My need to plan and organise has been with me from a very young age. Always keen to be super efficient and know where I’m heading, I find that list making has been my friend. A good friend. One which I can rely on to pat me on the back when I have crossed a lot of jobs off but also one who crosses it’s arms , tilts it’s head to one side and raises it’s eyebrows when I have not ticked off quite as many jobs as would be acceptable!
I always like to start each of my lists with the following…
‘Write a list’
That way I can instantly cross something off of the list once it has been written! It’s a sense of achievement (albeit a blatant cheat!) that gives me that positive air and means that, even if I fail to complete another item on the list, I have in fact done one thing from it!
I am the same with my choreography and my music choices at work – movement has to fit the music perfectly, the music has to be the right piece, timing is everything and atmosphere created by the piece is hugely important.
So, when we were preparing for the birth of Bubs I wanted to have a CD to take into the operating theatre with me as we knew from early on that we would have to have a c-section.
It was the same with the boys although not so long in the planning as their c-section was only decided quite close to their actual arrival.
Now, you may notice that I have said CD – yes, I am that old fashioned, no I don’t have an iphone, and I’m pretty sure that our Ipod is way out of technological date! With the Twins birth it was straight forward…
Choose songs
Download or ‘rip’ a cd onto the computer
Create a playlist
Burn onto a cd.
But at a visit with the Consultant where we asked him if we could have a birth cd with us for Bubs’ birth….he looked shocked, was taken aback , was almost agog at our cd retro-ness. ‘Oh, well, I’m not sure if we even HAVE a cd player in there these days! You can always sync it or Bluetooth it from your iphone though, just create your playlist and it will be fine.’
Right. So now what. Hubs is working, I’m at home on long term sick leave and really rather inept at anything to do with the iTunes store on the computer. Plus, I like lots of songs. Lots and lots…………and lots.
This was going to be a mission!
I actually started out quite well, figuring out how to add existing songs to a new playlist and even purchase songs that we had not already ripped to the computer. But as this progressed so the playlist grew and grew. If I had been having twins again the duration of this playlist might be fine but as we were having just the one there needed to be some editing!
I spoke with the Midwife and from my previous experience with the Twins, managed to get a fairly accurate rough timeframe. There was a song that if possible I would dearly have loved Bubs to be born to. Crikey, the dance teacher part of me is taking hold and I’m actually choreographing the birth!!!
After several weeks of analysing my playlist, making sure I had songs on there that I loved and Hubs loved, and checking to see if they flowed well into one another, we had our music. Hubs did ‘something’ so that the playlist was on his ipod (and I burned a cd as well just to be sure!).
On the day of Bubs’ birth we double checked with the consultant about having our music and he was more than happy…the anaesthetist on the other hand seemed a little dubious – he was normally the one to choose music if there was no birth music brought in by the parents to be, and from what we could make out it was all rather dramatic, some babies being born right on the crescendo of Zadoc the Priest!
Once wheeled into the operating theatre and the whole procedure began, our music was gently playing away in the background. It helped calm me instantly and there were some very pleased faces and comments from the members of the birthing team in the room with us! Comments like ‘It makes a nice change to have some different music playing.’ ‘Oh haven’t you chosen lovely songs!’ ‘I love this song!’
The timing of my ‘choreography’ was a little off and so Bubs was not lifted from my tummy during the song I had earmarked (Twinkle Twinkle into Mr Blue Sky – for the lyrics of ‘How I wonder what you are’ and ‘Welcome to the human race’!) but, and how strange is this, she was in fact lifted out during the same some as the Twins! They had been born only a minute apart and so shared their song; but now Bubs was part of it too! She was born at the very end of the Sweet Child of Mine and into Times Like These!!
Most importantly I feel, was that by taking in our own choice of music we were able to focus on something positive when we were actually feeling really rather scared and apprehensive about the whole procedure of a c-section. It just helped us to relax and to have something familiar in this clinical, environment.
If you are debating whether or not to create your own birthing playlist to take with you be it for a c-section, water birth or vaginal delivery I would strongly urge you to go for it. You may need a long play list if you are going through the full throws of labour and birth or you may need one which just lasts an hour if you know you are to have a c-section. Either way it allows you to bring a little part of you, your personality, and your tranquillity with you into a place that may feel daunting and at times scary. Your tunes are personal to you but I’m happy to share our playlist for Bubs.
Here goes…
At the River – Groove Armada
Carnival of the Animals Aquarium – Saint Saens
Bring Me Sunshine – Morecombe and Wise
Our House – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Everlong – Foo Fighters
Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
When You Upon a Star – Cliff Edwards
White Sandy Beach of Hawaii – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Mr Blue Sky – Electric Light Orchestra
Sweet Child of Mine – Guns & Roses
Times Like These – Foo Fighters
Where Will The Dimple Be – Alma Cogan
Constellations – Jack Johnson
From Here to the Moon and Back – Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson, Jeremy Jordan
Lady of the Sea – Seth Lakeman
Better Together – Jack Johnson
Mr Sandman – The Bert Kaempfert Orchestra
One Day Like This – Elbow
Dancing in the Moonlight – Toploader
Banana Pancakes – Jack Johnson
And there we have it!!
What are your birth cd choices?! What have your little ones been welcomed into the world listening to?!
The Aloha Mummy 🌺
The Aloha Mummy 