VINDICATED! I hate to say I Told You So, but....

I know, it's evil to gloat, but this one has me happy.....

The day after we brought the girls home from the hospital (13 months ago, how did THAT happen??), we were at the pedi and there was a wonderful CD on. We went right home and ordered it (because actually going to a store at that point was clearly not happening any time soon!).

It was one of the Putomayo ones, called Dreamland. The first cut is a beautiful song called Naima, which is a short and lovely lullabye in an african language which I cannot remember (um, because it's 4:40 am and i just got up with a teething baby).

We have played that cd every single night at bedtime, and at most naptimes, since they were 3.5 weeks old.

We have also spent many months of the past year living with my sister and her family, since DH travels extensively internationally (and I'm just not as amazing as those of you who do it all by yourselves week after week!). My sister and my nieces, who are 19 and 22 and very helpful with the girls, are, shall we say, not fond of the CD, ESPECIALLY the song Naima (which I programmed to play twice at the beginning and once at the end)

They have, essentially, MOCKED me when I say 'well, this is the music they've listened to since they've been born"; implying that I am trying to create some kind of routine and association of the music with sleep.

WELL.....two nights ago I spent my first night away from them (a whole separate thread: DH is interviewing for a job and has 2 days worth of meetings so they put him up at a hotel near the university and I stayed with him that night after a dinner at which i played the charming and interesting spouse (ugh)).......

Imagine my, um, not so well-disguised joy when my sister recounted bedtime with the following comment "your daughters are addicted to Naima".....she could not get the girls to settle; they were in and out of the nursery TWICE, until the third time in desperation my niece started humming Naima and - lo and behold BOTH girls started humming it as well (which they have never done with me). Mere minutes later, they dropped right off.

I have to say I was ROFL....all these months of hearing their abuse about my musical choices (we'd hear it upstairs on the monitor) and the flack I got for even THINKING that they might associate music with bedtime - ha Ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!

ok, i'm done, i'll go back to being nice and appreciative now.
(heh heh)

 

Heehee! Silly family. Always, *always* listen to the mom -- she knows her babies best.

Now I'm going to have to find a clip of this music!


ETA -- I used the Happiest Baby on the Block heartbeat CD with Nadia for her first few months, but then started playing a Disney Babies lullaby CD for every nap and nighttime....and she STILL needs it to go to bed, at age 4. Some of my most precious memories are from nursing her in the darkened nursery while listening to this music....it makes me tear up, actually.

I couldn't even imagine trying to take it away. Yeesh!

 

:rotflmbo: You cracked me up!!!

I had a playlist on our Slim device for the kids and all of a sudden the Slim (music server) crashed and we were WITHOUT for months! :cray: So, I had them weaned off of music until we hit some big time wind and now it's back to music every night. It's a double edged sword for sure!! I'm glad it worked. I think it's funny that they tried to NOT use it!!! :blbl:

 

:laughing: That will teach them to second guess the momma!

 

I love those "I told you so" moments!

 

I used the same lullaby CD for both the twins and for Steven. There is one song (#4 on the disc) that I find to be too loud and fast paced for a lullaby but that is the song that all three kids would fall asleep to when it played. Even if I played the songs out of order, that is the song that got them to settle.

 

I LOVE Naima and that whole CD. My kids listened to it for the first year of their life too every night, until their CD player broke and we've never gotten around to replacing it.

Dh would crack me up with that CD. Since most all of the songs are in a foreign language, he would make up the words. If you didn't know better, you'd think he actually did know all the words, but upon closer listening, it was just jibberish!

Cute story!

 

We had a cd like that which we used for naps the first year. Once I realized how much it helped them sleep, I immediately burned two compies of it!! My husband picked it up at a flea market and I was terrified of what would happen if it got scratched and we couldn't find another copy.

 

:laughing: Mamma knows best!

 

QUOTE(Jordari @ Apr 25 2008, 06:53 AM) [snapback]738520[/snapback]
my niece started humming Naima and - lo and behold BOTH girls started humming it as well

Awww, so sweet! Yep, my kids have their bedtime music, too. And it's all a part of their routine! Glad your niece new it well enough to be able to hum it!

 

QUOTE(Becca34 @ Apr 25 2008, 06:23 AM) [snapback]738553[/snapback]
Heehee! Silly family. Always, *always* listen to the mom -- she knows her babies best.



Ditto that. RaeLynn was the same way. She had a CD called "Jesus loves me fast asleep" with a mother's heartbeat rythmically pounding in the backround.. she was addicted. With the twinks I didnt use music because I didnt want to pack my CD player around like I did with RaeLynn.

 

Go Momma!!

Yep, I put the girls down for their naps singing Rock-A-Bye Baby, holding both and singing each name twice (so 4X). I always do i the extra same way since they were tiny. Today while we were at the zoo Hananh was having a total meltdown. My friend was amazed when I picked her up and started whispering Rock-A-Bye Baby and she instantly relaxed and almost fell asleep in my arms :wub:

 

That is so funny... We have an ocean cd that has the sound of the waves playing and I take it with us EVERYWHERE.... Not once have they not been listening to the sound of waves as they went to sleep (we are heading to birthday #3!) I always joke with my DH that someday they will be on the beach with their family and they will each drop into a coma! Their future wives will curse me on any beach vacation they plan! LOL

 

Yep, we have "Ocean Sounds" here. It's an alarm clock that has a selection of nature sounds you can put on for white noise. I picked the ocean one as it sounded the most calming. I ended up buying the same alarm clock for my parents' house, so I don't have to keep schlepping it over there. DH and I joked that they are going to be adults and drive by the ocean, and become suddenly overcome with sleep!
I probably have created some sort of dependence, but it's not bothering anything now, so I'll leave them with their ocean sounds.

 

Mine are listening to that CD right at this moment and have listened to it ALMOST every night of thier life as well and love it! We also love that it is part of the 'routine' and take it with us when we travel!

 

My boys listen to the Dreamland CD every night since birth too! My DH went through a period of hating it, but either he finally decided to be quiet or now he just accepts it. What is funny is that song #10 (don't remember the title off the top of the my head, but ironically it is DH's favorite on the CD) got a scratch on it around when the boys were 14 months old. It really bothered Moses when that song came on and started skipping. He would get agitated and sign "start" to me over and over when it would come on and I realized that he meant start the next song. I got a replacement CD, but the damage was done and now they don't allow that song to play AT ALL.

In college I took care of a baby who would only go down to nap while listening to Patsy Cline. I used to wonder if she would grow up and be in a restaurant somewhere one day, Patsy Cline would come on, and bam - face down into a plate of food asleep.

-Melissa