Being Mamma Bear

I’m known for my idiosyncrasies and quirks. In fact, they are what make me what I am.

For instance, I will only buy original books and because I like to inspect every copy for even slightly folded pages, I will never buy a book online even if that means I would be saving 20% (or even more) than the store price. I always use a book mark and after I’m done reading, the book still looks brand new. Yes, I am that good. Which is also the reason why I don’t lend books to anyone without listing out a number of instructions ranging from ‘how to hold and (un)fold the book’ to ‘how it should be when it comes back to me.’

I even went as far as stamping my name on the sides of the book so that people who borrowed it from me would remember it was a borrowed book for THE REST OF THEIR LIVES in case they forgot to give it back. Currently, there are two people in this world who will be haunted by this thought every time they see my book that’s still with them. I am not ashamed that I did this only to guilt people. In fact, I don’t even have qualms in admitting that it actually gives me immense joy in having done so. 😀

I don’t stamp my books anymore because I realised it somehow taints the book. I’ve just stopped lending them altogether.

Another one is that I am extremely organised especially when it’s about totally irrelevant things. Take a look at this:

I have a colour-coded excel file with a separate sheet dedicated to each show I’m currently watching to keep track of how far along a certain show’s season I am, along with the future air-dates of shows that are currently running, just so I know when there’s a new episode.

See what I mean?

So it was no surprise (not to me, at least) that I would develop some new quirks once I was pregnant.

Like every new mamma-to-be, I’m reading up on what’s happening inside my body and how the baby is growing every week. During this ‘research’ phase, I read an article on how to soothe a crying baby (unfortunately, I don’t remember where. I didn’t think of saving the link when I read it because I didn’t know it would lead to THIS.)

According to the article, a baby remembers the sounds that (s)he hears while in utero – like the mother’s and father’s voices, and even music. Once the baby is born, such sounds comfort the baby when it’s in distress because it gives them a sense of familiarity. Pretty cool, huh?

Now, about two weeks ago, The Bump App told me that my baby developed bones in her/his ears which meant that (s)he could now hear sounds through the womb. The baby can now hear our voices! 😀

When I put the two pieces of information together (the thing about comforting sounds and my baby being able to hear them) I had an epiphany!

I realised that if I listened to all my favourite songs often while I was pregnant, I could play them whenever the baby got cranky and we could both relax. It would really be a win-win!

And that is why around two weeks ago (almost around the same time when  baby’s hearing developed) when Taher Shah released his new song – Angel – I decided that I WILL NOT LISTEN TO IT AT ALL, even with ear phones on. I just don’t want to risk it, and here’s why.

For one, I don’t want it to be stuck in my head because more often than not, it’s the annoying songs that fall in this category. But the second, and more important, reason is that I don’t want my baby to find this song comforting after birth. I don’t even want the baby to REMEMBER or KNOW that such a song exists.

Imagine having to play an annoying song over and over again just because the baby likes it. I know that eventually there will be some song that the baby will end up liking that I will find to be annoying to me, but it’s not going to be Taher Shah for sure.

And because I’m a nice person (to most people), I am not even going to link to his video/song and spare you the trouble to having to listen to it if you’re among the few lucky and sensible ones who haven’t done so alreaady. If you really, reallywant to, you know how to use Google.

Also, since I have around twenty weeks to go, I’m going to create alphabetised playlists of my favourite songs to listen to each week (I could club U-Z in one week) and get baby on board with some good music.

This week, my ‘A’ playlist includes:

And I’m about to add a few more. Any suggestions?