••Super Sign Language••

I cant tell you how happy I am that I taught Harper sign language. It has been such an amazing tool in her learning and growing. Having those communication skills start early, before she can talk has been wonderful! 

I took sign language for 2 years in high school and one year in college, though I don't remember  a lot of what I learned then, I always knew that when I had kids I wanted to start ASL with them. One of my good friends had kids a few years before me and she did sign with her babies, so I was even more encouraged watching them and determined to do it with mine. 

Harper started solid foods at five and a half months and that is when I introduced her first sign, "all done". I did it at the end of every meal. At first when I would do it, I kept thinking, this kid has absolutely NO idea what I am doing. But finally around 7/7.5 months old she started copying me. It was just with one hand, rather than two but I was encouraged that she was finally catching on. Soon after that I introduced the sign for "more". We stuck with those two signs until she got them down and then I taught her the sign for "food" and "water". These four signs are things she uses all the time. It is awesome to have her be able to tell me if she is hungry or thirsty, rather than just having to cry to let me know. Once she got the essential signs down and I could tell she really liked learning them, I started teaching her more signs for fun and educational purposes. We did animals and some objects. It is so cool to see that she enjoys learning, and there is no better time to start! 

We have had an amazing experience with sign language and I would strongly encourage other moms to teach their kids! There are awesome apps that teach you basic signs for your children if you don't already know ASL. It makes communication with your baby start so much earlier and they get those brain muscles working early. Try it out, you won't be sorry!