I was going overboard and my daughter was experiencing an "information overload" before she

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