Communication!

Baby signing is a bit controversial. Some say that it slows speech development, others say it does just the opposite. Some advocate using only true American Sign Language (ASL) signs, others say go with either what makes sense or what your baby does naturally. In my professional experience, it seems that most families do some sort of signing whether they intend to or not. Well before a toddler says "dink," "milk" or (more likely) "juice", they tend to lead their parents around and signal their desire with a point and grunt. I have also noticed that the children who can communicate earlier with their parents, by way of either speech or signs, tend to have better behavior. I attribute this to the fact that a good deal of toddler outbursts stem from frustration. If they can communicate their wants and needs at least those issues are less frustrating.

Despite how this post might sound, I really didn't give signing a lot of thought. I knew a bit of ASL as a teenager, and, when I saw a friend of mine sign with her baby, I thought, "oh yeah, probably a good idea to start that." DH and I talked briefly about it and, after I assured him we were only talking about a dozen or so signs, he was on board. So, for a couple of months now, I have been signing a few things to LO. So far I show him signs for "milk," "more," and "finished" when eating, the sign for "help" when appropriate, and I've started trying "eat" and "drink." Of course we've also started working on waving "hi" and "bye," but I didn't really think of those as signs. Notice I mentioned that I'm showing him the signs. Things have been pretty one-sided. At this point "more" looks more like him banging the high chair tray and crying when I stop feeding him. "Finished" looks more like him being distracted by something else. I have wondered if I should just roll with those, or stick with my signs. If you know me, you already know that I'm still trying the signs...I just don't give up that easily!

Anyway, for the last several days, LO has started making some movement with his right hand. I wanted to give him positive feedback for that, but I couldn't tell what "sign" (if any) it might have been. I didn't realize how similar the signs for "milk," "more" and waving might appear to him until he started doing something that looked like all three. He would hold his right little hand with its palm out, then flex his last three fingers, then rotate a little at the wrist. Sometimes he added an open and close of his first two fingers. (Are you trying it yourself?) What...is...that?

So here's what this post is really supposed to be about. Today we had a breakthrough! As my sweet baby boy sat in his car seat, we caught each others eyes in our mirrors. Suddenly that tiny hand popped up and, clear as day, waved to me!!!!! I excitedly waved back and cheered for him. Curious to know if he meant to say "hi to mamma," I initiated a wave on our way home. He smiled and waved right back. I don't think I can find the words right now to express just how sweet and exciting it was for me. This was the first time I could be sure that my pumpkin was communicating to me and I to him. Sure, nothing beats those kisses I sometimes get, but I attribute more meaning to them than he can know. Today, though, he wanted to say hi to me and he did. His little eyes lit up when I waved back. In just a few seconds, his little hand reach out and touched my heart.