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| sweet swaddled sleeping boy at five days old {something about this shot always cracks me up} |
In our house, as I would imagine in yours, songs come in very handy... to comfort, to distract, to solicit a giggle, to play, to entertain. Usually they are made up on the spot, but others are a little more intentional.
One of the times we made-up a special song for is sleepy time - both naps times and bedtime. It's part of our "wind-down" routine and helps to communicate to Levi that it's time to transition from play to sleep. We've been singing it to him before every nap and bedtime since he was a newborn.
It is set to the tune of "twinkle, twinkle little star" and the words go like this:
Now I lay me down to sleep,
Pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Bless my momma, daddy, and me...
All my friends and fam-i-ly.
When I sleep I'll dream of you,
(And) all that's good and pure and true.
So as you can see it's a bedtime song and prayer combined. Short, sweet, and easy.
Dear mommy-friends... just a little something from our home to yours today. Do you have a special song that is used for bedtime, cleaning up the toys, bath time, etc?
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adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010
do not reproduce without written permission
First of all, precious photo!!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, love the song!
David sings a lot to Ryder, especially to calm him down and distract him from whatever is bothering him: "Somewhere over the Rainbow" and "Nature Boy". With Kai we used to (and with Ryder we currently) sing "Get up, stand up" when he stands up holding our hands. Very funny.
Finally, with Kai we sing the ABC song to get him through brushing his teeth.
...oh and for Kai we don't have a going-to-sleep song...we have pillow fights. So much for calming down before going to sleep... :-0
ReplyDeleteWe sing (of all things) the Kookaburra song for Georgia, followed by the following:
ReplyDeleteGoodnight Georgia
Goodnight Georgia
Goodnight Georgia
Mom and Dad love you so much
Goodnight Georgia (x3)
We'll see you in the morning
Lame, I know, but it only takes a few minutes and it's the only time she really snuggles with us now!
We used to sing Jesus Loves Me with our daughter before bed when she was 18 months- 2 1/2 yrs old. Sorta got out of the habit when we moved here, though she has her own little prayer that she recites each night before bed.
ReplyDeleteI've got an old guitar, and I used to sing folk songs as a bedtime treat. SITS sent me by, and I'm glad they did...
ReplyDeleteWe've Come a Long Way, Baby...
OMG - we totally did! Do you know Sandra Boynton? Well, we love her books and the one we would sing to our kids was "Snuggle Puppy" - it makes me sad to think about it because they are so big now!
ReplyDeleteGreat topic!
I used to hum a lullabye to KLV up until about a year. Now we just sing whatever song pops in our head. I'll admit the best part is dancing with her. She loves to move her feet as fast as she can; it's just too cute. Thanks for stopping by and your nice note re: the nestwork.
ReplyDeleteI also sing "you are my sunshine" a lot, espcially when he's upset or just a bit fussy/cranky.
ReplyDeleteAND... I used to work at a preschool and I would put on "spoon full of sugar" from mary poppins for clean-up time. The kids would scramble to finish and beat the song. Worked like a charm. ;) We'll see if Levi will eventually buy that one too. ;)
Well, it's been a while, but we used to modify some songs to fit the kid's names. I did "Ryan (Lion) sleeps to night" for my son, and "Cecilia" to "Amelia" (we changed some of the words to make them appropriate!). Still sing them sometimes. Thanks for the memory!
ReplyDeleteRight now, we're taking requests :) Isaac sometimes wants to be sung to, other times he'd rather just be tucked in with his favorite animals and hit the snooze button. We sing "Jesus Loves Me" (the normal version, and then one in Russian/Aleut) or "The SunBeam Song".
ReplyDeleteHe's always been a Johnny Cash fan (he would only calm down to "Hurt" when fussy and zonk out), so now we're throwing in "Ring of Fire" and we sing it together :)
Our bed time routine now has a part where I put both boys in O's bed and then I sing a song about two boys in a bed. I know O loves it and Little B seems to enjoy it also.
ReplyDeleteI always make up my own songs/melody's. Love yours :-) Oh and that picture is so adorable. We used to swaddle and wrap Bennett like that. Snug as a bug. I love Levi's little profile. So perfect.
ReplyDeleteQ's bedtime song will portray just how ridiculous we are. It's sung to the tune of "Reunited" by Peaches & Herb.
ReplyDeleteGoing nigh-nigh and it feels so good
Going nigh-nigh and it's understood
There's one perfect fit
And baby, nigh-nigh is it
We both are so excited 'cause you're going nigh-nigh
Yea yeaaa
Ok so I have to admit I am a little sheepish about posting this...
ReplyDeleteYes, I have a song I made up for my son and I have been singing it to him since he was 2 months old. Its not just a bedtime song, but also works for tantrums, boo boos, fussiness, etc.
Ahhh, I cant believe I am doing this... here goes...
A punkin man,
A punkin man
Noah's a punkin man,
He curls his toes like a monkey
And he drinks milk like a junkie,
Noah's a punkin man.
There! I said it! Don't judge, I promise I don't encourage him to be a junkie. I sang it once and he giggled and smiled and best of all stopped screaming. How could I not repeat it? ;)
We've sung the same 3 songs to all of our girls every night since the birth of our first. It's actually an abbreviated version of the songs my own parents used to sing to me at bedtime when I was growing up: Jesus Loves Me, May The Lord, and I Love You Lord.
ReplyDeleteYou are so cute with your song!! I love it!!!! I'm going to have to sing that one. We sing You Are My Sunshine at night before putting Isis to bed and we sing Twinkle Twinkle at naps. I also sing stuff to her all the time throughout the day. Interestingly enough, Jesus Loves Me is her "calm down" song. If she's fussing or being crazy or something, if I sing that, she always gets quiet. Interesting how He works like that...
ReplyDeleteOur bedtime song is one I made up:
ReplyDeleteIts time to go to sleep
Its time to close your eyes
Lay your head down and sleep my child
Its time to go to sleep
Its time to close your eyes
Lay your head down and sleep
For bath we sing: This is the way we wash our ___, wash our ___, wash our ____.....when we take a bath.
Actually Robi thinks song of any kind (even bedtime songs) are a fun game. He love music - but that's normal since Z and I are both musicians.
He does have one favorite that calms him when he's worked up. Have patience from Music Machine (anyone remember that???)
Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient
You only start to worry
Remember, remember
That God is patient, too
And think of all the times when others
Had to wait on you.
That's a real crowd pleaser. It will turn tears into smiles every time. I have no idea why - other than I loved Music Machine as a kid...but I found out that he loves this song purely by accident one day when I started singing it - he suddenly looked at me and started smiling really big. It's been a staple song in our home ever since. Even daddy sings it - making up "English" words (or words he pretends are English)...