Baby Signing Time!

Before I became pregnant, I was clued in to the fact that sign language can be very helpful in allowing babies to communicate their needs. After becoming pregnant, I checked out a couple of books about it and determined that this would be a great thing for our baby. They say it cuts down on temper tantrums, etc because a baby can communicate without verbal words (and it actually helps them develop their vocabulary). We started with the sign for milk. What a great sign! We could really tell when JJ started connecting the sign with getting milk (at about 4 or 5 months). He'd start making noises like he was hungry and we would sign milk. Instead of continuing to escalate to crying as he would before, he started to calm down. Don't get me wrong, he still wanted his need met IMMEDIATELY but at least he knew it was coming. Now, if he wants milk, he tells us by signing it. The tittle of this post is the same name as a video that has been wonderful. JJ may like to sit and watch Curious George, but nothing has held his attention like Baby Signing Time! He loves watching the video with the babies and the songs! He even signs along with the other babies! He got mad a tme the other day when he realized the movie I had put in for his dad and I to watch was not Baby Signing Time! Anyway, he has learned "milk", "more" (very helpful!), "eat", and he does a personalized version of "water"/"drink" (they are different, but his version looks exactly the same) and of "cereal". He also does the sign for "baby" when he watches the video. He understands signs for "cat", "dog" (and does it with a little bit of a reminder on how to do it) and "fish". I was inspired to write this because yesterday was the first day that he did the sign for "cereal". He watched me wiggle my finger across my chin and held out his hand in front of him, pointed sideways and wiggled his finger. That'll work! I'm sure more will come as his motor skills improve. A friend told me it seems that babies are either movers or talkers. JJ is definately a mover! So, this has worked out quite well for us!