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Radios & Rattles – Billy Joel Made Me Cry

Yes. Billy Joel made me cry. Well technically it was my husband with the help of Billy Joel but we’ll get to that later. I thought I’d take some time to talk about the power of music in pregnancy and babies.

The other day while the baby was sleeping (and I should have been napping) I was traveling further down the Facebook rabbit hole and mindlessly scrolling. I stumbled across a post for a free webinar about how to soothe your baby without a pacifier, swing, rocking chairs etc. So I said ‘Oh what the heck’. When I joined the webinar the speaker began talking about how music, specifically the singing of the child’s parents can be soothing, to pick a song/lullaby, sing it, use that song over and over when the fuss to create a calming effect whenever you sing it. The webinar from there on out was about for the low low cost of $250 something bucks they’ll teach you a specific technique that’s guaranteed to work or your money back. ( Should have seen that coming a mile away. Information that great couldn’t be free and it wasn’t) But it works!

It’s amazing the power of music. At one of my doctor appointments, they handed me a flyer about how I should listen to music, (specifically classica if I remember correctly) during pregnancy. I think I listened to a little classical/calming music but let’s be real. I’m a windows down in the summer with the radio up, rocking out kinda girl. And so is my daughter so far.

How do I know that? Easy. Certain songs on the radio made her dance, some made her kick and punch. I learned very quickly which styles of music she enjoyed. I’m SERIOUS! My proof is about a week after she was born we were watching TV and the song “Pour Some Sugar On Me” came on as part of the show. Her little arms starting flailing, she smiled…she was dancing! Some would argue it was a fluke, or coincidence. I know she was dancing, once the music stopped, she stopped. Found the song on youtube, played it…she danced again. HA! See? Dancing.

Music can have a calming effect, too. I used music during labor to help keep my focus and mindset in the right place. It was amazing and helped tremendously.

It calms the baby too. We have a ‘lullaby playlist’ set up for play when it’s bedtime or time to calm down. 1st song is Christina Perri, 1000 Years. It holds special meaning as every time I heard that song when I was pregnant, it made me feel connected to the baby before we even met. After 2 miscarriages and wanting a child for so long, the lyrics really hit home.

“I have died everyday, waiting for you
Darling, don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed, I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years”
It sounds like this:
Beautiful.
I sing this to my daughter now and it calms her right now (most of the time). I get all choked up because my husband made that song into a music box for me as my ‘push present’. I cried like a little baby in the hospital when I opened it.
But as for Billy Joel, he makes me cry more.
My husband explained to me the day our daughter was born that he had been listening to the song “Lullaby – Goodnight My Angel” by Billy Joel over and over so he could learn it and sing it to her. I said I had never hear that song before…So I looked it up right then and there. At the time I blamed hormones for the fact I couldn’t stop crying. Turns out it wasn’t. Ugh, that song still gets me!
Behold… the power of music. It soothes, calms, makes you cry and sometimes makes you want to dance…even when you haven’t learned to hold your head up yet.
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