First of all, YAE for healthy (healthier) kiddos!! Logan's stomach bug was a quick and short ordeal; Coley is now on Super-Antibiotics for a possible ear infection, plus she is getting teeth, but she is much better today than 2 days ago. So YAE for resilient, healthier kiddos!
Now back to the music. I have been thinking a lot lately (not sure why) about the CDs I made for each of my kiddos' births. As I mentioned a few days ago, I made these as relaxation tools to use during labor and delivery. And boy do they work if you do it right! I believe they call it a "Relaxation Response" when you train your body to relax after a certain trigger. Much like the Pavlovian Dogs, I suppose. It started when I made a CD just after getting pregnant with Sweetpea. I chose a lot of my favorite mellow tunes, soothing sounds that I enjoyed. I would listen to this CD every evening at bedtime; turn it on as I got into bed and drift to sleep as it played quietly on my nightstand. Since this was my first pregnancy and child, I was also able to use it to practice relaxation during the day. Just turn the music on and practice breathing deeply, relax my muscles, enjoy being pregnant. Then, when The Big Day came we brought the CD to the hospital and played it, on repeat, for pretty much the entire time. Hearing the songs that had helped me calm down and drift off to sleep so many times in the preceding 9 months really helped me stay relaxed during my labor. Even though everything did not go according to my ideal plan, I was able to kind of roll with the punches and stay calm and focused. If things got tense I could tune out the distractions, focus on the music and, in turn, focus on my goal: meeting my Sweetpea!
The same thing happened when I was pregnant with Peanut. I made a new CD, a lot of the same songs that were on Sweetpea's, but also some new additions. I played the CD when I could find time to relax or when I went to bed during my pregnancy (somehow there didn't seem to be as much time to relax the second time around - think the 2-year-old had something to do with that?), and we played it throughout my labor and delivery at the hospital. Being that this was the second time around, I was a little more relaxed to begin with, but the music helped again. It was soothing to have that background noise to make the room more familiar and comfortable, and hearing certain songs reminded me of the excitement at hand and about how much I was anticipating meeting my daughter.
Each of those CDs holds their own special meaning for me, and listening to them now with the kiddos has made that even more so. I originally chose certain songs for the way they made me feel or for certain lyrics that were important to me, or even for the artist or the film it came from. Now when we listen to them I can share those things with my kiddos. They'll know that "Over the Rainbow" is one of my all-time favorite songs, from one of my all-time favorite movies. They will know that just the simple fact that they exist amazes me and makes me think of Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed." Sweetpea will know that, for whatever reason, Coldplay's "Yellow" made me think of him growing in my belly and so became "his" song. Peanut will know that I was on a George Harrison bender when I was pregnant with her, and thus "My Sweet Lord" became "her" song. They can gain an appreciation for music in general and for their Mom's favorite songs in particular. Maybe now some of those songs will stick with the kiddos, so that they will forever associate them with their own childhood or with their Dear Old Mom.
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