Signs and Slings

It worked! Our causal commitment to teaching Lovey sign language has had a success. This morning it became clear that he has learned the sign for "milk," which we use to refer to nursing. He's been practicing it for awhile but not always with intent to nurse. Today, he put the 2 together! He's getting better at controlling his hands and is even starting to clap his hands, too! We've been showing him the signs for mommy, daddy, eat, bath, story, cat. I'm less consistent with signing diaper, ball, sleep, car, play. This is great motivation to keep going with this!

I'm excited to have received our new sling - a Solarveil Taylor Made ring sling - that I ordered especially for our upcoming family trip to Cuba. The fabric blocks UVA/UVB rays so it will be perfect for protecting little Monkey from the Caribbean sun. Sadly, the manufacturer of Solarveil no longer makes the fabric and everyone is selling out of baby carriers made with it, so I am lucky that I found this one. I bought it online from Pookababy in Toronto - ordered it on Sunday night and received it on Thursday. It was $70 with tax and shipping, but well worth it, I'm sure. And do I ever love ordering stuff online. Or maybe I just love the getting-packages-in-the-mail part! As for baby carriers, I've come to really enjoy them and wish I had been using them from the start. I got our first wrap at about 6 weeks after borrowing one from our midwife. My mom copied the wrap design and made me 2 out of some $20 fabric that I found. One of these wraps would have cost $60+. We've more recently started using an organic pouch sling that my generous co-workers gave us at a baby shower. We have used the Snugli front carrier although there is some evidence that over-using these types of carriers (dangling-by-the-crotch style) can be damaging to the baby's spinal development. And now with this new ring sling we have a nice little collection! Of course, I hear great things about the Ergo ... maybe we won the lottery last night!! LOL

You can find more information on baby-wearing here and here.