Words of the soul

I had this theory that if I listened to a certain playlist of CD at the exact same time everyday (night time, before bed) that when she was born she would associate this music with sleeping. With every intention and every attempt... I failed! I never seemed to remember to listen to the music. Well, I shouldn't say never. I did sometimes, but never at the same time. Fail.

Since Hadley was born at night and I had been in labor all day, we decided to send her to the nursery for the night so I could rest up for the days to come. During the days, while I was in the hospital, we would keep Hadley in my room all day. We only sent her back to the nursery for night time. This meant that she took her naps in my room. So we started then.

I whipped out my cell phone and turned on her "Night Time" playlist. I know that quiet, classical music is peaceful and serene on its own, but I felt like she remembered. If she was ever fussy and/or started crying we would turn on her music and she would fall right to sleep. That is still true to this day, now five and a half months old.

A couple months ago, Hadley and I went to OKC by ourselves for a few different occasions. One trip we went with my grandparents. During this trip, there was a day that was extremely long. Hadley has a habit of not taking a nap (at least a good, long nap) unless we are at home and she is sleeping in her bed. Luckily, even without naps she never really gets fussy. She is usually just pretty content as long as there are people and kids for her to watch. She really enjoys people watching. And by people watching I mean people starring. She gets that from me :-/ Anyway, this day had been long. She hadn't had a nap. And by this point it was way past her bath and bed time. By the time we got in the car to head to the hotel she had come unglued. We were riding with my grandparents so I sat in the back with Hadley trying to soothe her and convince her we were headed to the hotel to go to bed. I talked to her. I played with her. That ten minute drive felt like ten hours because she was so upset. I had tried every everything. Nothing worked. So once again, I whipped out my phone and turned on her "Night Time" playlist. Once she quieted down enough to actually hear the music she was done crying. She didn't fall asleep. She just became calm. Everything was so new to her. New city. Car ride for two hours. Being at family's house all day. No nap. Her music was the only "normal" thing I could offer her and it worked!

Hadley has always been very particular about the music she listens too. I go through phases where I listen to a specific CD for months. I never realized it, but about three months after Hadley was born I had been listening to the same CD's in my car since the day we brought her home. One day while driving down the road she started screaming. I turned the radio up louder because she has been known to cry if she can't hear the music. Louder didn't work. Turning it off didn't work. Talking to her didn't work. So I turned the radio back on and started the CD over. Instantly she stopped. This was the day I discovered she likes tracks 1-7 on JJ Heller's Pretty and the Plain CD. Anything after track 7 is no good for her, I guess. So picky!!!

Even though I never really tested my "theory" there is no doubt in my mind that she recognizes her music. Music is important to her and her little 5 months of life. She is a little girl after her Momma's own heart.

"I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.-Ray Charles"