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.
Showing posts with label Sweetpea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweetpea. Show all posts
Friday, March 5, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Take Me Back: Part Deux!
Yesterday I was talking about how I made a CD as a wedding favor, and how listening to that CD can instantly take me back in time; not only to my wedding day, but to my early days with Larry. Today I wanted to talk about the CDs I made during each of my pregnancies, and the effect they have on me, maybe even on my kiddos.
The first time I was pregnant with Sweetpea (we called him that because we didn't know if he was going to be a girl or a boy, and I still call him that to this day, four years later) we wanted to be Prepared - I capitalized that on purpose, because being Prepared was a huge deal to us. I wanted to try and give birth drug-free, and knew doing so would require me to be relaxed and focused throughout the entire event. So we created an arsenal of tools to this effect. We had massage tools, water bottles, focal points (including a Sweetpea candle my Sister-in-Law painted for our baby shower), a focal point poster, breathing cheat sheets, position cheat sheets, everything you read about in the preparation books - we had it! Included in this arsenal was a custom CD that I made, full of songs to help me relax and focus on the joy of the event. It had a lot of Beatles tunes (my fave), some Coldplay, some Sarah McLachlan, Ray Charles, Judy Garland... a big mix of songs that all meant something to me, or that really relaxed me.
One song, the one song that was my husband's input to the whole project, was "3 is a Magic Number" by Blind Melon. He had originally heard this song when it was on the Schoolhouse Rock kid shows. Then Blind Melon covered it much later, and their version is fantastic! This song became sort of our Family Theme Song throughout the entire pregnancy and even through Logan's first year. There is just something truly magical about the song when you listen to it as first time parents, awaiting your little baby. "A man and a woman, had a little baby. Then there were three, there were three in the family. It's the magic number." All you Moms out there know that there is something indescribable about that time that can never, ever be captured again. You are married to this amazing man, and you are creating a life together. Not just your life as a couple, but an ACTUAL life, another person! And you know that everything will be different, nothing will ever be the same again, but in SUCH a good way. As I listened to this song again the other day, for the first time in quite a while, it brought tears to my eyes, just to think about how much has changed, how our lives are SO different than just four years ago, and how they are different in a BETTER way. Yes, we struggle with money, we struggle with time, we struggle with raising our children to be good people, and yes we did not have to worry about any of that five years ago. But would I trade all the worry, the money woes, the exhaustion, for the carefree kid-less days five years ago? Not for all the money and time in the world!
This song really drove that point home to me. In all the chaos of mothering a young family, you really need to stop and remember what a magical time this is. Your children are learning and changing every single day, their lives are so full of wonder and joy. I need to remind myself of that when I am at the end of my rope, try to see things through their eyes and enjoy the beauty of the little things. So what if their faces are grubby and sticky, they got to experience their first ice cream from the neighborhood ice cream truck! Yes, his school pants are covered in dirt and grass stains, but he got to play on his new playstructure in the backyard for the first time today! Remember the magic of being a kid!!
More on Peanut's CD and the effect on us tomorrow!
The first time I was pregnant with Sweetpea (we called him that because we didn't know if he was going to be a girl or a boy, and I still call him that to this day, four years later) we wanted to be Prepared - I capitalized that on purpose, because being Prepared was a huge deal to us. I wanted to try and give birth drug-free, and knew doing so would require me to be relaxed and focused throughout the entire event. So we created an arsenal of tools to this effect. We had massage tools, water bottles, focal points (including a Sweetpea candle my Sister-in-Law painted for our baby shower), a focal point poster, breathing cheat sheets, position cheat sheets, everything you read about in the preparation books - we had it! Included in this arsenal was a custom CD that I made, full of songs to help me relax and focus on the joy of the event. It had a lot of Beatles tunes (my fave), some Coldplay, some Sarah McLachlan, Ray Charles, Judy Garland... a big mix of songs that all meant something to me, or that really relaxed me.
One song, the one song that was my husband's input to the whole project, was "3 is a Magic Number" by Blind Melon. He had originally heard this song when it was on the Schoolhouse Rock kid shows. Then Blind Melon covered it much later, and their version is fantastic! This song became sort of our Family Theme Song throughout the entire pregnancy and even through Logan's first year. There is just something truly magical about the song when you listen to it as first time parents, awaiting your little baby. "A man and a woman, had a little baby. Then there were three, there were three in the family. It's the magic number." All you Moms out there know that there is something indescribable about that time that can never, ever be captured again. You are married to this amazing man, and you are creating a life together. Not just your life as a couple, but an ACTUAL life, another person! And you know that everything will be different, nothing will ever be the same again, but in SUCH a good way. As I listened to this song again the other day, for the first time in quite a while, it brought tears to my eyes, just to think about how much has changed, how our lives are SO different than just four years ago, and how they are different in a BETTER way. Yes, we struggle with money, we struggle with time, we struggle with raising our children to be good people, and yes we did not have to worry about any of that five years ago. But would I trade all the worry, the money woes, the exhaustion, for the carefree kid-less days five years ago? Not for all the money and time in the world!
This song really drove that point home to me. In all the chaos of mothering a young family, you really need to stop and remember what a magical time this is. Your children are learning and changing every single day, their lives are so full of wonder and joy. I need to remind myself of that when I am at the end of my rope, try to see things through their eyes and enjoy the beauty of the little things. So what if their faces are grubby and sticky, they got to experience their first ice cream from the neighborhood ice cream truck! Yes, his school pants are covered in dirt and grass stains, but he got to play on his new playstructure in the backyard for the first time today! Remember the magic of being a kid!!
More on Peanut's CD and the effect on us tomorrow!
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