Reminding myself that COMPREHENSION of signs is communication too!

Yesterday baby Owen took his first step, he seemed to forget I had let go of him, then collapsed. That is how it starts right? Much the same way goes signing with your baby! The common phrase "baby steps" afterall is named this for a reason. As smart as Owen is and as laid back a baby he has proven to be, he is not taking to signing in the same manner as his older siblings. This is not a disappointment (except I'd love to have some pictures of tons of signing to share) I remind myself because I am confident in meeting his needs when he appears to be unhappy. Of course at 10 months old many a momma will tell you their baby doesn't need a sign for MILK, they simply nuzzle mom's breast! Owen is doing just that and the exception came a few weeks ago when I was laying down on the couch suffering from mastitis (of all things!) and Owen cruised along the couch and looked at me loudly grunting with the very purposeful clenching of fist for MILK. Sure enough he was hungry! Babies will use signs when they find them most useful. This was a wonderful display of a baby being in tune with his mama, knowing she might not otherwise respond unless the need was clear, and that it was!
I've documented (mentally) 4 specific signs Owen has used, MILK, MUSIC, ALL DONE, and POTTY. This seems like a teeny tiny vocabulary when looking back at the other two's larger signing vocabulary at this approximate age (10 months) but he understands about 4 times more signs which actually provides us with great opportunity to fulfill his needs/wants. I can sign WATER and know from his reaction it is what he wants very easily rather than guessing. We tend to think of communication as being the ability to convey something, however the comprehension or listening is a big deal in the communication equation. Even for someone who has done it twice before I still have the natural tendancy to want my baby to pick up the pace and use what I'm showing him... "all in good time" meaning when it is relevant to your baby, they will demonstrate the signs.

Something else I'm pretty excited about is reaching 100 fans on FACEBOOK! However in my attempt to send a thank you message to those 100 fans FB send me a spamming warning. My apologies if you have yet to receive your message, I appreciate each and every fan! As Sign4Baby continues to grow, more babies are growing happy in being understood.

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Cheers and Happy Signing!

Baby Einstein's "My First Signs" DVD

Owen is starting to actually enjoy watching a video from time to time now. Previously he just enjoyed the company of his sister and brother in the playroom while they watched their favorite program. We borrowed My First Signs by Baby Einstein from our good friend Jessica (sorry Jessica we have had it so long!) and while Kyle napped and Amberly was off with Dad doing big girl stuff, Owen and I watched the video together. It was really neat to have him turn his head back to look at me as I said and signed the words after they appeared on the television screen. Babies have the most amazing expressions of new understanding and letting you know it is "clicking" in their little mind. All of my kids have been big fans of the Baby Einstein dvd series and I'm really sad about the frivilous threat of lawsuit that had Disney offer the money back. Curious about details on this, simply check their website www.babyeinstein.com and find out all about it on their homepage. Some of the signs I demonstrate with Owen when we're doing this activity are MOVIE or CATERPILLAR. We are big fans of interacting with the kids while a program is on, and though not always feasible, it can be turned into a learning opportunity!

Music to my Ears... or Eyes!

Music is one of the first signs Kyle demonstrated and Owen chose to make it his second sign today! Okay, yesterday, since it is now past midnight. At the completion of class at Bears, Buddies & Toys, Jade and her mommy wanted to hear the "Brand New Day" song from the Pick Me Up album since they came into class a bit late. I had Owen in arms and was talking about liking that music when Owen picked up on what I was about to do, he didn't just flap his arms in excitement as I've seen him do when the music is ON, but moved his hand side to side after I demonstrated MUSIC for Jade! Yay! I will never tire of "catching" these first signs of babies. It is enlightening to see what they value, how they interact differently when they have words, and the constant lightbulb moments stored in your memory. Owen has been smart enough to have other people around to witness these little signing milestones, showing off for mommy in class is a good thing Boo-boos!

Here's a link to listen to a sample of the song "Brand New Day" - we use many of the songs from this ASL CD in our Sign, Play & Learn playgroup style classes.

There are 20 unique songs with illustrations to over 200 signs. A great tool to help you in your signing journey and available through my website.

