Rockabye Baby!

Becoming a parent doesn't have to mean abandoning your inner rocker. We've got a way for you stay in touch with your Doc Martens-and-patched-jeans past while whisking your baby off to dreamland, with the help of the folks at Rockabye Baby!, who retool the rock and pop tunes you love as gentle instrumentals for maximum sheep-counting effect. Sure, the Cure's dreamy "Lullaby" might seem tailor-made for that treatment, but who'd have ever thought you'd be lulling your little ones to sleep to the soft, tinkling strains of the Ramones' leather-jacketed jam "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker"? And, really, what better bedtime message can you offer your cradle-bound kid than Metallica's "Enter Sandman," minus that scary-sounding growl? In Next Steps, find out how to fluff the pillows for your little punk.

Make sure your little bundle of joy becomes a chip off the ol' block by giving him or her a rockin' head start. The Rockabye version of Nirvana's gargantuan grunge anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit" may have slashed the decibel count, but it'll send dreams of flannel shirts dancing through baby's dreamtime head. The spirit of CBGB can translate to the toned-down twinkle of lullabyland too, with a kinder, gentler take on the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." And if you've got a fussy little cuss on your hands when bedtime rolls around, the Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" will dry those little eyes and pave the way for a peaceful sack session. In Deep Cuts, find out how to strike the sleepy-time bell with a velvet hammer.

You've gone through every trick in your repertoire, from reading out loud to making barnyard animal sounds, and you still can't get that lovable little fusspot to start sawing wood. That's when it's time to bring out the big guns. If you think the hard-rock-stomp-meets-reggae-sway of Led Zeppelin's "D'Yer Maker" is shockingly hypnotic in its baby-friendly format, wait till you try soothing your sleepless tot to the Rockabye rhythms of Bob Marley's soul-warming "Redemption Song." And the peaceful, easy feelings that made the Eagles the masters of mellow in the '70s are a potent magic potion when "Desperado" drifts in to weave its sleepy-time spell.

Don't just take our word for it — even with all their fame and fortune, high-powered celebs like Kate Hudson and Denise Richards have just as much trouble putting their untiring little angels to bed as you do, but probably more stake in staying hip while they're doing it, and they've gone the Rockabye Baby! route. Even Metallica's king of metal mayhem, Kirk Hammett, sets his searing six-string down and reaches for the Rockabye tunes when it's time to put his little headbangers on a first-name basis with the Sandman. Keeping your cool cred while playing the parent card is no easy task, but from "I Wanna Be Sedated" to "Golden Slumbers," these are the sounds that will put your baby in the zzz-zone and let you stay true to your rock 'n' roll soul at the same time.