My Laboring Playlist

In the post of Jillian's birth I said that I listened to music during most of my laboring.  The selection of songs were pulled from my original running playlist which was about 5 hours of music.  I narrowed it down to an hour & a half.  I've now decided to "reveal" my laboring playlist.  It wasn't some big secret.  Some might find it weird though.  But I don't care.  

I'll include comments on some of these to maybe explain why I run to them & maybe why I left it for labor.

"Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga - Ugh.  Ok, first one & I'm slightly embarrassed.  But when running it had the perfect rhythm so that's why I left it for laboring.  Just took me back to some good runs.

"Born to Run" by Bruce Springstein - Every runner should run to this song.

"Bring me to Life" by Evanesence - I like running to this one because I remember it in the movie Daredevil.  It was a pivitol moment in the movie.

"California Gurls" by Katy Perry - Just a good rhythm.  I actually like running to a lot of Katy Perry's songs.

"Christmas TV" by Slow Club - Not a very fast song but has a great build towards the end & is also just a special song to me & Jeremy.

"Curbside Prophet" by Jason Mraz - It was always one of my favorite songs to run to.

"Dog Days Are Over" by Florence & the Machine - The chorus says "Run fast for your mother. Run fast for your father. Run for your children, for your sister & your brother."  Enough said.

"Eye of the Tiger" - Um, it's from Rocky.  How can you not run to this song?!

"Fighter" by Christina Aguilera - When I reached the last .2 of my marathon this is what I listened.  So it's very special & I had to include while laboring.

"Fix You" by Coldplay - Great build in the song.

"Hearts on Fire" by John Cafferty - It was in the Rocky sequel when he was preparing to fight the Russian.

"Hero of the Day" by Metallica - The version I listen to is actually a live performance with Metallica & the San Francisco Orchestra.  It's another special song from a running memory.  It was a few years ago but I listened to it as I finished a 5 mile run, the longest I had ever gone at that point.

"Let's See How Far We've Come" by Matchbox 20 - Doesn't it seem like this should be played while the doctor or nurse is checking how many centimeters a laboring momma is?  Maybe it's just me.

"Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi - I should have listened to this when they said I was 5 cm.  You know?  "Ooooooh!  We're halfway there!"

"Lose Yourself" by Eminem - Love running to this & I felt like it helped get my mind off the contractions.

"Rule the World" by Take That - This song is at the end credits of the movie Stardust.  Love this song!

"Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional - Another song I just plain love, even though the rhythm isn't quite fast enough.  Plus, I kinda felt like this was what I'd sing to Jillian once I finally got to see her.  "You have stolen my heart."

"Stronger" by Britney Spears - The chorus says "And now I'm stronger than yesterday".  Always a boost during a run to know that I was stronger than the last time I ran.  And now while in labor I was stronger than the last time.

"Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry - Just more Katy Perry that I like.

"Under Pressure" by Queen - Kinda makes me laugh now that I included this for labor.

"We're not gonna take it anymore" by Twisted Sister - Just makes me wanna roar.

"You're the Best Around" from the Karate Kid - Who wouldn't want to hear this while running or when you've reached transition & feel like you're losing it?!

So there you have it.  This was just one of the ways that kept me strong.  My doula often said I was rocking it & I guess in a way I was!