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

For a good while Owen would exclaim his excitement by patting his hands on his legs. I'd show him from time to time how I'd clap my hands and draw out the experience, while he looked at me curiously. The other day I notice as I handed him another snack that he transferred a food from one hand to the other in order to better reach was I was giving him.... then yesterday he began clapping! Yay! We were about to see the pediatrician and were in the waiting room of all places. I love when your baby acheives a new milestone right before the doctor's eyes. Somehow it is as if they want to show off and say "Look what I can do!" He clapped a bunch for us all day yesterday. Today Amberly is trying to engage him in a clapping game, she solely wants to see him clap and he is onto her, it in not genuine clapping that she is presenting so he is holding out. Darn SMART little babies! Just another indicator that Owen will begin his signing explosion soon. Did your child have one particular sign they did that was a catalyst for signing to takeoff? I'd love to hear abou it. Go to the Sign4Baby fan page on Facebook and leave a message on the wall! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Sign4Baby/119900714676?ref=ts

Key milestones related to baby getting ready to sign

For the past week or so I've been saying that Owen is getting ready to begin his signing journey. He has just begun to reach his arms up to be picked up and will hand an item to me with curiousness written all over his face, as if to ask "what is this?" He reaches in to give me a kiss on the mouth very purposefully, by the way I can't get enough of those wet baby kisses! And he looks at me and almost expects me to sign whenever I have a glass of water in hand while I'm holding him and he eagerly wants a sip, or if he happens to spy some apple slices on the counter. WATER and APPLE are two of his favorites that I've shown him lately. I constantly say that Owen is a very easy, happy baby, but even with the happiest of babies they all have upsets at some point. Owen does not enjoy long car rides or being stopped at a red light (what baby does right?) And he gives me that incessant baby whimper that is not really a cry, but the sound to just let me know he is bothered. Today I used this as a great signing opportunity as I distracted him with Gerber veggie sticks to keep him happy and signed EAT. I could see the newfound receptive look to this sign finally!

Kids say the cutest things.... the other day Amberly wanted help looking for something, she said "Mom, peel your eyes."

Early communication creates great memories

It is said that once a child has language they can recall memories. Amberly prooved this to me time and time again but my favorite story is when she was cared for by my dear friend overnight when I went into labor with Kyle. I'd spent a couple weeks preparing Amberly for her first time being away from mommy overnight. She did really well and that is in large part to the great care she received from my friend and being able to spend time with her best friend, Téa. At times I would ask Amberly if she remembered when she spent the night at Téa's house and she would recount for me some of the things they did. She'd had a bath and slept in the downstairs room and she woke up before Téa and sat in her friend's highchair for breakfast. Some of these details I knew firsthand, some of the other details were her own recollection of the event. I was surprised at how much she could fill in the gaps being that she was only 17 months old when baby Kyle was born and she has recounted some things to me about this event as much as 2 years later! True, the event was her identifying with the birth of her baby brother and that plays a part in her ability to recall so much. However her vocabulary was enormous and primarily she signed when I did not get her verbal words. Having language very early (sign language) has given us both precious moments of lifelong memories.


Here is a little deal I posted on Craigslist today, don't miss out!

Wouldn't you LOVE it if your baby could initiate conversation with you? Of course! At just 10 months old, my babies could convey a complete message like "Mama, hear airplane outside!" and "Eat cracker". I have so many heartwarming interacive memories of signing with my children before they could speak. The signs always came in handy at the most unexpected times too, like when my son was really ill and signed NAP to me because I was busy keeping his sister entertained and forgot that a sick baby tends to need more naps, not more jostling around to settle his fussiness. You can have this experience with your baby as well. Sign4Baby has been teaching Sign, Play & Learn classes coupled with the principles of Attachment Parenting and providing great parenting tips from experience as a mother of 3, plethora of knowledge passed on by my Doula, and several semesters of psychology and child development classes. The NapTime special is this: Take advantage of a 2 for 1 special by inviting your mommy friend with her baby to join you and your baby in a Sign, Play & Learn class. Simple mention 2 for 1 in your registration and your friend can complete the enrollment sheet on the first day of class. Regualr price is $100, but you'll be able to split that with your friend and both gain tools and information hard to put a price on after you begin building your own stories of priceless communication with your little one. Register at www.sign4baby.com today! This offer only good through Sept 30th Want to read more stories about babies who sign and what their parents expressed? Follow this link http://www.sign4baby.com/success.asp

Keeping my Family in San Diego

The Subject Line of the email may have caught your attention and caused you to want to know what it was about.

San Diego is the ideal place to me to raise my family. I have discovered what I love to do; helping families transform crying situations into eye opening communication.

However, I cannot sustain a business only for the sake of changing the baby-parent interaction. After two years (with a down economy) of telling my husband that I can pull off the Work At Home Mom situation, a deadline approaches our family in making some decisions.

I need to have 8 clients enroll in classes by September 30th. One of the popular locations for my classes is Java Mama and their location is shutting down while transitioning to a new spot. While I'm excited about the new place offering more and being bigger, this leaves my marketing window even smaller.

If you have been considering taking a Sign, Play & Learn class, ever wanted to know if my programs were a good fit, have an old coupon you want to redeem, this is the time to do it! There are still a lot of options on the calendar, even with the temporary delay of starting again at Java Mama.

Interested in hosting a class with your playgroup? I'd love to arrange something with you. Email me at info@sign4baby.com.