Life with a newborn is like life in a musical.

In an effort to entertain both Jacob and myself, I probably sing about eighty percent of every day—slightly less if there are other adults present, but even that isn’t a guarantee of the semblance of sanity.

Most of what I sing is what I’m doing from one moment to the next, i.e. “It’s time to change your diaper, your diaper, your diaper!”  When I’m trying to get the little dude to fall asleep, my song is usually a simple repetition of whatever spur-of-the-moment nickname has come to mind to mimic the rhythmic swaying I’m using to lull him off to La-La Land.  And when I’m nursing, it’s often one of my favorite hymns. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jacob knew the words to “Be Thou My Vision” already!

As I said, though, the soundtrack of our day is as much to entertain me as Jacob.  And so I often find myself calling on my somewhat embarrassing repertoire of pop music that features the word “baby.”  It’s sad to admit how naturally these songs came to mind.  But I only speak the truth here, so there it is.  My motherhood has transformed me into (among other things) a walking, talking iPod, and here’s what’s loaded up:

“Baby” by Justin Bieber. I wouldn’t even know this song if it weren’t for The Sing Off.  I only know the chorus, which is essentially the word “baby,” like a dozen times.  But it gets a major smile from the little guy, so I’ll take it.

“All My Life” by K-Ci and JoJo. Without fail, every time I hear (or sing) this song, I am transported back to dances at my middle school.  I think this song was played at every single dance—and we had one every month!  Usually I just sing the opening “Baby, baby, baby, baby,” etc., but if John’s around, too, we can do a mean duet, which the Peanut seems to appreciate.

“Who Loves You” by the Four Seasons. Actually, I’m not at all embarrassed by this one. It’s a classic, and the chorus is surprisingly relevant to a baby:

Who loves you pretty baby?
Who’s gonna help you through the night? [The context is different, but it fits.]
Who loves you, little Jacob? [My edit, clearly.]
Who’s always there to make it right?

I get the most giggles later for “Who’s gonna love you, love you?  Who’s gonna love you?” because I’ve incorporated a tummy tickle at each instance of “love you.”  And you thought no one could improve on Frankie Valli?  Touché.

Well, on that note, here’s where the real embarrassment comes in. You know how you repeat back to a baby the grunts, giggles, and other noises he makes to you?  That’s where this last one came from.  I didn’t know the artist behind this song, but a quick Google search revealed it as Master P.  That’s right, I sing “Make ‘Em Say Uhh” to my baby.  But only the chorus, really.  The rest of the lyrics kind of horrified me when I read them online.  If Jacob ever asks where this one came from, I think I’m going to have to make something up.  If it comes up, let’s just say, the tooth fairy has a day job, okay?