Signing with Penelope

On Saturday, I had a major communication breakthrough with Penelope. Awhile ago, Katie and I decided that we would try to introduce sign language as a bridge to talking. (For one, we heard that it can make potty training easier and also reduce some of the tantrums of the "terrible twos" that may be due to frustration at not being able to communicate, but mostly it just seemed cool.) We bought this book, which was mostly dumb and filled with tons of fluff and stupid stories of how amazing baby signing is. But, it wasn't a complete waste of money, because it at least had some basic signs (including "baby friendly" versions), suggestions about which signs to start with, and when to start. The book said most babies can pick it up starting at 9 months, but that you can start at 6 months. They didn't recommend starting before that because of the likelihood that the parent would get frustrated at the baby's lack of progress. However, I took the approach that if I didn't start practicing, I would never learn the signs. So, starting around 3 months, I would try to use signs whenever I could remember to, mostly just so that I could learn them for myself. Since new languages are not my thing, I started with just 3 signs: diaper, more, and eat (I like eat, because it is super intuitive). Although "diaper" was very easy, I usually forgot to use it because the last thing I'm thinking of when Penelope needs a diaper change is to use the sign. But anyway, I digress.

When we introduced solid foods to Penelope, Katie and I made a concerted effort to always use the sign for "eat" before we gave her the food, and then to use the sign for "more" if we got up to get her more (she takes after her father in the eating department, so she got the more sign a lot). Luckily, when we introduced solid foods, Penelope was also starting to do better at focusing on people when they talk. I noticed that when I made the sign for eat (putting my hand to my mouth), she would look at my eyes as I spoke and then look at my hand/mouth as I made the "eat" sign. (Note: the sign does not replace talking, it just gives them another clue so that they can learn the sign and the word and use which ever they want). So this went on for a few weeks, then we had our "GI trouble," and then we started solids again. We continued with the signs, and also introduced "all done" at the end of the meal.

Well, yesterday, I was with Penelope and she was ready to eat. She was pretty hungry and unhappy, which usually does not bode well for solid foods. However, when I put her in her high chair, she calmed down quickly (another first, usually she hates getting strapped in). It seemed like she knew what was coming. Then, I made the sign for "eat" and she looked at it and got a huge grin on her face. She seemed to understand what I was telling her! It was really cool.

We also had our most civilized eating experience yet. I would load up the spoon and hold it in front of her. Then Penelope would open her mouth, grab the spoon, and put it in (I would provide "spoon guidance" to avoid making a huge mess and improve accuracy). She would slurp/chew/lick the food, then when I would remove the spoon and she would let go (before she would try to hold on, but now she seemed to know it would get more food and be back). Then, while I had the spoon, Penelope would look around quietly until I got the spoon ready, and we would repeat the cycle. It also helped that we were eating sweet potatoes, which seem to be a huge hit.

Later on Saturday, Penelope got a second serving of solid food (rice cereal this time). Again, when we made the eat sign, Penelope gave us a huge smile, and it really seemed to be in response to the sign. Hopefully, this is the beginning of our being able to actually communicate with her. However, it will be a one-sided conversation for a while, as I don't think Penelope has the ability to make the signs herself yet. Still, I'm pretty excited about this new level of baby interaction.