Dairy Barn (Signing With One Year Old Baby)

by Rae Webb
(Massachusettes)

I started teaching our son to sign at 4 months. It was a learning experience for both of us, because I never signed before either.

I just started with the basics: sleep; milk (i.e. nurse); bedtime; food; more; diaper change; book; mama and papa; etc.; without any great expectations.

And slowly he began doing some, somewhat randomly, but I would always respond eagerly.

Then one morning, when he was a a few months shy of a year old, after breakfast while I was brushing my teeth, Papa gave our boy some cheese.

I came back and my little munchkin looked up at me and signed "more cheese". I repeated it to him, signing and aloud "more cheese". My partner told me he gave our kiddo cheese, and we realized he just signed his first sentence--quite unexpectedly.

It was very exciting!

Ever since, he learns about a sign a day, but he sticks to his favorites which are "cheese" (every meal he asks for "cheese please"), and "milk" (he's addicted to nursing). He always wants "more" of each.