We are 2 weeks into food now, and she is really getting the hang of it. This morning, I was having tea and a muffin quickly before I fixed "breakfast" for my daughter (she had already had one feeding before that, I was not being a mean mommy). I looked over at her after I took my first bite and she was making chewing motions with her cute little mouth. I dropped everything and fixed her some rice cereal with apple. As I put her in her highchair she smiled wide and kept making the chewing motion with her mouth! I feel like we had our first conversation and I am calling that her first "word/gesture". She is not even 5 months old, yet I believe she was both mimicking my face and trying to tell me she was hungry. This is a child who only cries when something is truly wrong, so maybe she is finding other ways to make herself heard!
So, after seeing her performance this morning, I decided even though it will be a while until I truly see her signing back to me, it's time to introduce one more sign. So, when we were done with our cereal, muffin and tea and before I took her out of her highchair, I signed "ALL-DONE" and I will continue to do that. I will not only sign it after we eat, but after a movie, after playtime, after a bottle, and on and on. That is how baby signers learn to apply their signs to different scenarios.
Just as we continue to use our entire English vocabulary when speaking to our children, a baby learning sign language should be exposed to the full vocabulary of sign language. As for how it applies to baby signers only wishing to use some of the language, you can always feel free to begin using signs as early as you like. It's the way you reinforce those signs that shape the learning process.
Oh, how exciting! I loved reading about your little Super Star's first "word/gesture" and I can't wait to read/see more as she grows.
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