Music to Labour to

[notoneforselfies]

I'm aware this is very subjective, but I'm looking for ideas for a looooong playlist to put together for my iPod for labour. What say you?

i.e. any particularly good chill out albums people recommend?

Both my labours I couldn't have cared less about music DS1 7hrs and DS2 2.5hrs, both I only opened the hospital bag after baby was born.

That might well be the case with me too, but I think there's no harm being prepared for the eventuality that I might like some. Every labour is different after all!

With my first I had a bunch of CDs (was a while ago!) but the one i really remember was Nora Jones. It was so calming and lovely and it still gives me a nice warm and fuzzy feeling when i hear it now

I had loads of pink Floyd during my labour, it worked very nicely with the drugs!! Dd made her first appearance to wish you were here.

I wanted silence

even DP and the Mw talking gave me the rage

it will be music you'l remember for a long time so make it good. I would err on the side of unusual though. you might have a difficult labour or birth experience and dont want to be reminded of it every 5 minutes in shops/ pubs etc. (different reasons for me, but i know the power of music :)

I didn't do this for DC1 as I was in labour for about 3 days and managed to lose my phone when I finally made it to the proper bit (!)

With DC2 there are photos of me laughing and being very happy, which I'm sure had something to do with me listening to music. It wasn't a planned thing but looking back I'm really glad I did it as I was so relaxed, his was easily the best birth of the three.
I seem to recall him popping out to a Bruno Mars song and I get a little happy-tearful every time I hear it now.
For DC3 my labour was very short and I only just made it to the hospital to have him (had to be blue lighted as he was so quick) so no time for music, just the sound of the gas and air machine I was very grateful for!

I would opt for relaxing, acoustic music myself although you might want something with a bit of grit for the pushing!

All the best. :)

With dd I had a normal delivery and I didn't want any music , I found any noise quite annoying .
With ds I had a c section and in the theatre music was playing but I had no say in which music, he was born to the eye of the tiger ,and at 10 pounds 7 ounces he looked like blooming rocky.
It made me chuckle

Definitely a vote for calming, relaxing music, selfies
I prepared two playlists - one that was calming, and chill out-y, and another that was motivational (think Salt 'N' Pepa - Push It... )
In the end, I only listened to the relaxing one, and it was definitely the right decision - some good background rather than something that would no doubt have wound me up!

Good luck!

I only had music for baby no 3 after we did a hypnobirthing course. The music we did all the relaxations for was called river dawn by Catherine Marie chorlton, plinky piano meditation type stuff. And while I was waiting for it all to kick off (and block out the other women in the induction ward) I listened to a happy mix of songs we had at our wedding. Headphones were good for blocking out other noise and helping me stay focused.

It's so hard to guess how you'll feel so a few options definitely a good idea, I like the mood compilations above!

Brilliant - thanks for all the suggestions and tips guys! I should imagine I'll go into a 'everyone shut the f*^k up' stage at some point, but for first stage at least I think I might like some prepared: we'll see!
Peeapod I did think of that so been thinking more along the lines of ambient/chillout/acoustic/classical, but they are not my usual genre so I'm stumbling in the dark a bit! Cafe del mar stuff doesn't feel very chill out to me and I don't want whale music... shall definitely get investigating some of your other suggestions though.

I had the KLF's Chillout album on repeat for several hours during my first labour. Still love it now, but DH can't listen to more than 5 seconds of it any more, it drove the poor man right up the wall

i cant remmeber his name but if your not into classical too much then try looking at movie soundtracks. The musican behind american beauty and wall-e is an amazing artist and not too classical but really relaxing...

That's a brilliant idea...

notone glad you started this, was going to ask something similar! I love the Out of Africa soundtrack but it has very happy memories for me. So I'm taking that. And here is my totally random playlist that I've been putting together over the course of the pregnancy:
Eva Cassidy - Songbird
Ocean Colour Scene - Foxy's Folk Faced
Scorpions - Wind of Change
Gloworm - Carry me home
David Bowie - Rocket man
Fun Lovin Criminals - All the time in the world
Toto - Africa
Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness
Flo Rida - Good Feeling
Coldplay - Paradise
Beatles - Let it Be

Not necessarily my favourite songs but they all have some sort of happy baby/pregnancy related meaning for me.

I don't know if I'm going to want any music at all but if I do it might well not be chillout stuff. When I was in hospital with HG (I know it's COMPLETELY different, but anyway...) it was Jay Z that kept me sane during the long night of horrific IV bag changes. Hence the random-ness of playlist.

Love the thought of baby being born to Eye of the Tiger...

Look at bach's Brandenburg concertos. They're quite "fiddly" music and not too slow. ( chill out music can make me feel a bit depressed sometimes). Best of all they are really long!

I had a classic fm relax cd and when I hear it now, I still feel a noticeable change in my blood pressure!

I don't know why you have to have relaxing or chill out music. I wanted something that I liked and would distract me. DH put on a INXS cd where upon the midwives pulled faces and said that it was a bit heavier than usual. DH then turned it off and put away Disturbed and Seether. I was really pissed off as I wanted the music on.

One of the best lines I've ever read on MN was from a MW who attended a birth where they were playing Celine Dion on repeat.

I quote: "My heart literally could not go on."

Baroness would have loved to have seen their reaction to Disturbed if INXS was too heavy...

In my pregnancy yoga class the instructor plays albums by Snatum Kaur, namely 'Prem', 'Grace' and 'Anand Bliss'. Have a listen to "jin prem kio tin hee prabh paayo' on YouTube to get an idea of what it's like - I think it's probably an acquired taste! It is music that I find extremely relaxing during the class so I'm planning on playing her albums during my home birth. How I'll feel about the music when the time comes is anyone's guess, but def want to give it a go.

Leonard Cohen all the way here (well, for DS2 and DS3 anyway). The brooding intensity of the lyrics and rolling melodies suits my labouring mind perfectly . Think of chucking in a bit of Nick Drake for good measure this time...

The MW in my second labour did say Leonard Cohen was a new one on her (despite MWing for 30-odd years). But she was a fan too