Music and Parenthood

Evan sporting his new outfit (the animal drawings are by John Lennon)

Before Evan was born we agreed that we wouldn't spend too much money on clothes, because we knew he'd outgrow them anyway. For the most part, we've stuck to our promise (it hasn't been that difficult to since our friends and family have sent us lots of lovely outfits). Since he's outgrown a lot of his footed rompers but still isn't big enough for his 6 mo. clothes, I decided to get him a couple of new rompers in the 3-6 mo. range. I went searching for bargains on ebay (I buy stuff from an online auction here in Japan, too, but sometimes even used baby clothes cost more than I think they ought to...on the other hand, I can get stuff cheap on ebay, but then there's the shipping charge...). In my search I came across two rompers with drawings by John Lennon (I'll bet he never imagined his art would wind up on baby clothes!!) and just "had" to get them. After shipping costs, they wound up being about ten bucks each, but like I said, we rarely buy clothes so I think I can be forgiven.

Now on to today's real topic...

Since Ko-chan and I are music lovers, we knew we'd like to raise our child in a house full of music. We talked about what instruments Evan would play, and how we'd like for him to see us when we start performing again, and maybe that someday we'd have our own little family band (no references to the Partridge family, please). Even if Evan never showed any interest in playing an instrument, we knew we'd still like for him to hear a lot of music growing up. After all, one of my fondest memories of childhood is of my mother singing and dancing around to music as she cooked. Not to mention my dad and his never-out-of-reach guitar.

So we were a little disappointed when Evan showed very little interest in music. I know he's just 4 months old, but Ko-chan and I both expected that music would get Evan cooing and laughing. As a mother, I had visions of singing bedtime lullabies and soothing a crying Evan with my voice. Unfortunately, he doesn't know yet that he's supposed to like being sung to.

So in the meantime, we try to use music for other purposes, like to get the three of us energized to start the day...




Also, because Evan still gets fussy when he's alone with Dad, Ko-chan has started sitting him down and playing the guitar in front of him during those times. I think the visual stimulation of watching Ko-chan's hand as he plays does actually get Evan interested. Yesterday, I joined in on the fun.




And even if the baby isn't really excited by/about music yet, I find that I'm starting to get back into "music mode." I've been spending more time lately listening to music, I think to relieve some of the stress I've been feeling. I've always listened to lots of different types of music (especially after I got my ipod nearly 5 years ago), but lately I've been listening to the same songs over and over.

The regulars on my playlist are...

Johnny Mathis' "When a Child is Born..." The song is nice enough (it's a Christmas song), but it has special meaning for me because my dad was the one who introduced me to the song after I became pregnant with Evan.

"Sweet Child O' Mine" (the baby friendly Sheryl Crow version), "Top of the World," and Olivia Newton John's "Let me be there"...I've always liked these songs but now I sing them from a mother's perspective.

John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" about his son Sean has been my favorite Lennon song for a loooong time (it has my favorite line, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans♪"). The fact that he was killed soon after its release (the line "I can hardly wait to see you come of age, but I guess we'll both just have to be patient" breaks my heart every time I hear it) affects me quite deeply. Of course, now I've got my own beautiful boy, so it's special for another reason.

Carole King's "Child of Mine"--I had heard this song's chorus a long time ago, maybe used in a TV commercial...after I became pregnant I got a hold of this song in its entirety and it has been my favorite since. I've loved Carole King forever, and this song made me love her more. I listened to it a lot while I was pregnant, and in the hospital after Evan was born. Even now when I listen to it and sing along, I become overwhelmed with emotion. Its lyrics are simple but so is a parent's love for a child, right?

If you're interested, check out the lyrics here! ↓

http://www.caroleking.com/includes/cksongs_detail.php?id=93&song=1


Ok, if I don't get into bed I'm going to get in trouble with Ko-chan (last night I woke Evan).