Singing

Does everyone sing to their kiddos this much? Pre-baby, I heard lots of friends sing to their babies, and my mom and mother-in-law both mentioned singing to their children. However, the past four months have taught me the amazing power of song. I mean, really, we should bottle this stuff and sell it. Oh wait, I guess that would be a CD.

Seriously, though, there is nothing like a round of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” to sooth Ian. Whether he’s stuck in a swing while I pump breastmilk or he’s fighting the sleep monster, singing brings a smile to his face.

I made the CD joke above, but recorded music can’t replicate the power of Mommy or Daddy singing. Hand motions are an added benefit, and seem to be essential in times of extreme fussiness.

The songs I sing tend to fit into 3 categories:

1. Songs I know
2. Songs I think I know and then totally butcher
3. Songs I make up

With mommy brain, very few songs fit into the first category. Most songs are subject to at least some level of forgotten words or music or hand motions, but there are a few that I know pretty well. Hey, I only sang the wrong melody to Itsy Bitsy Spider once. (I know! How did I sing the wrong melody to THAT?) Thanks to the Nashville Jazz Workshop, several jazz standards fit into the “songs I know” category as well.

There are lots of songs in the second category, thanks to my mommy brain. For instance, there are these two folk songs:

My name is Yon Yonson
I come from Wisconsin
I work in a lumber and there…

AND

My home’s in Montana
I wear a bandana
My spurs are of silver,
My pony is gray….

Which, when combined with mommy brain, becomes:

My name is Yon Yonsonn
I come from Wisconsin
My spurs are of silver
My pony is gray…

I would have made it through the whole song if I hadn’t started wondering why someone from Wisconsin was riding a pony.

And then I tried to sing “Stay Awake” from Mary Poppins, but I forgot the words and started it with “Go to Sleep” instead of “Stay Awake.” I forgot so much of that song that I essentially just veered into a new melody and new words anyway. Which leads me to the third category, songs I make up.

The made up songs seem to be Ian’s favorites, I think because the process of making up the song relaxes me and puts me in a silly mood. Instead of worrying about schedules or chores, I’m just thinking about him and what type of song he needs in that very moment.