When Willow was about two months old, I shared an elevator with a man who looked at her and smiled and said, "Just keep singing. That's all you do."This has proven to be the truest piece of advice I've ever been given. Generally speaking, it is all she needs to feel calm and loved and happy,* and really, what could be simpler?
Except that I have allowed her to take it too far. A song before bed? Of course. (Favorites include Moonriver, You Are My Sunshine, and Froggie Went A-Courtin').
A song to distract her while I change her diaper? Sure. (This repertoire includes I Had A Rooster, Little 'Liza Jane, and She Don't Use Jelly, that last more for my own amusement than for hers.)
A song when we're putting on her jacket to go for a ride in the car? Why not. (Car, Car, obviously).
But it's when there's a song to accompany playing with a toy that we have a problem. There's the song for the tambourine (Jingle Bells). There's the song for the stuffed carrot seed packet (Carrot Seed song). I have to sing I'm A Little Teapot when she holds the plastic teapot, and I have to sing the Winnie the Pooh song when she holds Pooh, and the Cookie Monster song when she holds Cookie Monster. Today she was angry with me because I couldn't sing both Winnie The Pooh and C is For Cookie at the same time.
And I don't sing the song just once. Oh no. I finish singing, and she waves the teapot around maniacally until I start singing again. This can go on for twenty minutes. And as you may recall, that's a really short song.
*short of nursing, obviously, but we're working on replacing that with singing as well. At which point I will have to have my vocal cords operating on like Bono.
**Like the flashback photo? Sniff!
Except that I have allowed her to take it too far. A song before bed? Of course. (Favorites include Moonriver, You Are My Sunshine, and Froggie Went A-Courtin').
A song to distract her while I change her diaper? Sure. (This repertoire includes I Had A Rooster, Little 'Liza Jane, and She Don't Use Jelly, that last more for my own amusement than for hers.)
A song when we're putting on her jacket to go for a ride in the car? Why not. (Car, Car, obviously).
But it's when there's a song to accompany playing with a toy that we have a problem. There's the song for the tambourine (Jingle Bells). There's the song for the stuffed carrot seed packet (Carrot Seed song). I have to sing I'm A Little Teapot when she holds the plastic teapot, and I have to sing the Winnie the Pooh song when she holds Pooh, and the Cookie Monster song when she holds Cookie Monster. Today she was angry with me because I couldn't sing both Winnie The Pooh and C is For Cookie at the same time.
And I don't sing the song just once. Oh no. I finish singing, and she waves the teapot around maniacally until I start singing again. This can go on for twenty minutes. And as you may recall, that's a really short song.
*short of nursing, obviously, but we're working on replacing that with singing as well. At which point I will have to have my vocal cords operating on like Bono.
**Like the flashback photo? Sniff!
2 comments:
ahh, the things that we do for our babies! Ask her to sing with you and pretty soon, she'll be singing all by herself.
Willow sounds like a music lover! She's very lucky to have a mom that will sings all the time!
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