Baby Talk: {Using ASL to communicate with your child}

While pregnant I did a great deal of research on baby development.  I came across a few interesting websites that showed how to teach sign language to babies.  I learned that sign language is a great way to provide a means of communication to children who may not yet have the ability to speak (usually referred to as a pre-verbal baby).  A lot of frustration occurs between parent and child because although the child may know what (s)he wants, (s)he may not be able to communicate.  There's no way to "get through" to the adult!  There's a lot of pointing and guessing and trial and error.

A great explanation comes from a website I found to be very helpful, My Smart Hands:

Another advantage is that signing babies tend to have high self-esteems as a result of being secure in their environments. If a child can easily communicate their needs to you then they are going to feel a sense of security. They want something, they can tell you what they want, and you can quickly and easily fulfill his/her needs. If a baby has no way to communicate their wants to you then it will take you longer to figure out what he/she wants which may make everyone a little frustrated in the meantime.There are also the educational advantages that signing brings to a child as they get a little older. Signing babies tend to have larger vocabularies once they start talking because they’ve been able to use more advanced language and are often asked more elaborate questions because their comprehension is clear to the parent.

How We Got Started

We started with a basic sign when Phillip was about 5 months old: "milk".  (Open and close one hand as if you're milking a cow.  Great image, I know). I would show him the sign before, during, and after nursing him, while also saying "milk".  We would also say the word and show him the sign when he would get a bottle.  Eventually he picked it up and would sign "milk" when he was hungry or when he saw me. 

Yes, my name was "Milk" for a good 5 months after he learned how to sign.  Go figure.

Using the same process of showing the sign/speaking the word, we taught him the signs for "water", "please", "more", "eat", and "banana".  Although he didn't really start to use these signs on his own until about 12 months, he could sign them with no problem when prompted.  I'd ask if he'd like a cup of water and he'd sign "water".  I would also remind him to ask nicely and he'd sign "please" (never too early to learn manners in my opinion).

One day he was signing for a banana that he saw on the counter.  He was very excited and so desperate to get his favorite treat! All of a sudden he started to sign "eat" and then put together the signs for "more, please".  It was a very exciting moment for us, to see our persistence paying off! 

At barely a year, he was able to communicate to us that he'd like to "eat more banana, please".   

It was amazing!

Won't Sign Language Deter Him From Speaking?

Nope.  If anything, it helps to build his vocabulary.  

From My Smart Hands:

The answer to this is 100% no! There have been zero studies that have shown signing to hinder language. In fact, all of the studies on signing with children show that signing accelerates language in many cases. People confuse speech and language. A child who signs is using language, more language in fact than a non-signing child. Speech is the ability to form sounds to produce the language. Some children don’t develop the ability to speak until much later than other children. The reality is babies want to talk, they babble all the time. When they are able to talk, they will. It is not easier to sign than talk. It is much easier for a child to talk. However, when you don’t have that ability then signing is easier and a great bridge until speech does develop.

The Payoff

We are so glad we chose to teach him how to sign.  Meal times are not stressful at all because he knows how to ask for water or for his favorite foods. Within the past week, he's also learned how to sign his favorite toy, "ball" (touch your fingertips together like you're holding a ball).

For what it's worth, we have no real prior experience with sign language.  All the signs we've learned have been through the American Sign Language dictionaries available throughout the internet and on iPad apps.  We simply picked a few, practiced and memorized them, and then consistently used them when the word would come up during the day.  Our sitter doesn't use sign language with Phillip yet he is still able to communicate with us when he is home =)

Thinking About Teaching Your Little One To Sign?

The biggest tips I can give are: 

1) Be Consistent- your baby may take a few months before they'll be able to sign back to you.  Don't get discouraged.  Once Phillip picked up his first couple of signs, he's been able to pick up new signs even faster. 

2) Learn as many signs as you can.  At first it's helpful to start with one or two signs but the trouble we came across was that we were running out of signs to teach him! We had to learn other signs rather quickly. I'm so thankful for technology so that we could look signs up with ease.

3) Be consistent.

4) Give lots of praise! When Phillip signs, I always tell him, "Great job!" and 99.99% of the time give him what he asks for.  Granted, he really only asks for more water and bananas so I'm not indulging him much, but I want to encourage him to keep signing!  It especially warms my heart when he adds "please" to his signs- such a sweet boy =)

5) Did I mention be consistent? It's important!

Here's a short clip of him signing during dinner time.  We're learning new signs every day to keep up with him!

Mommy Confessions

One of the biggest lessons I've learned during this new journey into the Mother Hood is that whatever I planned, it's not going to happen.  OK, to be fair- most plans work out alright.  But I'm a huge planner and an only child so when things don't go my way, I get cranky.

I guess it first started during my pregnancy.  I was all set on having an intervention free birth but was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and a few interventions were now medically necessary. 

But the day I was diagnosed?  

I cried. 

I cried hard.  

At work.  And on the way home.  

And then flung my pregnant belly on the couch (as delicately as I could for safety but still dramatically for effect) and cried some more.  

I failed as a mom and I haven't even really begun!

Or the when we stopped breast feeding and I gave my son formula (gasp!) even though I vowed to breast feed til 12+ months.

I've always been hard on myself but once I became a mom (hormones, maybe?) I've seemed to turn it up a notch or two.

In my mind I was set to be a certain type of mother- the kind that is always patient, loving, compassionate, smart, and well-liked by her children.  

I would work joyously and tiredlessly after working 40+ hours a week to create a loving and cozy home for my husband and baby(ies).

So how's that working out for yah?

Obviously that was an ideal and very unrealistic expectation for me.  While I try to be kind and patient and loving and compassionate there are some days (OK, a lot of days) where I just flip my lid and lose my sanity.

Here are some of my latest confessions:

• When Phillip wakes up at 6am on the weekends (hey, that's sleeping in for us!) sometimes I go back to his crib and pretend it's the middle of the night.  I tuck him back in, rub his back, and tell him, "moe, moe pepe" (loosely translated- "night, night baby").

• When Carl is at his men's ministry on Saturday mornings or helping to set up for service on Sunday mornings, I'll put on Yo Gabba Gabba, Thomas the Train, Curious George, and whatever else holds Phillip's attention for more than 30 seconds so that I can get ready for the day.  (OK, who am I kidding.  So I can lie down on the couch in peace.)

• I Give him WAY to many cheerios.  WAY too many.  And in the car so he's distracted long enough so that we can enjoy the radio and avoid a melt-down.

• I pretend we're all out of bananas as he asks for his 3rd one that day.  The plus side?  He picks up new signs ever day but "banana" is still his favorite sign! He'll even sign "more please".

• Turn the switches off of his noisy toys and pretend I don't know what happened.  Phillip then walks up to me and says, "Uh-oh!" in the cutest voice ever.  I mimic him and just sympathize with a "I don't know what happened" face and a big hug.  (Why does every single toy he loves have to play music??)

I've learned to release the reigns and little and not set the bar so high.  Instead of focusing on how things should be, I focus on loving the baby in front of me and cutting myself some slack.  

And I think we're all a little bit better off now.

Luke 12:31

Today I'm doubling down again with my girl Jenn from Jenn's Adventures for Speechless Sundays and Morgan at "quite" the blog for Saturday Morning Blog Hop (Yes, it's Sunday... i know...)

Speechless Sundays are for those things that leave us inspired, encouraged, and yes- speechless.  While the post itself may be speechless, it is not a requirement =)

I would like to shed some light on what my family and I have been going through and why I chose to go on a social media fast.

(confession: I did not fast.  I browsed blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest the entire time.  However, my time was significantly less than normal and my participation through comments and tweets was minimal.  At least in my opinion. -whoops!).

A lot of times I feel obligated to participate in social media.  I feel like if I don't, I'll be left behind and won't ever be able to catch up with everyone on current events, celeb happenings, trends, etc...  

Once I gave myself permission to be an observer and not a participant, I felt relieved and eventually renewed.

As a Christian, fasting for me means to sacrifice something I enjoy so that the void could be filled with God.  When the fast involves food, it usually means I rely on God and prayer to overcome discomfort and cravings.  

The purpose of this fast was to spend less time on social media and more time in prayer and Bible readings with my family.

My son has been sick for the past 6 months. Since July he has had 7 ear infections.

Seven.

As soon as we'd finish his round of antibiotics, he'd be good for about a week to 10 days.  

Then BAM.  More cold symptoms and overnight- an ear infection.

As a mom I often pray I could take on my son's suffering.  I am willing to take on his ear infections so that he won't have to suffer.

I prayed to God to bring healing to Phillip so that he may know what it's like to just be healthy and thrive.  

That is when God asked me to fast from blogging.  And social media.  

Over the past 2 weeks, I learned how to focus my time more on God and my family.  

While I didn't accomplish all I wanted to with the fast (social media is so darn tempting) I realized that it's not as great of a necessity as I thought it was.  

I also learned that I try to do to much and that I needed to slow down and focus on what's really important to me. 

For that reason, Carl and I decided to scrap all our New Year's resolutions (shocking, right?) and focus instead of building our relationship with Christ.

Our 2013 goals are still to join a ministry and a small group, as well as complete our devotions.  But all the other goals have been released.  

We know that by focusing on our relationship with Christ and each other, everything else will fall into place.  

Instead of focusing on our budget and fitness goals, we will be sure to spend our money wisely and to treat our bodies with respect.  

We won't get wrapped up in how many pounds we lose or how much money we save.  Yes, those things are important to us, but not top priority right now.

Our top priority is to strengthen our walk with Christ.

Ironically, since we've made that decision, we've been tested like no other.  One of our cars broke down, we've been confrontational with others, and our bills are piling up.  

Not the best way to start us off, huh?

But I know that as long as we stay focused on our #1 priority, the details in everything else will disappear.  

Prayer and Fasting

I had a really long detailed post trying to explain this but I can't find the right words.

And maybe that's OK.

I won't be around much in January for personal reasons.

I do plan, however, to continue to journal my thoughts and later compose them into posts but for now, I have to step back.

To be honest, I'm really disappointed since I've just gotten back into the swing of things with this blog.  But I feel this is something that God has really pressed on my heart.

As always, like all my other hiatuses, I'll be available via email.

Twitter and Facebook will be awfully quiet, though.

 I also won't be able to read and catch up with all your lovely blogs during this time.

This is a time of reflection and prayer for me and my family.

If you are the praying type, please say one or two for us.

Thank you for your patience with me during this time.  It's frustrating for me to have to do this but it's for the best and it's just for now, not forever.

Aloha-

Dumbing Down

A few weeks ago I did something most would think of as blasphemous.

How heinous could it be?

Welp, I gave up my smartphone- my Android.

I've had that thing for over 2 years.

We had some great memories, me and that phone.

It was there for me when I started running.  So I could take wonderful pictures and share with you all.  All while listening to my music at the same time.

It was there to help me take photos on the spot to share via Twitter and to post here on my blog for all my lovely readers.

It was there when we found out we were having our first baby.  It documented our journey of the growing belly.

And it was there for my son's first year of life.  Capturing all the joy and cuteness one smartphone can handle.

But the time had come for us to go our separate ways.

I don't remember when, sometime early in 2012 I believe, the sensor in the middle of my screen stopped working.  So I could scroll through screens using the right or left side.  But the middle? Nope, not a chance.

The worst part?  I couldn't hang up my phone! The END "button" is in the middle of the screen! I would have to turn off my phone in order to hang it up.  CRAZY.

But I loved that phone.

Maybe a little too much.

I found myself aimlessly scrolling through FB, Pinterest, Twitter, email, and whatever else I could find at any spare moment- in the car (dangerous, I know!), on the couch, at work, in restaurants.

There came a time when I knew it was getting out of hand.  I made a conscious effort to put down my phone while in the company of loved ones.  I began to find it annoying when others didn't do the same.  Not to me, but I would seen entire families at restaurants all staring at their screens.

So I decided enough was enough.  I was getting rid of it.  We have a computer at home where I can access all my social media platforms.  While I do love you all, I don't need to be connected all day every day to family and friends so far away.

What I need to do is be connected to those who are with me, at that moment.

And another perk?  We're saving money (hello financial resolution)!

Not as much as we'd like, since we got our unlimited data plan over 2 years ago, and prices/packages have changed since then.  But still, a dollar saved is a dollar saved.  Or something like that.

Either way, it's a good thing.  A win-win.

I'm less distracted and more focused on living in the now.  And I saved some cash.

Now please excuse me while I figure out how to use the buttons on my dumb basic phone (apparently phone reps don't like it when you call their phones dumb).