(no subject)

[sal_amanda]

I had really good intentions as far as using baby sign language, and we were fairly good with it at first.  But we got slackery and have only been using it sporadically.  This week, though, I've been using the sign for "finished" or "all done" when she appears to be done with her meal and kind of attempting to push the tray away.  It's a really simple sign.  You have your two hands out in front of you, palms up.  Then you flip them both over.  I tend to repeat the motion as I repeat the phrase "all done."  And she's started doing it, too.  She's got the sign down and will sometimes sort of say "done."  Though I should point out that a couple times she's done that and then went on to eat for five minutes more.  Today she sort of signed "more" at snacktime, but still had a few animal crackers on her tray.  So maybe I should be more consistent and she should get it quickly, I think.

I'm starting to suspect that she's going to be left-handed.  She is definitely using both hands for playing and for eating, but when it comes to picking up her cup, her preference is always with the left hand.  The genetics are there.  Both my mom and sister are left-handed.  I was ambidextrous until around when I started kindergarten when I apparently decided to be a righty.  However, I later discovered when I took gymnastics that I did cartwheels, etc. better when I lead from the left so they told me that I was a left-handed gymnast.  Perhaps that also would have translated to other sports if I had actually done anything other than track.  Also, in high school bio lab, we had to do some experiment where we wrote our names with our opposite hand and my teacher was rather impressed with how well I wrote with my left hand.  It took me longer to do because I wasn't used to it, but it looked almost as neat as my right-handed signature.  I guess time will tell what Nora turns out to be.

Comments

[busybusymama.livejournal.com]

The only signing we did with Grace was "more" and that is because teaching her to sign cut back on the screaming she did when she wanted more (ie: desperation on our part). Had I known how screamy a child she was going to be, I would have requested an exchange.... um... I mean... I would have taught her to sign more.

Oh... I can write with my left hand AND my right foot. Not my left foot, though. ;)

[sal_amanda]

We started off with "more" and she would just sort of laugh at me whenever I did it. We kind of re-upped the signing based on her kind of whining when she wanted stuff.

Nora is starting to show foot dexterity so we'll see where that goes.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

I found it kind of easy to pick up on a few useful signs myself, and to use them at first, but then I started forgetting. But Sam seems to do one sign all the time that I can't figure out what it means-- it's like he made it up, some cross between bye-bye and all gone and sing? and he uses it indiscriminately, so maybe he just likes doing it.

Early on it seemed like Sammy was REALLY right-handed, so much that I wondered if his left side was developing properly, especially since it was far too early to have a side preference. But he seems to like to eat with his left hand now. He does lots of other things with his right, though, so I guess he's still in the "no preference" range. My brother is left-handed, but that's about it in my family, so there's not a huge genetic likelihood or anything in his case. Not like wearing glasses, which he is genetically doomed to, no escape.

[sal_amanda]

Yeah, Nora is doomed to have glasses and braces. Poor thing.