On Music, and an ode to the baby carrier

One indispensable baby item is the sling.

I have a Sleepy Wrap, which is virtually the same as a Moby Wrap. They are both five miles of fabric that you origami around yourself. I love the Sleepy Wrap for its comfort, but it is too hot to use in an Alabama summer because there are essentially three layers of thick jersey fabric that cover the babe. I am looking forward to using it this fall and winter when it's cool out, and Stella will be heavier so I will be happier because the weight is dispersed over both shoulders.

I have been using the Maya Wrap daily, and would be insane without it by now. It's a ring sling that goes over one shoulder and you put your little person in a little pouch. She feels secure, like she's back in the womb, and she feels my heart beat, and we feel each other breathe. What precious bonding! Bonus: her sweet little head is at just the right height for me to kiss. And the best part!! My midwife showed me how to loosen the ring and transfer the sleeping babe to her nappy place without waking her up.

Baby carriers are way more useful for newborns than strollers are, in my opinion.

When Miss Pearl gets fussy and tired, I sling her up and dance around my tiny kitchen to some of my favorite songs.

The other day we listened to the first few songs on Me Oh My, How the Time Does Fly, and she fell asleep in the sling. I got her down for a nap in her nursery and I was back in the kitchen washing dishes when "Gentle on My Mind" came on, and I stopped in my tracks. I thought, "I just can not wait for Stella to hear this song!"

How sweet, that we get to share our favorite things in life with our favorite people in life. At least until they are teenagers and decide that everything we do and say is uncool.

I am learning more and more about Waldorf educational philosophies, and the use of recorded music and other electronic media is discouraged for young children. I was told that recorded music stifles their creativity because when you listen to the same recording, your brain waves travel on the same neural pathways and deepen the same grooves, like well-loved vinyl records. Live music, on the other hand, is always different every time you hear it, even if it's the same song, sung the same way. There's new energy behind it, a different inflection in the voice, an improvisational quality that is fresh.

I cannot, nor would I like to, fathom my childhood without Hot Rize, Newgrass Revival or Tony Rice recordings, just as my whole framework for how I relate to music revolves around Ma and Pa playing acoustic string instruments and singing, and teaching us to play with them. In other words, at this point I welcome both live and recorded music for my child. It's about fostering a healthy balance in this, and I guess in every area that affects my child.

However, I am being more selective of what she hears. No more Missy Elliott or Notorious B.I.G....for now. We have listened to Dave Rawlings Machine, Donna the Buffalo, the Wood Bros., and a whole lot of Grateful Dead. These folks are all about life-affirming, joy-bringing, quality musicianship, from where I sit.

But I am keeping Stella away from the television. It's just too noisy, and I'm not ready for corporations to try to steal her soul or sell her the latest must-haves. (Teevee is a guilty pleasure of mine though...I must admit. There has been a marked decline in my watching habits in the past six weeks.)

I just slung Stella up, and we danced to "Gentle on My Mind." I like to think it mellowed her out for a while, and that one day she will hear that song and remember mama's love.

Here is a video of the man himself: