My niece Jenny and her lovely baby boy Joshua are now bonding nicely, and Jenny feels a lot more confident about her skills as a new parent.

We got to talking the other day about baby signing, and Jenny would love to learn to sign with Joshua, so she prompted me to do a whole lot of research on baby signing so that when the time comes she will be able to sign with Joshua. Baby signing is based on deaf sign language used for hearing impaired people, and there are various ways to teach babies – there are even sing and sign classes!

The first question the Jenny had was -

‘How old should my baby be before I start to teach him baby sign language?’

Really this is the Mothers decision, but due to the general development of motor skills, in most cases babies will not be able to sign back to you until they are 6 months old, or more. There is really no right or wrong time. Some parents sign to their babies from birth and some only start when their baby is 12 months old. It really can vary that much. Are you thinking of teaching your child to sign?

There are many benefits the most profound of which I believe is the bond that baby signing creates between you and your baby. Signing can actually provide an insight into your babies thoughts, and help you to really understand and communicate with your child.

If you would like to strengthen your bond with your baby, then signing could be for you.

Can you imagine being able to communicate with your child without words. It truly is amazing!

You will feel like the best parent in the world – you will certainly never regret it – especially when your baby does his first sign for you!

So I am going to be posting a whole lot more about this fascinating subject and will get some videos together to show just how cute baby signing is!

I am certainly going to encourage Jenny to start signning with Joshua when she is ready to.

If you want to try baby signing take a look at this:-

http://www.yourchildrensfirst.com/recommends/babysigning

• Toddler Interpreter: Teaching Sign Language to Your Hearing Child (Giveaway) (susanheim.blogspot.com)
• How to include sign language (johnaugust.com)

If you haven’t yet seen it (1.3 million people have) take a look at this you tube video of the Evian Roller Blading Babies. It’s so cute.

So, you bought (or are soon buying) back to school clothes for your kids. Have you managed to pick your jaw off the floor and put your eyes back in your head after seeing the bill? 

Maybe now is a good time to start using money off coupons whenever possible.

I’ve found one here that will help you save money while keeping those newly bought school clothes clean.

While you’re there, you can also get a chance to win a washer and dryer. Talk about saving money! Good luck.

Get your Cheer coupon here!

Apologies to my UK and other readers because this promotion is only available to US and Canadians.

I have installed an interesting application – BlogJet. It’s a cool Windows client for my blog tool (as well as for other tools). Get your copy here: http://blogjet.com

“Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid; humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond imagination.” — Albert Einstein

My previous posts about Jennifer and Joshua have been very popular, and so I wanted to continue their story….

Jennifer is of course concerned about feeding her precious newborn. She has always said that she wanted to breastfeed her newborn, but so many questions!

Here is my Breastfeeding Questions & Answers Guide

(more…)

My previous post was an article all about the pressures we place upon ourselves in a effort to be the perfect Mother. We all need parenting help at some time.

The author of the article was spot on when she said:-

Here is the key to being a better Mom – Take Care Of Yourself First!”

I know exactly how I can help you with that – Join my 30 day Challenge – Look After Yourself.  It is FREE!

Specifically designed for new moms, who need newborn baby care, and ‘old’ who want parenting help to help improve their situation for their children, their partners, but most of all for themselves.

8 packed lessons on all the subjects you need to improve your life, for you and your family. Includes resources especially tailored to help you meet your goals.

FREE - so what have you got to lose – nothing!

What have you got to gain – an improved family life, happy partner, happy children, and most importantly a happier YOU!

And don’t forget your Instruction Manual for New Moms.

• Parenting Tips and Online Reward Systems (parenting-success.com)
• Blog Tour: Mommy Guilt Is Unnecessary Baggage (susanheim.blogspot.com)
• Baby Development and Recognizing Milestones (parenting-success.com)

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The other day I was watching Oprah one of my favorite shows for many reasons but, that would be another subject. The topic was unfit mothers. Trust me it was more than evident that some of the guests there had some serious issues due to the amount of abuse or neglect that they place their children in.

However, there is something that really bothered me, they had numerous recordings of women that called saying that they believed they were unfit mothers because they get angry at their children and feel frustrated at times. Was I hearing right? Give me a break? Are moms not supposed to have feelings? Hmmm! Let me see, (more…)

Changing a baby is one of the parts of parenting that most people dread, but a proper changing pad can make the process incredibly easy. These changing pads will hold your baby in place and make changing him or her a breeze. Read more

The UK is experiencing a ‘baby boom’ with the population showing the largest increase for a generation.

All the more reason for blogs such as this one, which are trying to help all those new Mums out there!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Birth rate pushes up UK population (guardian.co.uk)

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The first of your baby milestones is helping your newborn adjust to his new home.

So let’s continue discussing the issues that Jennifer had in adjusting to life at home with her beautiful new baby boy, Joshua.

It was certainly helping Jen to talk to me about what she felt. She wasn’t really prepared for the sheer, overwhelming sense of total responsibility for this wonderful, new life.

So what should you expect for your baby’s first week home?

When you think about it it is 9 months since you found out that you would bring a new life into your home.

So how do you prepare – you decorate the nursery; childproof your home; gather all the supplies and equipment you will need.

Not many new parents plan and prepare for the emotions that they may feel during the first few weeks. Nor do they plan for the practical stuff like why your newborn cries so much, or why she spits up, or ’should her head really be that shape?’

After all, you cannot change your mind now! This bundle of joy is here to stay, and he hasn’t arrived with an instruction manual!

Take a look here at your very own instruction manual for new babies.

Anyway back to Jen and Joshua….. (more…)