Starting Early

(Not my baby, not my picture)

I know I've been very MIA. I was super tired and nauseous while I was pregnant. It was sometimes hard to just get through work. Then I had a newborn and all that comes with it, sleepless nights and newborn life. I now have an 8-month-old who is showing his personality and learning so much. It's so much fun.

I'm very lucky that I get to work from home with my little guy sitting right beside me for now. I love doing teletherapy and I'm actually thankful that Covid made that possible. He's getting to hear so much language all the time. Sometimes we do it sitting on the couch with him right next to me or sleeping on my lap. When he was littler, he would lay in my lap or next to me all the time. Now that he's a bigger boy and can sit up, we sit on the floor while he plays. I'll build blocks with him while my client builds blocks on their end.

I feel like I'm a different Mom than I was when my oldest was a baby. 16 years is a long time in between. When my oldest was a baby, I nannied. I started with books, learning letters and colors when he was a toddler. Before I had him I had worked in a Toddler Room in a daycare, so my living room became a daycare room with posters and flashcards. I did a little bit of baby signing but didn't start until he was about a year old.

This time around I'm obviously a Speech Assistant and see more of the benefits of beginning some things earlier. I do things with my 8-month-old that some people don't think to do with their 2-year-old. I feel like I am always repeating a lot of the same things with new families and it's just more natural for me to just do it with my baby. So here are some things you might not think of doing with your toddler let alone your baby

1. Narrate what we're doing.

I am always talking to my baby and I have been since he was born. I tell him when I'm changing his diaper or going to feed him. It's mostly just the 2 of us at home all day so I talk to him. I guess it's either talk to him or just talk to myself. I was talking to him while we were shopping yesterday, telling him what was next on our list. I tell him when I have to go to the other room for a second or when I lay him down. I am always talking to him. I find myself using my "Speech voice" with him.

2. Give Choices

Yes, I give my baby choices. Does he point to make choices? Not yet, but he'll grab what he wants usually. Does he know what he's doing? Probably more than a couple of months ago. When we're going to play I'll give him a choice. "Do you want the blocks or book?" The one he looks at or grabs, he gets. I actually started with which lovey he wanted in his car seat with him when we leave when he was only a couple of months old."Do you want Tigger or Soth?" I'm naming the items. Usually, the same items are repeated all the time. I'm always telling families that repetition is important and it's important to offer choices when possible.

3. Use sign language

Yes, I use sign language with my baby. I sign "all done" to him when he's breastfeeding and keeps unlatching, so he seems uninterested in nursing. I tell him "All done Bobos" and sign "all done." When he bites me when he's nursing, I take him off and sign "all done" and we take a little break. He now signs "milk" independently. It seems to mean milk and Mom though. We started solids so I'll sign "more" with him for food. He uses a "Gootensil" to self-feed. When his Gootensil is empty I will sign "more" with him. I also do it with toys. I'll sign "eat" when he's getting solids and "milk" for nursing.

Just like I tell my families to do, I will say it, sign it and do hand over hand with him. It helps to teach them what to do. For the toddlers I work with, it gives them repetition but it doesn't keep pushing them to do it themselves which aggravates them. Many of my kids that won't sign independently will get mad if their caregiver keeps pushing. Making them mad doesn't encourage them to sign or communicate. It just makes them madder and makes them want to avoid it. The same goes for verbal speech. For my baby, it's just for repetition and to help teach him a way to communicate before he's even old enough to speak real words.

Starting early makes it routine. To me, it's just second nature now but I understand some parents need to get into that routine themselves. I'm not perfect though, there are times I don't notice my baby was signing "milk." I'm just happy that he does it at all. I'm hoping that starting earlier with him will help with some of those big baby/toddler tantrums. I hope these tips help you too. Now I will try to be more consistent because I do like to do this, but I also have a baby that likes to try to help me type.