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When my terrible singing voice saved my sanity

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​When I found out I was pregnant, I was already a busy lady. Full time college classes, full time job, full time relationship, social life and everything else. My pregnancy took me for an emotional roller coaster ride. I used to come home from everything I was doing each day, sit in our rocking chair and just break down to tears -- I was overwhelmed. I thought to myself, 'how am I going to handle it when this baby is actually here, in my arms, or crawling around, or finding her way into the kitchen cabinets?' The only thing that ever calmed me down was to sing-- in my naturally off-key singing voice-- a song that my best friend and I sang together all the time: Never Alone, by Lady Antebellum and Jim Brickma n. I don't know why that song was one of our favorites, maybe it's the sweet lyrics or the melody, but whatever it is, it has helped calm me down. Even at my most chaotic. Ever since, as I began to feel my baby move in my belly, and now that she's out here in the world, every time she cries, gets sad or feels scared, I start to sing that song out loud to her. It only takes a few words into the song, "May the angels protect you, trouble neglect you..." for her to recognize the lyrics and begin to quiet down.. I'll always sing through most of the song, that way we all calm down. I think that my singing the same song, every time she's gotten fussy, or even when she was doing cartwheels in my belly, it's just worked. For example, after she was born she hated car rides and would start to scream when the car took off, and so, I'd turn on my inner radio and sing our song, and soon she'd quite down, and rest easy. And tensions would be relieved from us all. I know it sounds silly, but I think its comforting for her to hear the song, I know it is for me. It may be the consistency of singing the same song that has made the difference. So to all the parents out there who can't think of anything else to do during that moment that your baby just wont calm down, put on your best (or worst) singing voice, and belt away. Maybe if you're lucky an out-of-tune song will let you and your little one(s) rest easy, too. 

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