Share some of your experiences with children of this age and level

[Julie Palmieri]

Share some of your experiences with children of this age and level.

[Kimberly Werner]

Most of my work with the 0-9 month age range is in the NICU, targeted towards gentle stimulation, masking of environmental sounds, encouraging bonding through other means when a baby is too fragile to handle, and, at times, legacy building and memory making.

In full disclosure, this is definitely not my favorite area or age range to work with. This is, for sure, at least partially due to my limited experience in working with this age, but also because my experience with this age is so specific to such medically fragile babies, so my anxiety about overstimulation/unintentional harm always seems to override my joy, connection, and happiness for the work.

[Leslie Aldrich]

I definitely resonate with your post as well. I haven’t worked with this age group much outside of the NICU/PICU, so that fear of overstimulation is a lot of what I think about as well. In a way, that must be good experience even in thinking about these community classes because you do have to be aware of the surroundings so some babies are not getting startled or overstimulated; just with a lot lower steaks. You will be very prepared to keep those kinds of observations in mind for children outside of the hospital 🙂

[Kimberly Werner]

I’m kind of excited and intrigued about the idea of working with “typical” / less fragile & complex babies!

[Maggie Johnson]

I have no clinical experience with this age group. My life experience includes family member’s/friend’s children and relatively limited interaction like for visits and family gatherings. I remember lots of whispering and the rocking motion mentioned in the videos, especially for the sleeping newborns. As they got closer to the end of the SM1 age range, I remember coming up with little spinning or peekaboo games, trying to find sounds/objects/motions to explore, playing with toys, crawling around with them or singing familiar songs like “the itsy bitsy spider.” Generally with this age range, I feel a sense of fascination with them while trying to put myself in their shoes/see the world through their eyes.

[Leslie Aldrich]

I agree with the sense of fascination at this age range! I loved how the gentleman in the video shared how he takes the opportunity to remind the parents how small their baby’s world is. It’s very true and a great chance for some education on tone, timbre, dynamics, etc.

[Kimberly Werner]

I’m always so curious about what these babies think of us, and how their minds and bodies process everything being brand new experiences to them.

[Leslie Aldrich]

I was working with kids of this age regularly during my internship. The children were either in the NICU or in the PICU and were dealing with some pretty significant medical issues. My sessions with them were all about watching for overstimulation, heart rate levels, and respiration levels. I was very much more guarded in providing music than I imagine I will be in providing these community classes for infants outside the hospital because there won’t be those same issues to consider. I do remember being pretty fascinated by how responsive those tiny babies were and how little musical stimulation it took to get a response. There was also a pretty big focus still on bonding between parent and infant. Helping the parents feel like they can interact with their baby through music without being able to hold them even if the music was very quiet and simple and soft. I remember doing a lot of educating on how the parent’s voice was the voice that baby wanted to hear regardless of musical skill level.

[Kimberly Werner]

So much parent education & encouragement. My sessions in similar settings are often almost 75% for caregiver/25% for baby. It really is a family-centered approach for care, even if the caregiver isn’t present in the moment.

[Christine Wick]

Yes! My coworkers and I were just talking about this concept last week. So much of what we do is directly with and for the caregiver. Building and maintaining that relationship is everything. It’s funny to think about when I say “I work with 0-3 yr olds” when really that is only a small piece of the equation like you said!

[Erika (TeamRH)]

Thank you each for sharing about your experiences.

[Katelyn Caruso]

Most of my professional experience is with older children or adults, but I did do music sessions in a preschool in which we did music for ages 18 month-6 years (split into different classes which were similar to the different levels of sprouting melodies). It was fun to go to the classes throughout the day, starting with the youngest and ending with the oldest as it was really apparent the new developmental stages and musical abilities in each new age level. With the youngest classes, they would love repetition of familiar songs, especially songs that the teachers did with them each day. Many would stare up at the guitar or singer with big eyes and you could just tell that they were soaking it all in! The older students loved movement songs and all of the musical surprises. It was so much fun working with them and seeing them grow and change and see their musical interests change throughout the year.

[Melissa Neitzel]

I worked in the NICU for many years, supporting both the infant and the caregiver. One of the major goal areas was sensory integration. Every session required strong observation to the infant’s responses- minute or large. Each session had the potential to look different based on what the infant experienced throughout the day (procedures, other therapies, staff playing music for too long). What they tolerated last time may not be what they are tolerating today. I always had to start off slow and reduced, gently adding layers of stimulation at their pace. I watched for the overstimulation cues but also the positive cues- which I made sure to point out to parents. Parents need to see their baby engaging in positive experiences during this time.
I feel that there are a lot of similarities with Sprouting Melodies. We need to be present, watching the infant’s reactions to know when to move forward with more stimulating activities. We can also show parents when their child is showing positive cues to the music in group.
I miss working with babies and their parents and am looking forward to providing these groups.

[Christine Wick]

I just started work in early intervention this year and do home visiting sessions. Some experiences that stand out most to me are when mom/dad find that connection. There’s something so special that happens when all are present in the moment together within the music. Even though I may start a musical experience/song/movement, I’m always trying to work my way out of the forefront and help mom or dad transition into that leading and choice-making role – supporting that dyad relationship. A great part about home visiting sessions is that families can be in the comfort and safety of their own home and musical experiences can be readily embedded. I find I don’t need to bring instruments in except for my guitar and I try to use what is already there in their space so care givers can feel they don’t need XYZ instruments/toys to recreate these experiences. With this age group, many children already have their own set of small instruments as well!

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