Signing with Your Baby

 Here is a guest post I did about a month ago on another blog.  I just realized I never re-posted it here.  So if you missed it before, here it is! :)


Thanks Jana for letting me guest post today!  I'm way excited to be here and talking with you all today. :)  My name is Jenna and I blog over at the The Mommy Diaries.  I'm a mom to an adorable little boy, Grayson, who just turned one.  I blog about my crafty adventures, my family, furniture makeovers, and anything else that strikes my fancy. 

I'm  going to share with you guys something that has helped me and my baby communicate even though he can't talk yet- sign language!  Yep.  My hubby and I started signing with him when was about 6-7 months.  We did it just a little bit here and there to start with.  As he got older we did it more and more.  

We started with some basic signs- eat, more, and all done.  Those signs are mostly helpful for meal times.  We would ask Grayson the question while signing at the same time.  "Do you want some more?"  "Are you all done?"  When he got a little older, probably around 9-10 months, we would help him do the signs so he could feel how to do them.  We did this so eventually he would be able to tell us what he wanted even before he could talk.  Each time we signed we also helped him sign the word.  Other signs we've done are- please, milk, cracker, water, juice, mom, dad, and a few others.  

{This video shows him signing "eat"}

 

Around 12 months Grayson started signing on his own.  It is so fun and exciting!  He can do more, all done, please, eat, and a few more.  And he's learning more all the time!  It's such a great feeling to know you can communicate with your baby and know what he wants.  I love it!

{This video shows him signing "eat" (on accident) and "more."}

Something else that has been a big help in teaching Grayson to sign {and us as well!} are the Baby Signing Time dvds.  I found them at a second hand children's clothing store for $10 for the set of 4 dvds.  That was a sweet deal!  I already knew about and had seen parts of the them before because my sister-in-law had some of them and used them with her kids.  So I knew that she really liked them and they had worked for her.  Grayson loves his Baby Signing Time movies and I'm starting to see that he is really learning from them too.  He recently started signing "shoes" and we hadn't done that sign with him before.  He'd only seen it on the movie.  Check out the website for more information.  There is also a video on their main page which show you a clip of one of the dvds.  {I'm not affiliated or anything with them, I just really love the dvds.}

{This video shows me helping him sign "please" and then him doing it on his own right after.}

Honestly though, if you want to teach your baby to sign, you don't need dvds or anything special.  You just need to take the time to learn some signs and then consistently do them with your baby.  Help him/her do them each time you sign.  And eventually they will be able to sign and tell you what they want.  It takes awhile before they start doing them on their own, so be patient.  But it's oh so worth it!  You will have less crying on their part and less frustration on yours because you will be able to communicate and know what your baby wants.  My hubby and I are so happy we've taken the time to teach our baby to sign.  He has just recently started signing back and is doing more and more everyday.  It is so exciting and fun and helpful! 


I'd love for to come visit me at The Mommy Diaries.  And if you have questions or anything about teaching your child to sign, please let me know.  I'd love to answer them and help you out! :)  



**Since I wrote this post, Grayson has learned tons more signs and is doing so well using them to tell us what he wants.  It's so fun and we love it!**