Hellobee

"Sign language for babies. Awesome idea or just the latest unnecessary and crazy baby trend? I didn’t know either. I have a few friends who have done some sign language with their babies, but I didn’t really know much about it and I wasn’t convinced it was something that was worth adding to my already long must-remember-to-do-with-baby list."

"Using American Sign Language (ASL) with your infant and toddler is something anyone can do, and it can greatly help aid in communication between parent and child. ... I am loving it with baby Squiggles and though he’s only 9 months old and can only do one sign, I am excited that we are already bridging the gap in communication between us."

"I’d heard a lot about baby sign language and how great it’s supposed to be, but I will be very, very honest here: I thought it was a very “cute” thing for babies to do, but not a very practical form of communication. I also thought it would be impossible to teach."

"Baby sign language utilizes modified gestures from American Sign Language. I was keenly interested in learning some signs because I had heard how beneficial it was in communicating with babies."

"Introducing sign language at 6 months coincides nicely with the introduction of solids. Here are my top 9 signs for starting solids."

"Babies thrive on routine, and a consistent bedtime routine is something that many parents introduce early on. A bedtime ritual doesn’t seem to prepare my vampire baby for drifting off to sleep, but at least it gives me something consistent to sign."

"Songs are a great medium with which to incorporate signing, and the combination of words, music and hand motions promote memory retention."

"I made a sad attempt to source out the words for different foods (why oh why doesn’t mango have a sign?), but I figured meat, fruit, vegetable, and oatmeal were a good place to start."

"This week’s post is a continuation of the Old Macdonald post with a rehash of some of the farm animals, and some new ones too. These go with a sweet little nursery rhyme from one of my childhood books, My Favorite Nursery Rhymes, circa 1960."