Eli has started signing! Just like we did with Maia, Brian and I (and big sister Maia, too) started using baby sign language with Eli at around four months. We've stuck to repeated use of some very basic ones: more, eat/food, and milk. This weekend we saw the first moments of "payoff": Eli began signing "more" during mealtime, asking for more of his sweet potato. :) He'll bang one hand on his highchair tray, but it's very deliberate--he'll make lots of eye contact and give a couple of bangs on the tray with his right hand, and then he'll stop and smile or laugh. That was where it all began.
Now, just a day or two later, he's already made some leaps in communication--rather than just banging on the tray with one hand, he tries to reach over with his right hand to pat the top of his left hand! So cool! He also started to sign "eat/food" after "more"--he'll bang on his tray or on his left hand, and then he'll bring his right hand up to his mouth.
This flurry of baby signing activity is a bit earlier than Maia started, but I attribute that minor difference to our collective family comfort with the process. Having been through it once and watching how wonderful it was for Maia's ability to communicate at a young age, we're confident and at ease when we use signs, and I'm sure Eli picks up on that.
I love this so much--I think it's such a fantastic way for babies to understand as soon as possible that they can communicate. They can express their needs and wants and we will actually respond. We know that babies get dexterity with their hands well in advance of dexterity in their speaking muscles (tongue, lips, etc.)--we're giving them the ability to "speak" before their little mouths are able to. But their brains are so ready! :)
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