Lullaby, and Good Night

Sometimes, they really do seem to get it, after all...

When Avery was a newborn, his pediatrician had us rush him from her office straight to the hospital after having his blood drawn.  "Don't go home.  Just go to the admitting waiting room and wait for my call," she instructed.  Avery had a severe case of jaundice, so for the next several days, he and I were relegated to the tiny little hospital room we'd been assigned while he received light therapy.  After Day 2 of singing This Little Light of Mine to my little glow worm, my brain started to turn to mush from cabin fever, physical exhaustion and sheer emotional fatigue.  I remember when I sang to my baby, I just started stringing words together, even if they didn't make sense.  At one point, I even made up our own little lullaby:

"Mommy loves Avery,

Yes, she does!

Mommy loves Avery,

Yes, she does!

I love Avery,

Yes I do!

I love Avery,

Yes I do!"

That lullaby has seen us through vaccinations, boo-boos, all-nighters, allergy tests, breathing treatments, and all sorts of other shenanigans.   It has become Avery's comfort method and lullaby of choice.  Sometimes our song is slow and quiet, other times it is loud and upbeat, depending on what the mood or occasion calls for.  On his daycare questionnaire, under the "what comforts your child" question, along with his puppy and blankie, I wrote out our song, then taught it to his teachers.  With this song, Avery has taught me it's not always about how the voice that is singing sounds (the Lord did say make a joyful noise, after all...), but it's more about the words that are being sung.

Tonight, Avery needed a few more snuggles before bedtime.  We rocked for a bit while he sniffed his puppy ear and I sang our song.  I closed my own eyes as he nestled deeper into me, listening to his sweet little toddler murmurs of happiness and sleepiness as I sang, just loving being in that moment with my child.  Then, a few seconds after I finished the last line, I heard Avery quietly start singing his own version:

"Avery loves Mommy,

Yes I do!

Avery loves Mommy,

Yes I do!"

Yes, sometimes they really do "get" it....  And these are the moments we cherish, always and forever.