Philosophical Monday: Baby Interuptus or Is There Anything Such as a Cool Lullaby?
Sorry, sorry, guys. Not able to turn in my behind-the-scenes Jimmy Kimmel report due to time constraints — read Betty’s waking up. But I promise to tell you all about it later in the week.
Meanwhile, I want to make these three observations about new motherhood:
- DY-NO-MITE!
1. You know how I used to begin a lot of posts with, “I was up all night with racing thoughts”? Total thing of the past. Racing thoughts are no match for new mother sleep deprivation. Now if my head gets anywhere near a pillow, I’m asleep. So if you’ve been on the fence about having children, and you have problems with racing thoughts and/or insomnia, let me just say that having a kid is a great cure for that.
2. I’ve realized the hard way that nearly every song I have memorized, is deeply inappropriate as a lullaby. For example songs like LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad,” Peggy Lee’s “I’m a Woman,” and just about every song George Michael put out before the mid-90s (“Monkey,” “Faith,” “I Want Your Sex”) probably won’t fly once Betty starts to actually even sort of understand words. On the other hand, you can only sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” so many times w/o falling asleep yourself. I’ve got to find some cooler lullabies and memorize them. Meanwhile, I’m meeting propriety halfway and singing her a bunch of showtunes. “Ohhhhhhhhk-lahoma!”
3. On a similar note, before labor I was inspired by Betty to stop cussing, but actually having a baby hasn’t exactly been conducive to that goal. I mean what else are you supposed to say when your baby manages to both poop and squirt pee on you during the course of one diaper change? Saying “Shit!” seems like the most appropriate — not to mention literal response to that situation. At this rate, Betty might end up talking like a truck driver by the age of three. Sorry, ya’ll.
As a nanny, I found that if I just KEPT singing, the kids would fall asleep faster than if I broke between songs, so I had a loop of songs memorized. My brothers were always amazed that my mom could get their kids to sleep easier and faster than them, and it was because she has an unlimited lullaby bank stored in her mind. Here are a few of hers and mine:
Hush little baby
My favorite things (good b/c its a long one)
Hark hark the dogs do bark (a little creepy, but I used to ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT when my mom recited this rhyme to me)
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Frere jacque (sing it in english and french for a longer song…)
As a nanny, I found that if I just KEPT singing, the kids would fall asleep faster than if I broke between songs, so I had a loop of songs memorized. My brothers were always amazed that my mom could get their kids to sleep easier and faster than them, and it was because she has an unlimited lullaby bank stored in her mind. Here are a few of hers and mine:
Hush little baby
My favorite things (good b/c its a long one)
Hark hark the dogs do bark (a little creepy, but I used to ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT when my mom recited this rhyme to me)
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Frere jacque (sing it in english and french for a longer song…)
The soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou" was a favorite of a couple of little girlies in my life. Good sing-alongs and lullaby-type hymns!
The soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou" was a favorite of a couple of little girlies in my life. Good sing-alongs and lullaby-type hymns!
"Summertime" from Porgy & Bess always worked on my friends' kids — just sing it in whatever key is comfortable and forget hitting that high note. :)
Show tunes are great — usually what I sing, including O Brother soundtrack songs!
"Summertime" from Porgy & Bess always worked on my friends' kids — just sing it in whatever key is comfortable and forget hitting that high note. :)
Show tunes are great — usually what I sing, including O Brother soundtrack songs!
Yea, we had the whole cussing thing when Sekou was born. My friend Jill guilted us into starting a "cuss" jar to help us curb the habit. $1.00 per cuss word. Well we started the jar at nine months. Fast forward, Sekou turned 15 months last week and there is about $100 in the jar! The sad thing is we have actually improved! We lost the first $20 in the first two days!
Yea, we had the whole cussing thing when Sekou was born. My friend Jill guilted us into starting a "cuss" jar to help us curb the habit. $1.00 per cuss word. Well we started the jar at nine months. Fast forward, Sekou turned 15 months last week and there is about $100 in the jar! The sad thing is we have actually improved! We lost the first $20 in the first two days!
the beatles totally rock for lullabyes! like:
Golden Slumbers (just don't sing it as fierce as paul does in the second refrain) from Abbey Rd.
and
Good Night (from the White Album)
Also, Paul McCartney's 'Calico Skies' from Flaming Pie is a beautiful song, and if I ever miraculously up and decide to have a child of my own, I know I'll be singing that song to them.
and, while betty is indeed a girl, there's 'Beautiful Boy' by John Lennon, and I'm sure John would be more than happy for you to change the lyrics to suit your needs!!
PS_ do you need any fierce nerds to report from ComicCon? I would be more than happy to blog for ya!
Excellent call on Calico Skies! I haven't listened to a McCartney solo album since Flowers in the Dirt, so I'd never heard that one.
I'm Only Sleeping is also very sleep-themed, though not as soothing as some of the others.
the beatles totally rock for lullabyes! like:
Golden Slumbers (just don't sing it as fierce as paul does in the second refrain) from Abbey Rd.
and
Good Night (from the White Album)
Also, Paul McCartney's 'Calico Skies' from Flaming Pie is a beautiful song, and if I ever miraculously up and decide to have a child of my own, I know I'll be singing that song to them.
and, while betty is indeed a girl, there's 'Beautiful Boy' by John Lennon, and I'm sure John would be more than happy for you to change the lyrics to suit your needs!!
PS_ do you need any fierce nerds to report from ComicCon? I would be more than happy to blog for ya!
Excellent call on Calico Skies! I haven't listened to a McCartney solo album since Flowers in the Dirt, so I'd never heard that one.
I'm Only Sleeping is also very sleep-themed, though not as soothing as some of the others.
Kissing A Fool.
Apparently you were never in a jazz chorus — my head is swimming with standards, which have entirely appropriate lyrics and are musically much more interesting than standard lullabies.
Almost all of the Beatles songbook would be fine; Blackbird is a great lullaby, albeit short.
Have you seen the Rockabye Baby series of lullaby CDs using rock music (Radiohead, Stones, Metallica, AC/DC, Nine Inch Nails!!…). Completely inappropriate songs are rendered appropriate through total removal of lyrics — though I still don't think I'd play Brown Sugar for a baby, because I can still be offended by remembering the lyrics. Sadly, the Nirvana CD does not include "Rape Me."
Kissing A Fool.
Apparently you were never in a jazz chorus — my head is swimming with standards, which have entirely appropriate lyrics and are musically much more interesting than standard lullabies.
Almost all of the Beatles songbook would be fine; Blackbird is a great lullaby, albeit short.
Have you seen the Rockabye Baby series of lullaby CDs using rock music (Radiohead, Stones, Metallica, AC/DC, Nine Inch Nails!!…). Completely inappropriate songs are rendered appropriate through total removal of lyrics — though I still don't think I'd play Brown Sugar for a baby, because I can still be offended by remembering the lyrics. Sadly, the Nirvana CD does not include "Rape Me."