A Mommy Story

It’s official: my daughter watches too much Wiggles.

Don’t get me wrong – I am thankful to the Wiggles. When Cordy was a cranky 5 month old (and 6 month old, and 7 month old…), the Wiggles were like an off switch for her crying fits. We could try 100 different ways to comfort her, and nothing would work, but when we turned on the Wiggles it was like she became a zen baby. Happy, joyful, at peace.

She didn’t watch a lot of TV back then, because nothing else had the mystical calming ability that those four guys from Australia had. Like nearly every parent, we tried the cult of Baby Einstein. However, our non-conformist wanted nothing to do with it. There were only two things that earned a glance at the TV: Wiggles and Cirque du Soleil. (Our musical, artsy child.)

Sure, many people hate the Wiggles. But I love them. Sure, some of their songs are unimaginative and stick in your head worse than William Hung singing She Bangs. However, I would happily listen to Wiggly Safari over and over again if it meant having a happy baby. And I have to admit, it’s sweet to see four men, three of them dads, take such an interest in children.

Luckily, her musical tastes have evolved as she has become a toddler. Sure, the Wiggles are still her first boy band crush, but now she also likes Laurie Berkner and other musicians.

So why have we reached a point where she has watched too much of the Wiggles? Because yesterday, after a very early morning wakeup by Cordy, I was laying on the couch while she watched Wiggles, and I started to drift off to sleep. I woke up to find Cordy on the couch, hovering over me.

Wan, too, feee…waaake oop mumaaay!

(For those who don’t watch, she was attempting to wake me up the way the Wiggles wake up their narcoleptic purple brother, Jeff: One, two, three, wake up Jeff!)

This morning, when Aaron got her out of bed, she ran into our room and did the same thing to me in bed. Wan, too, feee…waaake uup mumaaay! I could only laugh. She’s never said more than two words together, and now suddenly we have an entire sentence, thanks to Wiggles. It wasn’t the first sentence I was expecting from her.

And truthfully, I think I’m more surprised that she actually called me mommy.