I've just been browsing through my ipod and I came across a playlist I put together about 2 and a half years ago for listening to during labor. I wanted as much control during this difficult period as I could manage. (Yes, it was part of my attempt to micro-manage the labor process.) I was afraid of giving birth. I get claustrophobic in hospitals and I wanted to feel I had control over something--if not over the pain or duration of labor or the location, then at least over the music in the room.
The playlist is 4 and a half hours long and I listened to it twice in the hospital. What lovely gems are on this playlist? Relaxing, soul-centering instrumentals with the sound of a bubbling stream in the background? Fuck that. I wanted to be amused and even distracted. I wanted to pretend I was not on the fifth floor of a hospital. My attitude was "get back to me when it's time to push." My playlist is a collection of songs that made/make me feel happy and comfortable. Nothing difficult, but not necessarily relaxing. Here's a small selection:
Licking Stick (James Brown)
In the Mouth of a Desert (Pavement)
Mambo No. 5 (Prez Prado)
Anadolu (Ozel Turkbas)
Bonnie and Clyde (Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte B)
Care of Cell 44 (the Zombies)
White & Nerdy ("Weird Al" Yankovic)
You Won't Be Merry on a North Sea Ferry (the Toy Dolls)
Old World (the Modern Lovers)
Through Being Cool (Devo)
Abraham (Chico Marx Orchestra)
I'm Gonna See You (that dog)
They'll Need a Crane (They Might Be Giants)
Best Friend (the English Beat)
Disorder (Joy Division)
Montana (John Linnell)
Skinny Legs and All (Joe Tex)
Cold Beverage (G. Love and Special Sauce)
I Should Be So Lucky (French and Saunders)
Give It To Me, Baby (Rick James)
Bathtime in Clerkenwell (the Real Tuesday Weld)
It's funny to see the songs I thought of as being reassuring. They did the trick, though.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
What's the sad guy doin'?
A few days ago Simon got annoyed by something and decided he was sad. "Is Simon sad?" he asked me. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me around the backyard in a playful manner. He stopped and looked at me. "What's the sad guy doin'?" he asked, then we ran around the yard again.
In this last photo Simon is wearing a swim diaper on his head. He named the diaper Ellie and said it was a hat.
In this last photo Simon is wearing a swim diaper on his head. He named the diaper Ellie and said it was a hat.
Monday, March 8, 2010
More Simon Says
9/6/09:
"'Se cayó'--Spanish for 'go boom.'"
9/7/09:
"Oven is hot."
"S is for Simon."
"Cars parked on the street."
"Another pinecone."
9/11/09:
"Birds have feathers and they fly in the blue sky."
9/12/09:
"Go for a walk with grabs?" (He wanted to go for a walk and be allowed to grab my breast. What?)
9/17/09:
"Go for a walk?" No one wanted to go for a walk, so Simon tried another tactic: "Go get Perrier?" He remembered that a few nights ago Michael took him for a walk to the corner store to buy some Perrier.
9/24/09:
"The dudes come out. All the dudes come out. Daddy say that." (I don't know what this means.)
10/6/09:
"Sir Topham Hatt has a penis?" (This came out of nowhere.)
10/10/09:
"Like a gas station of spider webs." (I don't know what he was talking about.)
10/21/09:
"The moon! There on the sky. Has a crescent."
10/27/09:
"Simon was crying in the living room, on the rug."
11/14/09:
Simon: "Mommy is friends with Simon and the toys?"
Mommy: "Did you just ask if Mommy was friends?"
Simon: "Yeah. Amigos with us?"
Mommy: "Of course. I love you so much."
11/21/09:
"Hard to say, ‘seashells by the seashore’?"
11/23/09:
"The city is too far away for the trees."
"How to make so many foods." (looking through a cookbook)
"Let’s put Thomas in here. That’s a good idea." (playing with trains)
11/29/09:
"Okay, we’re gonna go here.... Duck, you wanna play with me? You wanna play with me sometimes?.... Sorry, Percy, we don’t go there.... No, Emily, you cannot go here on the bridge. We do not help Lady to the bridge.... Simon can do it all by himself.... Goin’ to the countryside." (a snippet of his monologue while playing with his Thomas trains)
11/30/09:
"Need a towel for the cries." (He wanted to wipe his tears.)
