I have the
privilege of caring for Evie http://talkingwithbaby.com/pages/EvieusingTWB/
and her new sister Baby Meadow while they are in transition to a new
daycare. Evie is now 4 and Meadow is 5
months. If you are a new parent, or one
with experience, or someone involved with a non-verbal little one, see if the
following scene sounds familiar.
You are
dropping Baby off at the daycare.
Instructions include last time a diaper was changed, Baby was fed, and
any special instructions like, “may be getting a cold”, “didn’t sleep well last
night”, or “doesn’t seem to be herself today”.
When was the last time you gave the caregiver your language
instructions?
Jen left me
for the first time with Baby Meadow along with Evie. She told me she was working on the signs for ‘eat’
and ‘more’ and out the door she went.
Things were fine until Meadow started crying. Okay, now what? I looked at her and said “eat?” Because her mom was already working on the
words, ‘eat’ was a familiar sound to her.
She immediately stopped crying and I fed her.
How easy it
is for caregivers to be in charge when a baby is introduced to language. Using a word she was familiar with instilled
security and confidence she was in good hands.
I am at the end of my time to care for them, but can see that over these
last few weeks, Meadow is now looking at me and not the bottle when I say
‘eat’. I’ve started showing her the sign
and even model her own hands to make the sign.
How easy it becomes when a baby knows they are understood and the whole
eating process has slowed down. We are
both happy we know what she wants!
Teach a new
sign today, see what your Baby is trying to tell you!
