Baby Sign Language - What's on Your Mind?

Honestly, I was skeptical about Baby Sign Language to a certain degree. I didn't think it would start "working" until 7+ months like all the resources on baby signing suggest and I thought it might be difficult to work into our routine. Boy was I wrong! We started signing with Asher at 3 months and now at 19 weeks, he is already starting to sign to us. For real.

At first I thought I was being "that mom" who might insist her baby is signing when he is really just moving his hands around randomly. But after a few days of wondering if what I was seeing could be real - I know it is! My baby is signing to me!  { I apologize in advance for all the exclamation points. I am just that amazed and excited about this! }

Here's what happened that made me a believer in baby sign language:

Last night, Asher would NOT go to sleep. I tried putting him down 4 times starting at 7:30pm. He would either fuss or just play and talk in his bassinet. I tried feeding him more milk, changed him, let him sit with me and the dogs for a while. He kept signing "banana" and putting his hand to his mouth (which now I know meant "eat"). Being a baby who may or may not be starting teething, I just figured it was just a baby thing. As far as the "banana" sign, I thought it must be that he didn't really know what it meant yet, or he was associating it with the book we had just read with bananas in it. I basically didn't want to jump to conclusions - I mean, he's not even 5 months old yet. Finally, after hours of this, I gave in and fed him some carrots (he already had bananas that morning). He ate almost 3 tbsp with a smile on his face the whole time. I got him cleaned up and readied again for bed. When I put him down, he fell asleep INSTANTLY. He was out for the night. I should have listened to him in the first place! I probably would have saved myself hours of frustration. 

So now I am a believer. I will be teaching him all the signs I can throughout the next few months. 

Could this be "eat"?

Here's how we've done it so far.

I did not know any signs when we decided to do this. I bought a baby signing book, but after trying to decipher a few of the signs pictured in the book, I have realized that I need to actually see it being done to learn it. I bought Baby Signing Time Vol. 1 and learned alongside Asher some of the basic, primary signs for babies. This DVD is AWESOME. It's the only thing Asher will watch on TV and he absolutely LOVES it. It's full of fun songs, cartoons, and other babies making signs. I really want to get him the full set complete with a "Mr. Hopkins" plush frog (because that's a necessity), but it's unfortunately out of our budget right now. I bought volume 3 on Ebay (I don't know why I skipped 2... it was a 1:00 am purchase) and plan to slowly build our collection.

He watches it a few times a day (*blush*) while I'm doing things around the house or getting work done on the computer. Hey - at least it's educational!

Our early signs throughout the day have included:

• "Milk" - whenever we would give him a bottle and while he's drinking it.
• "Water" - whenever he was getting a bath, when it was raining and he would focus on it, or when I was drinking a bottle of water.
• "Dog" - whenever he saw/touched Suki or Sumo, our pugs, or when reading the book Doggies.
• "More" - when we'd give him more milk, read him another book or do more of anything he liked.
• "Mama" - when he looked at me, "Dada" when he saw John.
• "Grandma/Nonna" and "Grandpa" - with our parents (although we've been slacking with those).

That's pretty much it until about 2 weeks ago. I also have another DVD (that is full of 80s footage and not fun for babies at all) where I picked up a few more signs.

I have recently introduced:

• "Banana"
• "Bird"
• "Diaper"
• "Change"
• "Eat"
• "Up" <-- Which I may regret because he always wants up! :)
• "Hungry" <-- New today. This may be too conceptual for his age, though...

Mind you, Asher watched the DVD each day and has seen the signs for "banana" and "eat" in the video since he was 3 months old. We also read a book called Today, I'd Really Like to Eat a Child that has a crocodile who eats bananas in it and we sign "banana" while reading it, too. (It's a cute book and not at all as scary as it sounds - haha!)

The thing about a young baby signing is that you have to have a keen eye for their signs early on. They are primitive versions of the sign and can easily be written off as nothing. For example, here is a video of Asher signing "more" and "banana" a few days ago (please ignore my annoying mommy voice): 

I will continue to post on our progress with Baby Sign Language. I also am going to be tweeting videos of signs and any cool resources on the practice, so follow me on Twitter to get those updates!

Sorry this post is lacking pictures. It's hard to get my little signer on camera.

Good luck with your baby signing adventures. I'm happy to answer any questions and also welcome advice from anyone who has done signing with their babies!

