CLICK
HERE to watch and hear the newly completed "Australian
HUG Lullaby"! Jane Duffy, a speech-language pathologist who works with young families in Warrnambool,
Victoria, Australia, brings her talent for singing, and her passion for being a
mum and supporting new mothers, to this song.
Jim and I are striving to combine the musical
traditions of the countries we visit with HUG Your Baby ideas and resources in
creating HUGs Around the World: International Lullabies to Calm Babies
and Empower Parents.
The "Australian HUG Lullaby" focuses
attention on the fact that mother nature is our friend and can be counted on! In the song we wrote, a mother is out "in the bush" with her young baby, who
is frightened by the wild sights and sounds in "the outback." But Mum reassures her baby: "Fear not son, 'no worries' now, animals
will show the way!"
HUG Your Baby, too, reminds "mums" that mother nature can be counted on throughout the birthing, breastfeeding, and early parenting times. Remember how the prolactin level shoots up when the placenta is expelled, triggering a surge in milk production. Rejoice in the surge of oxytocin, "the love hormone," when a naked baby is placed on mother's chest. Consider the magic of the Stepping Reflex to facilitate a just-born "bub's" crawl from mother's abdomen to breast. And don't forget the power of a newborn's grasp reflex to connect with a new father, or the rooting reflex to get to the breast for nourishment and comfort.
Childbirth educators, perinatal educators and
lactation consultants can use this lullaby to initiate conversation about
the interconnectedness of the biology, sociology and psychology of the birthing and breastfeeding processes.
CLICK HERE to see the blog about the musical traditions that influenced this lullaby.
