Bilingual Baby

It must be really frustrating to not be able to just open up your mouth and say what you want to say, and I feel pretty bad when it's clear that Mason wants something and I can't understand what it is. Usually, I'm good at guessing, but sometimes I just don't know what he wants or what's bothering him when he grunts and squeaks at me. Of course, I don't want to see him frustrated, ever. I want to be able to know what he needs and make it happen for him. My solution? Baby sign language.

American Sign Language has been around forever; it's the third most used language in the United States. It's actually natural for babies to use some form of signing as their first way of communicating, whether it's putting their arms up when they want to be picked up or waving goodbye. I've been reading about teaching ASL to babies and am totally getting caught up in all the positive things it could do for Mason. The whole thing sounds crazy at first, but I really think it'd be great for him to learn. He won't be able to talk for awhile, and one of the most important bonds between two people is the ability to communicate, so it would strengthen our mama-baby bond. Proponents of teaching ASL to babies say that those who are able to sign tend to have higher IQs, pick up on literacy skills earlier, and develop more extensive vocabularies. It leads to a sense of accomplishment and a happier, less frustrated baby. Sounds good to me!

So today I made a list of ten words I'd like to eventually teach Mason: Mommy, Daddy, book, full, hungry, milk, hug, hurt, more, and tired. Mason's a smart kid, I know he'll be able to catch on. My goal is to teach him three signs by the time he's nine months old. The best part is, I don't know sign language, so we're learning something together.

I figured I'd start with milk, since that's what he wants most of the time anyway, so all day today, I did the sign for milk over and over before I fed him. The sign for milk is just a squeezing motion like you're milking a cow with one hand. After I did it, I tried to open and close his little fist so he'd get the idea. He just stared at me, grabbed my hand, and tried to chew my fingers off.

This might take awhile.