music doth rear a savage beast

From when TJOML was about a few weeks old, till she was about 10 months old, she cried A LOT.

It became apparent that she was in quite some discomfort of sorts and her pediatrician dismissed it as colic. (Turns out pediatrician was not entirely correct about this colic diagnosis, but, that's another story).

While we were trying to figure it out, I sort of could not handle all her crying.

Initially I cried a lot with her. Then, when she was about 4-5 weeks old, I picked up some courage and started singing to her very softly while rocking her.

That seemed to have a positive effect, so I kept it up.

I am not a great singer, mind, I just have a good ear for music and I just happen to love music of all sorts - from carnatic music to western classical, from jazz to bluegrass, from classic rock to old Indian movie songs.

And I sang whatever came to mind.

However off-key and hoarse I sounded, TJOML didn't seem too picky, she indicated she liked my singing by stopping her crying in her tracks when I started my singing - be it the ABC song, or Can't Buy Me Love, or Ganesha Pancharathnam or an old Rafi number.

I kept it up happily, making up songs and words as I barely knew all the words to any of the songs. Things were getting back to 'normal': TJOML seemed happier and cried only when she really need to, and usually, even just reciting a few lines from The Lorax in a sing-song seemed to calm her down.

And then, thanks to Mother Goose, I had a seemingly endless supply of nursery rhymes for her, which I started singing to her over the last few months, to help ease her discomfort and frustration at being strapped in the car seat for an hour and a half (or more depending on traffic) commute to/from work/daycare.

It seems cruel to strap her like that for about 3 hrs a day on commute, but, c'est la vie...

Anyway, now, she insists on hearing about 70 rhymes within 10 minutes of getting in the car and is not happy if I play the CD or the tape.

With her little tiny fingers tapping together making the "More" sign, accompanied by a frustrated and whiny "Moaaa", "Moaaa", she expectantly looks at me to sing the nursery rhymes back-to-back without pausing too long to catch my breath!

It was sweet initially, but, of late, she has become mighty insistent and downright ornery about it.

I am now frequently plagued by nightmares of a pint-sized savage beast slavering at the jaw and coming after me tapping its fingers together screaming 'moaa', 'moaa' and asking for 'Mistress Mary Quite Contrary', 'Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater', 'Higglety Pigglety', 'Goosey Goosey Gander' and such like...