Singing

I have to admit that I had a significant fear that my baby would not like my singing.  I remember one car trip long ago when my little 7 year old niece asked me if I could stop singing.  Then there was the time that I was told in a track van that I ruin all car trips by singing "too pretty" to the radio, despite the fact that others were singing along as well.  I'm content to use my singing voice in the correct context in life, don't get me wrong, but I would be sad if lullabies were not included in that category.  Luckily, my little girl LOVES singing.  The first time I realized just how much comfort and joy my baby takes in song was on a particularly hard car ride.  She was all dressed up with a bow on her head on the way to my sister Michele's wedding.  Abigail was hating the car seat and I was in the back seat trying to soothe her while Jake was driving.  As her face reached an unnatural shade of red I was desperate.  Pacifier, shushing, holding hands, clicking, talking, tickling, rattling...nothing was working.  I didn't think there was any way that singing was going to stop this frantic child from crying, but I started in with the lullaby from Dumbo, Baby Mine, which is what I sang to her when she was in my womb.  "Baby mine, don't you cry.  Baby mine, dry your eyes.  Rest your head close to my heart, never to part, baby of mine."  She stopped crying almost immediately.  She hiccuped two times and then just stared at me.  I sang the song over and over again until we arrived and really wondered if she was just cried out or if the singing had done the trick.  Turns out it was the song, as it has worked on several occasions since then!  I actually don't sing it to soothe her to sleep, because she gets very alert and looks at me most of the time when I sing.  I use that trick to get good pictures!

Rubber Ducky

 

You Are My Sunshine

This last picture is one of my favorites.  I had just swaddled her and was going to rock her to sleep.  I put her down on the bed so I could turn off the computer screen and started singing Amazing Grace.  She fell asleep while my back was turned.  So I kept singing and folded the laundry around her.  Each time I stopped singing her eyes would pop open.  I think I sang that song for an hour.  I had to look up the lyrics so I wouldn't have to sing the same verse over and over again.

Amazing Grace