When my kids were little, and doing their best not to do what I wanted them to do, I'd sing (with a grin and through slightly gritted teeth):
'How do you do what you do to me? I wish I knew. If I knew how you do it to me, I would do it to you.'
Gerry and the Pacemakers, 1963. That song was so much a part of my own childhood - and of course it's a love song.
We have used a number of 'love' songs in our Playsongs collections and addressed them to our little ones. We've sung 'You are my sunshine', 'Catch a falling star', 'Lavender's Blue', among others. However, this little number, with words by Linda Caroe, is exclusively a love song to a baby. It's set to the melody of Skip to my lou, but sung at a relaxed, rocking pace. Find it here: https://www.playsongs.co.uk/stream-livelytime-playsongs
Singing a love song of this kind to our babies is nurturing for the emotional well-being of our children. But it nurtures us as well by giving us a moment to focus on our love for our little one. Sing it gently as you rock, stroke and soothe a tired or fractious child. In the last line, substitute ‘Baby’ with your child’s own name to personalise the song.