Baby Sign Language

May 18, 2012 1:00 pmLeave a Comment

When I first started my job 7 years ago, I had a co-worker that was learning sign language. I’d always thought it would be neat to know sign language but never learned how. I then found out that she was learning in order to communicate with her 6 month old grandson. I found that very interesting and researched baby sign language.  One day she brought her grandson to work with her and showed us how he would sign “milk” for a bottle, “dirty” if he had a dirty diaper, and even “more” if he wanted more. She told me that it was so easy to communicate with him and that he didn’t cry much because he was able to tell his parents what he wanted. At that moment, I decided when I had children that I wanted to teach them sign language.

Fast forward 5 years to when I had my first child…I’d forgotten about the sign language until a friend of mine told me of a website called “BabySteals.com” (the same awesome site that introduced me to BabyLegs). One day I saw the “steal” was a DVD/CD set called Baby Signing Time and I immediately ordered it!  My daughter was about 13 months old and she was just beginning to talk and I could NOT wait to get her started on signing. Once we received the set I put the DVD in and my daughter was captivated by the children on the screen signing. My husband and I sat and watched as well. The host, Rachel, shows the sign, explains how to properly do it, and then sings a song while various children repeat the sign. My husband and I made sure to use signs when talking to our daughter to teach her. After about a month of watching the DVDs every night, our daughter showed us her first sign. We were walking out of the grocery store one rainy day and our daughter signed “rain”. We were so surprised and happy that we stopped right in the middle of the parking lot in the rain and praised her.

Rain Sign Language

It has been about a year since we started using sign language and our daughter knows about 75 or more signs and her communication is extremely advanced for her age. Our pediatrician was impressed with the way my daughter could sign and thought it was great that we were teaching her at such a young age. We have seen a decrease in temper tantrums even though she is only 2 years old because she can communicate with us better. We started later with her but plan on starting with our son when he is about 3 months old.

Have you used sign language with your baby? What type of results did you see?

About the Blogger:

My name is Stephanie. My husband and I have been married 3 years.  We have a two year old daughter and a little boy.

*Flashcard from BabySignLanguage.

Posted in BabyLegs Mom, Blog, Guest BloggerTagged , , , , , , ,

The Differences Between Raising First and Second Children

May 16, 2012 1:00 pmLeave a Comment

I had always heard that parenting strategies differed between your first child and any subsequent children, but I never knew how true it was until our second came along! Our first child is now 8 and my parenting strategy with him can be summed up neatly into one word: overprotective. I washed his bottles/sippy cups separately from other dishes in the dishwasher and his clothing separately in the washing machine until he was well over a year old - with my daughter I only did that for the first few months. Whereas he wasn’t allowed to climb on to the sofa by himself or go anywhere near the stairs, my daughter is a little monkey who will climb anything and everything and loves spending hours at a time climbing up the stairs and sliding down on her bottom (with either Daddy or me right behind her of course, just in case!)

I think several factors contribute to these vast differences in the way we parent her compared to the way we parented him. The main one being the differences in their personalities. Our son was a shy, quiet child and was more interested in playing with shape sorters and puzzles than tumbling and climbing. He loved to sit and read books or just cuddle. Our daughter on the other hand is more rough-and-tumble and prefers a more hands-on approach to her exploration of the world around her.

Another factor that helps to explain the change between our parenting styles 8 years ago and now is our age. My husband and I were 19 and 20 when our son was born. At that young age, we were nervous and unprepared and therefore highly overprotective with him. Now that we’re older (and wiser), we are comfortable with giving our daughter a little more “breathing room” to grow and explore, while still keeping a watchful eye and arms ready to rescue her when she gets a little too adventurous!

Keep Calm and Parent On

Also, from our own experience and talking with friends who also have more than one child, the common theme seems to be that second children are more energetic and adventurous because they have an older sibling to try to keep up with. That definitely holds true in our house! So for those of you expecting or contemplating adding a second child (or more) to your family, my advice is to remember that you will more than likely have to change up your parenting style a bit and remain flexible, and not to worry if you find yourself doing things completely differently than with your first. It’s definitely an adjustment, but so worth it – change can be a great thing!

About the Blogger:

Hi! I’m Beth Ann and I live in Central PA. My husband and I have been together for 10 years and have an 8 year old son and an 18 month old daughter who both love BabyLegs. I’m a stay-at-home mom and also do part-time work from home as a legal transcriptionist. I enjoy working on my photography hobby, remodeling our house, going to sporting events, pretty much anything that involves spending time with my family!

*Image from Living Mi Vida Loca

 

Posted in BabyLegs Mom, BlogTagged , , , , , ,

The Joys of Staying Home!

April 23, 2012 8:55 amLeave a Comment
BabyLegs Lucky Lady legwarmers

Lucky Lady Legwarmers

There are days when I question my sanity and my decision to be a stay at home mom. Let’s be honest, toddlers are no joke!

My daughter is almost 2 and I feel that this age is very fun because she is so curious! However, it is also an age where most children discover the art of screaming and throwing tantrums when you say ,”No you can’t have candy.” or something as simple as “Wait a minute, I can only do so many things at once!” As I sit here writing this blog, I think about the future PTA meetings I’ll be attending and future ballet practices I’ll be driving her to and honestly, it makes me feel great that I will be able to do that!

But then reality hits me in the face – or was that mashed potatoes that my toddler threw because she decided it’s time to play with her food instead of eat it? This is the life of being home with a toddler. Messy hair, food all over your clothes and floors, toys all over the place, and your Tivo set to record every episode of Dora The Explorer or Blues Clues. I have to say, it’s challenging but I am all for it and I would definitely give it all up just to see a smile on her pretty face everyday.

