Now THAT is an Aware Baby!

Sporting the Post-Bathtime Elvis Curl Action, originally uploaded by tadnkat.

Ever since she was first born, we’ve been getting comments that Mackenzie is the most aware baby they’ve ever seen. That’s an attribute she’s not shed in her first 7 months – she’s only become more aware, more alert, and just as happy.

Reflecting on things we’ve done as parents which could have contributed to that, there are a few factors which come up:

(a) No Drugs: Out of the 25 babies who were in the recovery room at the hospital when Mackenzie was born, Mackenzie was the only one that was born entirely natural, and with no drugs of any sort. We had a great midwife who had just given birth totally naturally to a set of twins, and was all for just working with my wife’s willingness to get that baby out. Even though there’s debate on how much the drugs such as an epidural, etc actually pass to the baby – the empirical evidence is that when momma had drugs, babies were less alert, less communicative, and less “there”. Now, as a Scientologist, I don’t debate that when you’ve medically got to have drugs to make the delivery go, you do whatever is necessary in the interest of the health of the mother and the baby. But in our case, it worked out great.

(b) Happy Household: In Dianetics, L. Ron Hubbard describes the massive effects a happy household can have on the health of a baby – and conversely, the detrimental effects on a baby’s health and happiness when the parents fight. My wife and I use Scientology to solve all of our day-to-day problems with communication, and haven’t had the occasion to fight at all since Mackenzie was born, or during the pregnancy.

I’m sure there are other factors – ones that Mackenzie herself can take the credit for – but the ones above I think are significant.