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OTter Talk #2

I'm making myself read more. I guess that should just be read in general. It has been years (embarrassingly) since I've read on a regular basis and I really miss how I good book takes you away for a few hours. I also think that the more you read, the better you write. I'm going to give that a try and you all can report back to me if it's working. ;)

The hardest part for me is choosing a book. I judge the books by their covers, for sure, and the descriptions never do the books justice, I'm noticing. It's like I'm terrified of choosing a book that I won't like or something. Indecisiveness to the nth degree.

I bought my first digital book the other day. I was really apprehensive, but I ended up really liking the digital book option. I also like how the iPad lets you read a preview of the book before buying. That may just be the answer to my book selection dilemma.

The book I just read is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I read it in 3 days. With a 4 month old. During busy season at our shop. It was that good. There were a few parts that would make a new mom slightly cringe, but it was such an amazing book and I really recommend it if you're looking for a good novel to read!

Although the iBook (eBook? Whatever.) was great, I still like the idea of reference type books in paper form. I know you can highlight and all of that in a digital book, but I think I would be more apt to go back and see what it is that I highlighted or try a certain recipe, per say, if it is a real, live book.

So, I'm on the hunt for a few new books to take me into the lives of others for a few hours during the week or for when procrastination is the next best option while Asher is sleeping.

Do you have any recommendations for good books to read? 

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14 Weeks + Phone Favorites

iPhone Photo Favorites!

{Forgive my writing today. I'm not really in the mood for full sentences!}

Asher's New Developments - 14 weeks

• Phasing out the nighttime swaddle. Prefers to fall asleep swaddle-free, but then wakes himself up! Falls into a deeper sleep with it on, then "houdini"s his way out of it to suck on his hands. Gotta love it!
• 95% there with the roll from back to tummy. Gets stuck on his arm! So close!
• Erupts in the cutest laughter over the silliest things!!! 1. me singing the 'Diaper Dance' song 2. peek-a-boo with Mommy - VIDEO BELOW - SO CUTE!!! :)

• Wants to look at my face while eating.
• Can drink from his Tommee Tippee bottles now. Getting use out of our bottle stash - finally!
• Awake for longer periods during the day and constantly wants to be entertained or carried... Mommy getting less done around the house. ;) HOWEVER, I tried a new position with our K'tan carrier today and this may be the solution... I got some much needed work done on the computer and Asher played piano on the iPad while in the K'tan. That required some interesting positioning, but worked out pretty well!

• Introduced iPad baby piano app with farm animal sounds. LOVES IT! After only 2 days developing skills to touch the keys, he is now using his hands more than ever to grab and touch his toys, pacifier, self, my face, Suki, Sumo…
• Asher is absolutely in LOVE with his Baby Signing Time Vol. 1 DVD. I need to get volumes 2, 3 and 4!
• Learning various signs - milk, more, mama, dada, grandma, grandpa, diaper, dog, frog... He gets dog and frog mixed up, i.e. looks around for Suki I say "froggy". We're not expecting him to sign back until 7 months or so, but he's watching and taking it all in!
• Reading him at least 1 book a day, sometimes 4-5 (baby cardboard books). Current Favorites: Little Monkeys Jump in the Bath, Goodnight Moon, Are You My Mother, Doggies by Sandra Boynton, & Llama Llama Red Pajama

MOMMY UPDATE - 14 Weeks Post-Partum

• 3-5 lbs left 'til pre-pregnancy weight! Feels like 15 due to redistribution of weight and needing to tone up. :( I want to start running again but my body is still saying, "Yeah, right!" Thinking about the P90X DVDs collecting dust in our closet... but with a 3.5 month old?? Really??? Who has the time for that?????
• Just when you feel like you're returning to some sense of normalcy, 3 mo. pp hits and you really do start losing your hair! My thick, pregnancy locks are everywhere except attached to my head. I swear there is hair all over the house. I'm shedding like one of our pugs! Ha!
• The hair issue reminds me to be more easy on myself. My body is still going through a lot and my hormones are obviously still far from normal. 
• The songs from the Signing Time DVD are always stuck in my head. "It's time to eat, eat, what a treat! Eat, eat, eat!" LOL

I have LOTS of pictures to share from John's birthday yesterday (age 29 and holding?????), so be on the lookout for that post within the next few days when I finish uploading and processing the photos! Here's a teaser - First attempt at a baby-free day at the beach and there may or may not have been a thunderstorm that lasted all day. You just have to laugh on days like that! ;)

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