Since having J, Hubs and I have spent many, many hours pacing the floors and singing to him in attempts to lull him into dreamland. During that time, I've noticed that most children's lullabys are seriously lacking in substance.
For starters, most of them are WAY too short for the amount of time that it takes J to fall asleep. I don't know, maybe some people out there have babies who can fall asleep in 10 seconds or less, but I don't. And I get tired of singing the same 4 lines over and over again.
Also, the subjects of these songs can be atrocious! Think about singing, "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing, Mama's going to buy you..." The whole song is based on the idea that money can fix everything. I don't need to be filling our heads with that nonsense.
Or let's sing "Rock a bye baby, in the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby cradle and all." What??? Am I the only one who doesn't see anything soothing about images of my baby and his cradle crashing to the ground in a windstorm?
Ok, enough ranting about lullabys and onto the purpose for this post. Hubs and I have been singing hymns to J as we walk or rock him to sleep. They are wonderful to teach your children and personally encouraging for me. We quickly tired of the same handful of hymns to which we knew all of the words, however, and flipping through the hymnal to find songs that are both soothing and ones you know can be a challenge.
So this morning I put together a collection of Lullaby Hymns to be printed out and kept for easy reference during sleepy times. Some of the songs may have to be slowed down a bit from how you are accustomed to singing them, but make wonderful lullabys when you do so. I then decided to post them on here as a resource for any other parents who may be tired of their lullaby options. So without further ado, I give you:
Lullaby Hymns pdf
Updated 6/14/10- added several new songs and fixed typos
Updated 7/13/09- changed to PDF instead of docx
For starters, most of them are WAY too short for the amount of time that it takes J to fall asleep. I don't know, maybe some people out there have babies who can fall asleep in 10 seconds or less, but I don't. And I get tired of singing the same 4 lines over and over again.
Also, the subjects of these songs can be atrocious! Think about singing, "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing, Mama's going to buy you..." The whole song is based on the idea that money can fix everything. I don't need to be filling our heads with that nonsense.
Or let's sing "Rock a bye baby, in the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby cradle and all." What??? Am I the only one who doesn't see anything soothing about images of my baby and his cradle crashing to the ground in a windstorm?
Ok, enough ranting about lullabys and onto the purpose for this post. Hubs and I have been singing hymns to J as we walk or rock him to sleep. They are wonderful to teach your children and personally encouraging for me. We quickly tired of the same handful of hymns to which we knew all of the words, however, and flipping through the hymnal to find songs that are both soothing and ones you know can be a challenge.
So this morning I put together a collection of Lullaby Hymns to be printed out and kept for easy reference during sleepy times. Some of the songs may have to be slowed down a bit from how you are accustomed to singing them, but make wonderful lullabys when you do so. I then decided to post them on here as a resource for any other parents who may be tired of their lullaby options. So without further ado, I give you:
Lullaby Hymns pdf
Updated 6/14/10- added several new songs and fixed typos
Updated 7/13/09- changed to PDF instead of docx
Hey, this is only my second time visiting your blog, but I found you through GCM (I'm keepinghome, I'm new there too).
ReplyDeleteBut, I just had to say, rock a bye baby made me cry when I was 2! I kept asking my mom "where is the momma". Lullabyes are awful.
I tweeted this post: http://twitter.com/SeasideTales/status/2588446829
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!!
Sallie
Hmmm... I use open office, so that file wouldn't open for me... Maybe a pdf or google doc shared file?
ReplyDeleteStacy- this is awesome! I also have taken to singing hymns to my sweet little ones since they were born. They were more like prayers from me to the Lord at the times when I thought I might lose it. Plus, I'm like you, I think the lullabies are missing some major compassion! But I have found myself singing the same hymns over and over because I can't think of any new ones. I'm printing this out and putting it next the rocker in the nursery so it's there when it's time for me to put on my concert for my babies. Thanks so much! It's awesome!
ReplyDeletedo you still have a copy of this list? For some reason, wordpress says it no longer exists. I would definitely love a copy!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Karina
PS - How's missionary work in Moldova going?
www.offthegridministries.org
Thank you, Karina, for bringing that to my attention! I updated the link, so it should work now. I also updated the pdf file to include more songs than the original. I hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDelete