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It happens nearly every time we’re changing his diaper. We pull off the diaper, usually congratulate Jasper on the ungodly stink being emitted, clean him up, and right before we put a new diaper on, we start singing:
“You’ve got to (pause) (pause) AIIIIIIR it out!”
Jasper typically dissolves in giggles, waves his hands around, and we sing the song three or four more times before closing up his fresh diaper.
I’m pretty sure this behavior–making up songs to entertain the baby–is incredibly common in the parenting world. Gone are the days of singing traditional nursery rhymes (because, for real, have you LISTENED to the words of “Rock-a-bye, Baby” lately?), and in their place we have a whole litany of songs tailored to specific routines, moments, or babies themselves.
More of my favorites:
- While in the grocery store the other day, I spontaneously started changing “We’re going down the ai-sle, going down the ai-sle, going to get some food! Going to get some food!” Sean started dancing, I drummed on the cart, and Jasper grinned at us like the fools we are. Other parents stared us like we’re crazy, but another kid started dancing to our chant as well, so I consider it a victory for awesomeness worldwide.
- Sean and I are SO BAD about substituting “baby” or “smoosh” for actual words in popular songs. One of Jazz’s favorites is when we bust out “all the babies standing in the line for the bathroom!”, complete with beatboxing and and different inflections. I’ve also sung “every-baby, every-baby, every-baby wants to be a smoosh” and (this one is going to kill some music purists) “haaaaave you ever been, have you ever been–to electric baby land?” with absolutely no shame.
- We also make up songs that have no reason or meter to them whatsoever, and basically serve to narrate whatever Jasper is doing at that time. However, they always have rhythm and rhyme, because we keep it real. You know, something like “he’s crawling, he’s crawling, he’s all over the place–he’s climbing, he’s climbing, up on Kali’s (the dog) face.”
- We MIGHT also sing “smooshie” over and over again to the Mos Eisley cantina song. You know what I’m talking about, right?
What songs have/did you made up for your babies?
Dang, we make up tons. We call nursing “nurnies” so, we do the batman song do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do, NURNIES!
And we call or daughter Lyra pie, baby pie, or just pie. So take any old song, throw some combo of baby, lyra, and/or pie in there and you got it E.G. oh my darlin, oh my darlin, oh my darlin baby pie ( Clementine)
Ha! I have no kids yet but just last night I was wondering if Barry Manilow would ever know how often his song Mandy is used to sing to our cat (which coincidentally I heard he might have wrote that song for his dog).
We stole it from an episode of The Simpsons, Homer sang “oh Margie, you came and you found me a turkey”. But we substitute her pet names, it’s quite ridiculous. “Oh smookies, you came and you found me a pookies”
My parents did this a lot! I grew up thinking that all songs were about me. There’s a song called Swingin (http://www.smartlyrics.com/Song336378-John-Anderson-Swingin-lyrics.aspx) that was one of our favorites. You can replace “little Charlotte Johonson” with just about any name and it’s a good fun song to swing to. My dad and I used it for the father daughter dance at my wedding.
I sing “Baby legs, baby legs, oh baby, baby legs” to the tune of Lollipop when I change my daughter.
My parents did this for me. I grew up thinking every song was coincidently about a little girl named “Lacey Jewell” How convenient! One of our faves was “Swingin” (http://www.smartlyrics.com/Song336378-John-Anderson-Swingin-lyrics.aspx) You can replace “Charlotte Johnson” with just about any name and it’s a great one for the swing set or front porch swing. I just got married on 5-29-10 and Dad and I did a swing dance to it for the father daughter dance. He also surprised me by recording his own version of “Yesterday” by the Beatles and having the DJ play it for the end of the father daughter dance. He played guitar and sang lyrics about how yesterday I was just his little girl, of course it had me bawling like a little girl
I don’t think there is a single song we couldn’t warp for our kids, and very few that we haven’t tried. I come from a long line of song-lyric-personalizers. Yesterday my family had a long ass comment section under one cousin’s worrisom facebook status concerning our Florida family reunion being ruined by the oil spill… it was everyone making up lyrics to the new hit “Do you like oil-coladas? Getting caught in the slick….”
When my 5 month old started making a funny face when he pooped, I’d sing “puh-puh-poopy face, puh-puh poopy face” to the Lady Ga Ga Poker Face song. This is but one of a thousand made-up songs in our house.
Oh lord we sing the exact same song. I don’t know if it makes me feel better or worse that we’re not alone in that!
OMGosh i have made up so many songs for my little ones (well, now they are 9 and 6…not so little) their favorites were usually to the tune of Frère Jacques. my daughter still wants me to sing “her song” at night…Mattlyn Frances, Mattlyn Frances, precious girl, baby girl, ooooooooh mama loves you, annnnnnnnd daddy loves you, brother zacky too, he loves you.
