my baby cries when I play music

[JJshappymum]

Hi there,

Just a  question here. My DS2 is 3 months old and every time I sing to him or play music he gets a pout and begins to cry. Has this ever happened to you? Do you know what it could mean?

Thanks!!

[deb]

How are you singing to him? What kinds of songs do you sing/play? Are you looking right at him with eye contact? Little things like that can change the way music is perceived. Also, some people, including babies, are just very strongly affected by music.

Tell me more - as an early childhood music teacher I'm interested in this one!

[Khalam's Mama]

Probably not the reason but have you checked his ears? For fluid etc. Or tried it much quieter? Ds2 hates my singing and puts his fingers in his ears and says "stop mama no" for quite a while now. I am not a good singer though.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Spencer hates when I sing, I have no idea why but I suspect I am not in tune and it grates on her. She also does not like to hear my mom speak as she is deaf and has a different tone to her voice. She used to cry when my mom spoke, now she hides or covers her ears.

Music, however, she loves, and weird things I wouldn't expect a kid to care for (like that song by Gotye "Somebody That I Used to Know").

[JJshappymum]

I have tried the "ABC" song and "Twinkle,Twinkle" and I thought he just didn't like the sound of my voice. Then the other day the TV was playing "The Itsy,Bitsy Spider" and he began to cry again. At least I know it's not my voice that makes him cry ;-)

DS1 used to be the same way but only with classical music, such as Beethoven or Mozart. He liked all other music.

Deb, thanks for the suggestions. I'll pay more attention to these details and see if it makes a difference. 

[JJshappymum]

It seems like DS2 is doing better with tolerating music. I tried singing Twinkle Twinkle a little faster and he didn't cry. However, he's still pretty upset if I put the radio on in the car and it doesn't matter what kind of music or the volume. It just doesn't soothe him and he cries loud.

[deb]

For the time being then, I'd stick with rhymes instead of songs. He may be sensitive to some pitches of music, but spoken rhythmic rhymes, like Jack Be Nimble or Pat-a-Cake or other nursery rhymes, can still give him a sense of rhythm while the hearing matures. You can also "say" some songs like rhymes, like Itsy Bitsy Spider, with the motions.

Any chance of fluid in his ears, as PP suggested? It would distort sound and make it possibly overpowering, like hearing a song in an echo chamber.

[JJshappymum]

I'll try to have his ears checked. come to think of it, he has had congested eyes since birth and has been battling a cold on and off for weeks now. DS1 is in preschool and brings home one cold after another and DS2 catches it all even though I am BFing.

[marensmama]

My DD2 didn't like music or singing either, but that was mostly a sign to me that she was tired.  She was a touchy/spirited babe and I think it was just too much stimulation at certain times of the day.  Maybe try changing when you sing or play music to earlier in his A time.  Hayden learned to love music and is always dancing or tapping her foot to the beat, but when she's tired she'll tell me she has a headache and could I please turn it off.  Just another little something to consider. 

[ZacsMumme]

Zac was like this too. He was touchy and very sensitive - still is! Could be personality. But as pp mention could also be tiredness x

[JJshappymum]

Noah is actually really mellow but maybe this is an indication that he has a touchy side too. I have tried singing at different times and it doesn't seem related. However, I'll watch his cues more closely .