You would think that being a stay-at-home-mom who plays the harp in my “off-time” would be a simple arrangement. Well, it was simple when I had one kid, and it will be simple again when my second daughter gets a little bigger… Well, older. She’s gigantic.
In the meantime, being a working harpist with a young baby has definitely had its challenges. First, my usual schedule of practicing after my oldest daughter went to bed (on the other side of the house) was out the window! My new baby had her days and nights switched for a few months, and she tended to “cluster feed” between 7pm and 10pm. I couldn’t leave her side during these extra hungry periods or she’d get so mad!
Once she started falling asleep at a reasonable time, I found another problem. I didn’t have a place to play while the kids were asleep! Our toddler was at one end of the house and the baby on the other. I couldn’t play without disturbing one or the other. I do play near the toddler’s room, but I don’t feel comfortable with it.
Lastly, the baby has refused to take a bottle. This has had ramifications for our whole family. When I have had weddings or other events, my husband has had to bring the kids in a separate car for me to feed the baby on my breaks. Some of these gigs were almost two hours away! I have such a wonderful, supportive family!
While having two little girls in my life has currently complicated my harp career, I know that there will be a time when I have too much time on my hands, when my kids want nothing to do with me. So the harp sits. I find the time I need to do my job, but I’m not learning many new pieces, not having any long practice sessions. There will be time for that. Later.
Harpist Alyson Webber 
I love this photo!
On Wed, Jun 5, 2019 at 6:40 AM Harpist Alyson Webber wrote:
> alysonwebberharp posted: ” You would think that being a stay-at-home-mom > who plays the harp in my “off-time” would be a simple arrangement. Well, it > was simple when I had one kid, and it will be simple again when my second > daughter gets a little bigger… Well, older. She’s gigan” >
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I’m a mom of a budding harpist just about ready to get into gigs (found your blog searching for amplification options). I raised my kids along side things like teaching piano lessons, holding a neighborhood music camp (my kids are the counselors), and wishing I was a better musician when I’m asked to play flute for something and I find that my embouchure has suffered from lack of attention. Music and kids are a wonderful duo, even if they get in each other’s way a bit. Now that I’ve got 3 kids out of the house and two younger ones playing in school orchestras tonight, I’d have to say that with all how wonderful music is, the kids are a much bigger part of my heart. Yours are beautiful. I’m just enjoying your blog and thought I’d give a little support from one music mom to another, ‘cuz those years with little ones are precious of course, but they can be trying!
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Thanks for the encouragement! I am so happy that you and your kids are all making memories playing music together. I think it’s one of the most bonding things a family can do.
5 months after this post, practicing is still a challenge, but daddy successfully put the baby to bed with a bottle for the first time last week. Woo hoo!
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