"Aidan has to share with the other very nice cars."
12/5/09:
"Mater towed McQueen out of the cactus." (He was acting out a scene from Cars.)
12/12/09:
"Wanna snuggle with Mommy."
12/16/09:
"The penguin says, ‘You got a friend in me.’ He says that." (referring to Toy Story.)
12/18/09:
"Be careful, Mavis!" (playing with his trains)
12/21/09:
"Thank you for Christmas." (He said this to friends of mine who had given him a Christmas present.)
12/23/09:
"Leo has to get his baton back so he can conduct. The animals help pull Rocket out of the rocks. The bumble bee helps and the other bumble animals help." (describing a scene from Little Einsteins.)
1/1/10:
Simon’s version of the Thomas song:
2, they’re 4, they’re 6, they’re 8.
Something trucks, all in freight.
Red and brown and green,
They’re the really useful crew.
All with and round the bends,
It’s Thomas and his friends,
Bum, bum!
1/5/10:
"Two balms!" (Simon was excitedly holding up two tubes of lip balm.)
1/7/10:
"Nemo is Mommy’s son."
"Chugga chugga choo-choo!"
"Confitty and beyond!" (He was trying to say, "infinity and beyond.")
1/8/10:
"You wanna walk with us?"
1/9/10:
"Simon loves Mommy very much."
1/10/10:
"You wanna snuggle me?"
1/13/10:
"Mickey Mokes!" (He calls breasts "mokes," and he made a Disney joke.)
1/17/10:
"Hi, Michael. What are you doin’?" (pretending to talk to his dad on the phone)
1/19/10:
"Karen, Aidan, and Kevin." (I was just impressed by his mental use of commas and the "and" at the end.)
1/26/10:
"Hi, Bulstrode. You wanna go at Tweety’s house?" (playing with toys)
"You want more cheese? It’s delicious!"
1/27/10:
"Don’t hit like that. Just slow hit." (I had told him he couldn't hit, that he had to be gentle, and he translated this into his own language.)
1/28/10:
"I can’t believe the moke is a big, long balloon!" (He was looking at a balloon and making a breast joke.)
1/30/10:
(Singing) "The barracuda is very big… in life." (Huh?)
"I love you, moke."
2/15/10:
"The kids go, 'nuh, nuh, nuh,' then they go wipe, wipe, wipe, and then they go flush, flush, flush."
2/17/10:
"You wanna pretend Mommy has moke?"
"Are you reading a recipe book?"
2/18/10:
"It’s a fish. I have to find it. Oh, no! Where are you? We’re in the water. Goin’ in the dark! Oh, no!" (part of monologue during play)
2/21/10:
"Please, I want some water."
2/22/10:
"Mommy, find more toys with Mater’s flashlight."
3/2/10:
"...and put the ingredients in the oven." (part of monologue while playing)
3/5/10:
"Is Sully vanilla? Is Boo vanilla? What are these vanillas doing?"
"Are you at Monsters, Incorporated?"
"'Se cayó'--Spanish for 'go boom.'"
9/7/09:
"Oven is hot."
"S is for Simon."
"Cars parked on the street."
"Another pinecone."
9/11/09:
"Birds have feathers and they fly in the blue sky."
9/12/09:
"Go for a walk with grabs?" (He wanted to go for a walk and be allowed to grab my breast. What?)
9/17/09:
"Go for a walk?" No one wanted to go for a walk, so Simon tried another tactic: "Go get Perrier?" He remembered that a few nights ago Michael took him for a walk to the corner store to buy some Perrier.
9/24/09:
"The dudes come out. All the dudes come out. Daddy say that." (I don't know what this means.)
10/6/09:
"Sir Topham Hatt has a penis?" (This came out of nowhere.)
10/10/09:
"Like a gas station of spider webs." (I don't know what he was talking about.)