Whether you decide to stay at home or return to work, being a parent is a challenge. How do you manage your life with kids?

 

Posted in BabyLegs Mom, Blog, Guest Blogger, UncategorizedTagged , , ,

Turning Off the TV

April 18, 2012 8:55 amLeave a Comment

Many of us can relate to entertaining our children with the TV and computer more often than we’d like to admit. I know I sure can.

After sitting back and looking at my kids in a quiet moment, I realized that they were watching more TV than I felt comfortable with. I decided I needed to take action. I shut the TV off. I turned my cell phone off. I stopped putting away the dishes and I took my boys on a walk where we could hear the sounds of dogs barking, birds singing, leaves rustling in the wind and even tree frogs peeping. When we got home, we played in the house with nothing but our voices to fill the air.

Home Run

Home Run Warmers

“So where do I go from here?”,  I asked myself. I reluctantly declared “No more TV”. I decided it needed to be drastic, so we cut TV out of our lives during the daytime. While it seemed to be hard and almost painful for the kids to miss their favorite shows, it got much easier with time. We learned we liked this little experiment more than I ever dreamt.

Yes, I am busy. (I am also tired and pregnant.) And like most of you amazing ladies, I often struggle on how to get it all done. If I’m not at work, I’m doing laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning or doing other chores. The TV easily became my crutch. I hate to say it, but flicking on the TV was much easier for me than planning an activity, playing with the kids and then cleaning up the mess after playing. In the beginning, I had to continually remind myself not to turn on the TV. “Don’t do it . . . don’t do it!” Once I got through that, I realized I needed to change and get more involved. I had to stop being so busy just “doing”. I needed to shut off the TV, get off the computer and my cell phone and just play with my kids…instead of making them feel like there always needs to be noise, while they miss out on what’s going on under the fluff and babble on TV. I changed my mindset and decided they needed to be included more in our daily to-do list. Not only was this successful, but they loved helping out and I get the work done without my crutch!

I must admit that my kids are amazing at entertaining themselves, LOL! Honestly, I lost no time getting things done and my boys began to get bored with me and played on their own in much more healthy ways. They created their own world: an amazing world of imagination. I know kids do this all the time, but I never stopped to think about it. In the daze of our loud, seemingly always busy household, I had missed out on my sweet baby boys’ world: the deep and secret thoughts of their amazing, little minds, the beauty of their imagination and creativity.

The problem for us was when TV became the go to, using it when we really didn’t really “need” to. I can tell you, we do not miss it anymore. Do we keep the TV off all the time? No, I cannot say they never watch TV, but now I am so careful about the time they spend in front of the TV. It has become my personal mission to turn off our TV. I am trying to create more of these moments where my children hear nothing but their own thoughts, laughter and maybe a dog barking in the background.

Do you limit your children’s screen time? If so, has it been easy or difficult for you to cut or cut back on screen time from your family’s life?

Posted in Blog

Being a New Mom

April 16, 2012 2:54 pmLeave a Comment

There I was, checking into the hospital to deliver a precious new baby. I had waited nine months to meet our prince or princess and the time was now! I had planned and prepared for this day since I saw the double lines on the home pregnancy test, but nothing had me prepared for the flood of emotions I felt when I was walking to the labor and delivery floor. The thought of becoming a new mom had me feeling anxious, excited, and scared.

While checking into the hospital, I remember thinking to myself, “This is it! You are going to leave this hospital with a baby!” At that moment I became anxious and so many questions ran through my head —Would I be a good mom? Would my husband be a good father? Can I REALLY do this? Once I delivered my baby and my husband said “It’s a GIRL!”, all those questions went away. They placed my daughter in my arms and I instantly fell in love with her. As I held her, I couldn’t imagine life without her and she was only in my life for a few minutes. Any anxieties I felt about becoming a new mom were washed away with excitement of my new adventure.

BabyLegs newborn leg warmers

Most little girls dream of being a mommy and now I was one! I was so excited to have a new baby and couldn’t wait to get her home to love on her even more. While we were at the hospital I let them keep her in the nursery at night so my husband and I could get some rest, but I did miss her so much when she was gone. I was so happy when they wheeled that bassinet into my room. She was the best baby; she only cried when she needed to be changed, fed or burped and slept most of the time. I was eager for them to discharge us so I could take my baby home and start taking care of her on my own. Finally, they discharged us and we headed home…daddy, mommy and baby! On our first night home, my excitement was now mixed with scared feelings.

Being at home with my new baby was the most scared I had been in a long time. The first night I was scared that I had done something wrong because she would just cry all the time. She didn’t sleep that first night except for an hour and that was while I was holding her in the rocking chair. I was reassured by friends and family that it would get better and they were right. We just had to work with her and get her on a schedule. By night number six she would sleep for four hours and wake up for feeding, then go back to sleep. By two weeks, she would stay awake and look at us for a few hours before going back to sleep. When she was six weeks old we had her sleeping in her room for five to six hours at night and waking twice in the night to feed. We followed her schedule and she remained happy, as were we.

A new baby can be one of the happiest times you experience. When I think back to the day of delivery, I remember feeling anxious, excited and scared. I’m sure those feelings are normal for a new mother. I read all the books and asked experienced moms, but nothing really prepared me. I just had to learn my baby’s cries and go with my gut on what needed to be done.

Every new mom’s experience is different and for most of us, adjusting to this new life as a mom is a wonderful challenge. What was your new mom experience?

About the blogger:

My name is Stephanie.  My husband and I will be married 3 years in October.  We have a soon to be two year old daughter, McKenna, and a little boy due in January.

 

Posted in BabyLegs Mom, Guest Blogger, New BabyLegs Mom