LOL! I love this thread. When my daughter was too little to bathe herself, we would prepare for bathtime by singing:
SHEEEEE’S a bathtime, bathtime girl, she’s a bathtime gi-irl. We’ll take off her clothes, and put her in the wa-ter, ’cause sheeeeeeee’s a bathtime, bathtime girl….
She’s a BATHTIME GIRL!
🙂
to the tune of ‘Go to Sleep’ is my kids favorite. I caught my 16yo singing it to my almost 3yo yesterday it goes:
‘Go to sleep, little creep, don’t wake up till the morning.
Be no fussin, and no whinin, go to sleeeeep, little creep and various other variations with all sorts of cruel, creepy and zombie connotations LOL.
There’s the Butt song. You have to sing it in the morning while you poke them in the butt to wake them up…
I also find myself singing them U2 songs oddly enough….
I do this all the time too! Or favorite is when I put him in the ergo and walk around (pretty much anywhere) and sing “going for a ride, going for a ride, going for a ride with the mamma!” over and over and over…
Bwahahaha I love this post. I feel like I have become a full-time lyricist since Miles was born. I have penned such gems as “Old Mr. Rubenstein,” the sordid tale of a grumpy old man falling at the grocery store and using an inappropriate word, and “Gimme the Boob Mom,” sung to the tune of “Drift Away.” And I have absolutely no shame, suddenly, about busting out in a loud faux-soprano in the middle of the grocery store if it will convince M that I am more interesting than the box of pasta is is trying desperately to knock from the shelf.
We sing lots of songs,including Ellie Jude to the spiderman themesong a la Homer Simpson and his Spider Pig but my husbands tonedeaf tune “did you do a poo in your pants, did your bottom do a bottom dance” on the way to the changing table is my favorite.
I would hold my son over my head and sing the spider-man theme with the words “Baby-man, baby-man, does whatever a baby can. Sleeps in bed with his mom, eats his milk all day long. Watch out! I’m talkin ’bout my baby-man!” (We refer to nursing as “eating” milk, as opposed to Drinking say rice milk or cows milk) He loved it especially the flying I think, and by total accident he is now a spiderman obsessed 3yr old. Hmm, I wonder if I had a hand in that.
I sing: “Maren Marie, Maren Marie, itty bitty angry girl who’s always cranky” to the tune of ‘Winnie the Pooh’
Also, her favorite lullaby these days is “Everything’s All Right” from Jesus Christ Superstar 🙂
Since my daughter has been born, the singing in my house has gone INSANE! The fiance and I never seem to stop! It’s so fun to add her name to any song that pops into our heads.
My favorite so far is: Penny pop Penny pop oh penny penny penny Penny Pop! baboom boom boom boom Penny loves the loli cause, it’s so yummy! She likes to eat it with her Mommy!
And then of course, since we named her Penelope-Lane, we have to often sing Penny Lane. ^-^ Hooray!
oh… and that picture has SO already been used on a post.
Don’t think I didn’t notice!!!
We change the lyrics to “superfreak” for our little one……”she’s a very sleepy girl…..from her head down to her toenails…..”
I think you need this; http://www.babywit.com/ZIO54052105B.html
Sorry, I guess I’m not supposed to post links?
You need the Electric Baby Jimi Hendrix T-shirt from Baby Wit!
Hey! I just approved the comment, and OMG thank you for that link!
The ones with links get moderated in case they’re spam. 🙂
When my sister was about two, got into a lot of trouble for remaking a song about sharing into a song about not sharing (It’s mine and you can’t have some, with you I will not share it. For if I share it with you, I’ll have less!)
Now, my nephew loves it when I bounce him and sing “He Tried to Kill Me with a Forklift” from MST3K
Invariably Aspen freaks out when we are two minutes away from home, regardless of whether we are in the car or walking. So, one of the many songs I sing to her is the “we’re almost home” song. The lyrics are always changing, but the message is the same.
years a go there was a morteen add that went “hes lewie the fly yes lewie the fly, straight from rubbish tip to you, hes bad and mean and mighty unclean …..ect”
I loved it when it was changed to my name 😀
Lately I’ve been singing, “Who’s a grump, who’s a grump, who’s a grump grump grump!” to the tune of the William Tell Overture. 🙂
My little guy gets a miriad of songs warped for him… my favorite is his diaper change song. “Let’s change your diaper, what do ya think? Let’s change your diaper, so ya don’t stink… You don’t want to smell like pee, you want to smell all nice and clean!” Haha. I think this is universal.