10/21/09:
"The moon! There on the sky. Has a crescent."
10/27/09:
"Simon was crying in the living room, on the rug."
11/14/09:
Simon: "Mommy is friends with Simon and the toys?"
Mommy: "Did you just ask if Mommy was friends?"
Simon: "Yeah. Amigos with us?"
Mommy: "Of course. I love you so much."
11/21/09:
"Hard to say, ‘seashells by the seashore’?"
11/23/09:
"The city is too far away for the trees."
"How to make so many foods." (looking through a cookbook)
"Let’s put Thomas in here. That’s a good idea." (playing with trains)
11/29/09:
"Okay, we’re gonna go here.... Duck, you wanna play with me? You wanna play with me sometimes?.... Sorry, Percy, we don’t go there.... No, Emily, you cannot go here on the bridge. We do not help Lady to the bridge.... Simon can do it all by himself.... Goin’ to the countryside." (a snippet of his monologue while playing with his Thomas trains)
11/30/09:
"Need a towel for the cries." (He wanted to wipe his tears.)
"Aidan has to share with the other very nice cars."
12/5/09:
"Mater towed McQueen out of the cactus." (He was acting out a scene from Cars.)
12/12/09:
"Wanna snuggle with Mommy."
12/16/09:
"The penguin says, ‘You got a friend in me.’ He says that." (referring to Toy Story.)
12/18/09:
"Be careful, Mavis!" (playing with his trains)
12/21/09:
"Thank you for Christmas." (He said this to friends of mine who had given him a Christmas present.)
12/23/09:
"Leo has to get his baton back so he can conduct. The animals help pull Rocket out of the rocks. The bumble bee helps and the other bumble animals help." (describing a scene from Little Einsteins.)
1/1/10:
Simon’s version of the Thomas song:
2, they’re 4, they’re 6, they’re 8.
Something trucks, all in freight.
Red and brown and green,
They’re the really useful crew.
All with and round the bends,
It’s Thomas and his friends,
Bum, bum!
1/5/10:
"Two balms!" (Simon was excitedly holding up two tubes of lip balm.)
1/7/10:
"Nemo is Mommy’s son."
"Chugga chugga choo-choo!"
"Confitty and beyond!" (He was trying to say, "infinity and beyond.")
1/8/10:
"You wanna walk with us?"
1/9/10:
"Simon loves Mommy very much."
1/10/10:
"You wanna snuggle me?"
1/13/10:
"Mickey Mokes!" (He calls breasts "mokes," and he made a Disney joke.)
1/17/10:
"Hi, Michael. What are you doin’?" (pretending to talk to his dad on the phone)
1/19/10:
"Karen, Aidan, and Kevin." (I was just impressed by his mental use of commas and the "and" at the end.)
1/26/10:
"Hi, Bulstrode. You wanna go at Tweety’s house?" (playing with toys)
"You want more cheese? It’s delicious!"
1/27/10:
"Don’t hit like that. Just slow hit." (I had told him he couldn't hit, that he had to be gentle, and he translated this into his own language.)
1/28/10:
"I can’t believe the moke is a big, long balloon!" (He was looking at a balloon and making a breast joke.)
1/30/10:
(Singing) "The barracuda is very big… in life." (Huh?)
"I love you, moke."
2/15/10:
"The kids go, 'nuh, nuh, nuh,' then they go wipe, wipe, wipe, and then they go flush, flush, flush."
2/17/10:
"You wanna pretend Mommy has moke?"
"Are you reading a recipe book?"
2/18/10:
"It’s a fish. I have to find it. Oh, no! Where are you? We’re in the water. Goin’ in the dark! Oh, no!" (part of monologue during play)
2/21/10:
"Please, I want some water."
2/22/10:
"Mommy, find more toys with Mater’s flashlight."
3/2/10:
"...and put the ingredients in the oven." (part of monologue while playing)
3/5/10:
"Is Sully vanilla? Is Boo vanilla? What are these vanillas doing?"
"Are you at Monsters, Incorporated?"
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