Time for Sleep

Only one week into blogging and I'm already behind in posting! Ah, the joys of having a six month old. That probably sounded a tad sarcastic, but it has been mostly joyful ~ the grandparents were here for a lovely weekend visit. Emily, of course, basked in their attention. While they were here, my husband and I went on our first real date since our daughter's arrival. After a delicious and quiet dinner at Macaroni Grill we realized there was a time not that long ago that we would have gone dancing afterwards. Instead, we opted for a nap. Bliss.

Sleep has been a bit elusive for Miss E in the last few weeks. She'll have a great night (which for her is 6-8 hours, eat, then 3-4 more) and then have a night where she wakes up every hour. Yes, that's right, every hour. (Even as I write this, she has just awoken after a whole 30 minutes. I know it's a phase, but momma's tired.)

Not surprisingly, lullabies have been on my mind.

I have always loved the melody of "Brahm's Lullaby." I never knew the words. Several of my nieces have been sung to sleep by me with the words, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep my sweet baby, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep my fair child. Go to sleep...." you get the idea. (Hey, it worked.)

With a new baby on the way, I thought I should finally learn the real words. I discovered there are many versions of the lullaby. So making up my own wasn't that far off, right? (Except real artists did it much better.) My favorite is by Jewel from her album Lullaby. When I can find the piece of paper that I've put the lyrics on, Emily get's to hear this version. Otherwise she gets whatever I can think of that makes sense in the moment--which may not make much sense at all when it is 3 am. (Poor kid.)

Another discovery was the song "Hush" by Sara Hickman. Written by Sylvia Long, it is a beautiful adaptation of "Hush Little Baby." It can be found on her album Newborn. Instead of "If that mockingbird won't sing, Papa's going to buy you a diamond ring," it's "If that hummingbird won't fly, Mama's gonna show you the evening sky." And later, "When that storybook's been read, Mama's gonna bring you your warm bedspread." This was one of the first songs I sang to her as we got to know one another, rocking in the dark.

Now it is time for sleep. "Lullaby, and good night."