Baby Signing

     Way back before I decided that I wanted to be a nurse, I seriously considered a career in sign language interpreting. My first experience with American Sign Language (ASL) goes way back to junior high, when a teacher at my school started a lunch hour ASL club, where she taught us basic sign language. I was hooked right away. I bought myself an ASL dictionary and taught myself more signs, but never really got to use them since I didn't know any Deaf people.

     Fast forward several years - I was out of high school, taking a year off to work and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I was still interested in possibly pursuing a career in interpreting, so I found an evening ASL class and joined. This was a much more serious class and was my first time being "immersed" in ASL - the teachers were all Deaf - ASL or writing on the board was their only way to communicate. I learned quickly and my love for the language grew. I took ASL classes for 2 years and got to know several members of the Deaf community outside of class, so had plenty of opportunity to practice. Unfortunately, life circumstances changed and I could no longer continue those classes. Sadly, my connections to the Deaf community also ended when I moved to a new city and it's now been a few years since I've had any real practice.

     However, having a baby has renewed my interest and passion for ASL. This time, I'm the teacher! I know a lot of parents use ASL or some form of signing with their babies, and find it to be a very effective method of communicating with their little ones before they're capable of speech. It was a no-brainer for me to hop on board the baby signing bandwagon. I already knew all the signs I would need to teach Tessa early on and still have my books handy for when she gets a little more advanced. I can't wait until her little hands start talking!!

If you're interested in teaching your baby some basic signs, I recommend the following resources to get you started:

• Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk (Linda Acredolo, Susan Goodwyn, Doug Abrams)
• Signing Time DVD series (or check out their YouTube videos)
• A baby sign language class
• An ASL dictionary (if you want to learn more!) (There are also lots of free online ASL dictionaries)

A few tips:

• Start anytime - I started signing with Tessa almost right away, but a lot of people wait until around 4-6 months to start
• Don't get discouraged if baby isn't signing back - babies need lots of repetition to learn, and most babies won't start signing back until 9-12 months, although some start earlier.
• Be consistent - use the signs over and over, and say the word as you sign it.
• Signing does NOT delay speech - in fact, some research shows the opposite (see here)

Basic signs to start with:

• Eat
• Milk
• Sleep
• Mom
• Dad
• Finished/All done
• Anything else that will be helpful to you and your baby

    
     Have you taught your baby sign language? What was your experience like? Any other tips or tricks? Please share in the comments below and happy signing!

Monday Inspiration - Awake My Soul

     I was out doing errands this morning, and the song "Awake My Soul" by Shaun Groves came on. It felt like the perfect inspiration to head into a new week. I want this to be my theme for the day and the week - to be fully awake, ready to take in each moment that comes. And most importantly, to be thankful for it all.

  "Awake my soul and live each moment. 

  Awake my soul give thanks and hold it dear now. 

  God is here now. 

  Awake my soul."

-Shaun Groves

Take a few minutes and listen ("Awake My Soul"). I hope this song encourages and challenges you today and all week.

Many blessings,

Embracing my Mommy-Shape

     This letter to Kate Middleton was all over my Facebook feed for a couple days last week. It was posted and shared by many of my mom friends who obviously loved it as much as I did. If you haven't seen it yet click the link above and go read it - it's well worth your time.

     It's no secret that women of all sizes and shapes struggle with having a healthy body image. There's always someone who looks better, is thinner, has nicer clothes or hair or whatever. We're constantly comparing ourselves to everyone else and finding that we usually come up short. What's astonishing to me is that this dislike of our bodies continues through pregnancy and beyond. I've had conversations with other new moms about how we need to lose the baby weight and firm up the mommy-tummy. We look at ourselves in the mirror and all we see are stretch marks and saggy, soft bellies.

40 weeks pregnant, 5 days before Tessa arrived

    
     I can remember those first awkward weeks after giving birth where absolutely nothing in my closet fit - my maternity stuff was too big and my non-maternity stuff was too small or just didn't fit my new shape properly. There was no point going shopping for new clothes because I knew my body was in an adjustment period and I had no idea how long it would take for things to stabilize. I complained about how I looked, forgetting that my body had been stretched and reshaped over 9 months to accomodate a new life and had just performed its most amazing and miraculous feat to date. If ever there was a time to give myself a break, this was it.

     So I did. Slowly, I got used to my new shape, and now, for the first time in a VERY long time, I can honestly say that I'm ok with my body (other than those pesky stretch marks!). I don't love it, but I'm happy with it and so thankful for it when I remind myself that it gave us our beautiful, healthy daughter.

      Some of us may get back to our exact pre-pregnancy shape and size, others will not. Either way our bodies will be different in some way and I think it's time to embrace these new bodies. Bodies that have miraculously carried and nurtured life, endured hours (maybe days) of labor, delivered beautiful babies into the world, and are now nourishing, comforting, protecting, teaching, and loving our children. There is nothing more beautiful than that.