As parents we often take any measures necessary to get our little ones to sleep. When Kannon was born that meant rocking him, babywearing, going on walks or simply walking in circles in our house, until we found the secret: Bob Marley.
Yes, 100% punky reggae got my little angel to sleep.
Okay, it wasn't just the Bob Marley but rather a combination of a bouncer, his own room, and strictly following the 90-minute sleep cycle in addition to these groovy tunes. In a matter of days, our cranky baby was sleeping peacefully and Dale and I got our sanity back.
We followed this habit for 10 long months. Everywhere we went "Bob" came with us. He played non-stop, on repeat, around the clock. We hummed "get up, stand up" wherever we went. At 10 months, the cd which had given us its all finally died and we frantically searched for another Bob cd and had no luck. So, we found Debussy instead. Kannon slept through the night as usual. So the next, we tried Mozart. He slept again. Over the next few months we introduced a variety of music to Kannon's ears and his sleep habits remained the same. Clearly it was just the music that saved us and not "Bob".
Wrong.
Now every baby is different. Clark's sleeping habits are totally different from Kannon. For Kannon the first month, he was either asleep or he was crying trying to get to sleep. Clark sleeps well but he is also awake in 3 hour stretches, completely calm. Seriously, this kid is like an owl some nights. I really don't mind my little guy's desire to bond at 10pm but when we are trying to start a routine it really is just plain annoying!
So tonight, after rocking, nursing, walking around and bouncing all failed I turned on random music. An hour later, he was still awake. So I finally turned on Bob, the musical genius whose songs I just got over humming. And guess what? The sucker fell right asleep!
Maybe it was a coincidence? I think not. Bob Marley uses steady rhythm, drums, and a soothing voice to satisfy our soul. Apparently, it has the same effect on infants....or at least mine. I suppose I will spend the next 10 months living and breathing Bob. Now, lets just hope my kids don't turn out to be stoners from all this 'jahmmin'.
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