My baby can sign!

A few months ago I wrote a post on teaching my baby to use sign language to communicate before his verbal skills had developed.  And, I am here to tell you has been a huge success! My youngest, Charlie, is now 16 months old and he communicates with us using his signs everyday. I am not sure how we would be coping without them right now. He has been unwell over the last week and this is where his sign language has especially helped. He has been able to ask me for a drink when he is thirsty, and is even able to specify if he would like milk or water. He can tell me when he is hungry, if he would like more to eat or drink or if he is finished. Charlie actively uses 6 signs so far, milk, water, more, finished, Daddy and apple.  Our whole family uses them to speak with him, including our 3 year old. In fact, she is by far the best at it!

We use them so often I sometimes find myself using them in adult conversation. (  and that can be a little weird...) Charlie is beginning to speak now and he is just adding the word to the sign, so this has not slowed him down at all. It is so wonderful being able to communicate with a toddler. I am quite sure it does alleviate some of the tantrums but certainly not all of them! It is incredibly exciting being able to see him totally understand what I am saying to him and he loves communicating back to us.

Should you teach your baby to sign?

When Lily (2) was only a few months old, I stumbled across this clip on youtube. The clip is of 1 year old Fireese and her Mum communicating with baby sign language. My mind was blown. Do you mean your baby can speak to you before they have language skills? This is Amazing. Why doesn't everyone do this? I had a LOT of questions ( as I always do).  What was this baby sign language?  How does a baby  learn to sign? And more importantly, how could I learn it?  I set off a quest to find out everything I could. I googled, watched & read anything related to baby signing. I asked all of my Mummy friends, have you heard of this baby sign language? I think most thought I had gone a bit nuts.  My baby is smart I thought, surely we could do this!  I taught myself a few signs and then set about teaching them to Lily.  She learnt one sign incredibly quickly and used it all the time (and still does 2 years later!). The sign was " finished". It was brilliant. She could tell me when she had had enough sleep or food. She could tell me when she wanted to get out of the bath or if she wanted to go home. Just with this one simple sign!  She started using it at about 18 months. Even though it was seriously cool to be able to understand her, and made life a lot easier, I was not committed to teaching her to sign, so she only ended up with the one.

However, I was determined to do it better next time. I researched the signs I wanted to introduce and taught 10 of them to Lily in a day! Those little toddlers are freaky sponges. She now helps me teach Charlie ( 9 months) the new signs every day. I have been using them with him for around 3  months, and he has learnt 2 so far. ( Daddy & More, such a boy)  He gets so excited when he uses them & can see that I understand him. It is an on going process and I will have to be committed to using them in my language with Charlie every day. But I know the reward is going to be worth it!   If you are interested & have a billion questions like I did, reading this article might help.

If you can teach your bub to clap and wave, then you have already started! All you need to do is make the sign every time you say the word and they will do the rest. Just be consistent and patient and it will happen. The first time your baby signs back to you will make it all worth it!

Should you teach your baby to sign? Well, that is entirely up to you. Babies can sign well before they can speak.  Research show's it has no hindrance on your child's verbal skills & I can tell you, Lily is a little chatter box!

Have you had any experience with Baby Sign Language? We would love to hear from you.

{Recipe} Delicious Stir-fry Beef with Asian Greens

The kids and I LOVE stir-frys. They are so quick, easy and versatile not to mention super healthy! The protein can be switched to pretty much what ever you have fresh and available, beef, chicken, fish or tofu. The veggies can be changed to suit what is in your fridge or garden.. This is a recipe we cook at least twice a week. It is a guaranteed winner with Lily and she will eat it every time, without fail.

Delicious Beef Stir-fry with Asian Green & Soba Noodles

Serves 4

400 grams of sliced porterhouse steak
1 medium onion sliced
5 medium swiss brown ( or any style) mushrooms
1 cup dried shitake mushrooms
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
2 cm piece finely chopped ginger
3 tables spoons of Tamari or Soy sauce, plus extra for serving
2 bunchs (6 stems) of Baby Bok Choy or any Asian Greens
2/3 packet of Soba Noodles
3 tb Sesame Seeds for serving


Stir-frys are designed to be cooked very quickly so you need to do all of your preparation before you begin cooking.

Thinly slice the beef and place in a bowl with the ginger, garlic and tamari. Mix and leave to marinate for as long as you have. The longer you leave it the more the flavour will develop. A few minutes is ok though if you are in a hurry.
Slice all the onions and mushrooms, wash and separate the bok choy. Put the dried shitake mushrooms in a cup and cover with freshly boiled water then set aside.
Place a medium pot on the stove, fill to 3/4 with water and boil.  Heat a large wok to a high heat, then add your oil. I use olive and some sesame oil. Drain the shitake mushrooms.

Ok, now you are ready to start cooking!


To the wok add the onions and toss until they starting to cook, then add the mushrooms and continue tossing. After about 2 minutes add the beef and toss. As soon as the beef begins to brown  it is time to add your noodles to the boiling water, make sure you put your oven timer on as they only take 4 mins! 
Add your bok choy to the wok and toss. Let everything finish cooking for a minute or two. As soon as the noodles are ready, drain and add to the wok. Toss to combine all of the ingredients and add more tamari.

Serve immediately and top with Sesame seeds. Enjoy!

{Recipe} Delicious Chicken & Veg Sausage Rolls

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  As Mums we know it can often be a challenge to make sure our children, especially toddlers, eat their veggies every day.  I often try new recipes with Miss 2, just to spice things up a little. She loved these sausage rolls and made sure I knew what was left on the plate was hers and not mine!  I found the original version of this  very simple recipe on Taste and adjusted it to suit the needs of our family. You can easily do the same. 
  Here is my modified version, let me know what you think!
  
  
  Delicious Chicken & Veg Sausage Rolls
  
  1/2 cup breadcrumbs ( fresh or packet)
• 500g chicken breast 
• 1 egg, plus 1 extra lightly beaten egg
• 1 zucchini, finely grated or 5 finely chopped mushrooms 
• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 1/2 onion, grated
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 4 sheets frozen puff pastry, just thawed
• 1 tbs sesame seeds
• Tomato or sweet chilli or sauce, to serve
  
  
  
  1. Step 1
     Preheat the oven to 180°C and line 2 oven trays  with greased baking paper.
  2. Step 2
     Process crumbs, chicken and unbeaten egg in a food processor until well combined. Place in a bowl, mix well with vegetables and herbs, then season.
  3. Step 3
     Place 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface and halve. Spoon an eighth of the mixture lengthways along one edge of each piece. Carefully roll the pastry up to make one long " sausage roll".  Brush the beaten egg along the exposed edge to seal.  Brush the top of the roll with egg and sprinkle the sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Cut rolls into 3cm pieces. Place on baking sheets, cover and chill for 30 minutes.  Bake for 20-25  minutes until the rolls are lightly browned and cooked through. Serve with sauce on the side.
     
     
     Freeze any uncooked, spare rolls as a whole piece for later use. Perfect for snacks, parties or playdates!