And When It's Not Bedtime...

It's time to talk again about the times in-between lullaby time. Let’s talk about after naps, or the first thing in the morning, or anytime when you don’t want your baby or toddler (or you) to relax too much. Here's another source for wonderful non-lullaby music for babies and toddlers.

Confession time: When I said that the arrival of my granddaughter had inspired my love of lullabies it wasn’t exactly the truth. Please don’t tell my kids. The fact is that, although I was definitely inspired by Annalise’s arrival to record “Midnight Lullaby,” my interest in lullabies was sparked a few years before that.

It was Gari Ann Stein who did it.

For years my friend Gari had been teaching music in her basement in Ann Arbor to very young children but I didn’t really understand or appreciate what she was doing. I would see instruments, costumes, and all sorts of fun stuff, but only when she asked me to sing some lullabies at the end of her CD series, “Sing With Me,” did I listen to what she was teaching, and recognize how important music classes can be for very young children.

From her years of teaching, Gari says, “I have seen the joy that music brings to young children, how it enhances their sense of self, positively affects their behavior and strengthens their comfort in a social setting.”

Her award-winning new book “The More We Get Together” brings her program into the home in a simple and fun way that encourages interaction between parents and children, and nurtures relationships in the way that only singing and playing together can do. It’s a wonderful resource for any parent that can be used every day.

Check out Gari’s work at: http://www.little-folks-music.com

So I thank Gari for her work, and for the gift she gave me when she handed me a cassette tape (yes, I guess it was more than a few years ago!) of lullabies to learn. They were familiar, comforting, easy and natural, and I fell in love with the genre forever.

Welcome Home to Love

There are many parents who see their babies for the first time and feel like they already know them.

It might be because you’ve been planning, dreaming, and worrying about this new life for at least nine months, and maybe long before that. Collecting clothes and toys and creating a space in the house for another person. Going to the doctor to get a sneak preview and making sacrifices large and small, like giving up wine and sushi.

Or maybe there is something more to it—maybe it’s the genes that are familiar, or the DNA, or if you believe in reincarnation maybe you really did know each other before! If you have stories of feeling like you already knew your baby when he/she was born, please share them with us by making a comment below.

In any case, the baby arrives and it seems like a miracle. And grandparents can feel the same way, possibly with an even deeper understanding of the miracle. It’s the continuation of the family, the clan, the species. It’s a chance to take part in the renewal part of the cycle of life, a cycle that with passing years we have come to experience in its joys and sorrows.

Micah Barry Pitt was born to my son and daughter-in-law on May 29 (I did make it in time!) and I’m in love. He is the spitting (pun intended) image of my son when he was born, so on some level a feeling of familiarity is inevitable. I am very grateful that he is healthy, calm, and obviously brilliant, shown by his choice of families.

I helped out in the hospital so my daughter-in-law could get a little sleep. His heartbeat melted into mine as I held him in the rocking chair in the middle of the night, and in my mind I kept hearing the line from Ewan McCall’s timeless love song The First Time Ever “...like the trembling heart of a captive bird.” So vulnerable, so precious, so necessary.