Paris Hilton Had Her Surrogate Watch 'The Simple Life,' But For A Good Reason
Hilton welcomed her 2-month-old son, Phoenix, via surrogacy, in January.
Paris Hilton welcomed her son, Phoenix, with husband Carter Reum in January 2023. During the journey of having a surrogate, Hilton wanted to make sure that she had a special connection to her son even though she wasn’t the one carrying him.
So, the former reality TV star came up with a hilarious and honestly genius idea so that Phoenix would know exactly who his mommy was when he was born.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Hilton, 42, revealed that she asked her son’s surrogate to watch “episodes of The Simple Life while pregnant so that the fetus would get used to the sound of his mother’s voice.”
Knowing that in-utero Phoenix was listening to his mom sing the “Sanasa” song with BFF Nicole Richie over and over and genuinely asking if Walmart sold “wall stuff” is just something so perfect I can’t even put it into words.
Hilton’s request is not even that far-fetched when you think about the hours upon hours pregnant parents spend talking to their stomachs or putting headphones on their bumps, playing Mozart to make sure their kid comes out super cultured.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, unborn babies can hear sounds outside the body around 27 to 29 weeks pregnant. They may even be able to recognize certain sounds and voices with repetition. This explains why some babies don’t startle at the sound of a dog barking or the blender — they’re just used to it by the time they’re earth-side.
A 2013 study showed that unborn babies are listening to their mothers talk during the last 10 weeks of pregnancy and at birth can demonstrate what they’ve heard.
“The mother has first dibs on influencing the child’s brain,” said Patricia Kuhl, co-author and co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington. “The vowel sounds in her speech are the loudest units and the fetus locks onto them.”
Hilton also must have had her surrogate blast some of her classic pop hits. On The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon that her son’s “favorite lullaby.”
After congratulating her on her baby’s arrival, Fallon asked, “You being a DJ, I assume you have a good playlist for the baby?”
Hilton replied, “Yes, of course,” adding, “I actually sang, his favorite lullaby is my song, ‘Stars Are Blind.’ He has good taste in music.”
As a pop-music aficionado myself, he truly does.
